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The main attraction at Pipe Spring National Monument is Winsor Castle. It was meant to protect Mormon ranchers from the Federal Governmet and raids by the Navajo.
History
The fort was constructed directly above the spring between 1870 and 1872. It was named Winsor Castle after Anson Perry Winsor, the ranch’s first manager and one of its builders. Guided tours are available regularly on a daily basis.
Courtyard
Tours begin in the courtyard, which sits between two main buildings and two gated walls on each end. The doors were wide enough to accommodate wagons with which the ranchers would deliver cheese and butter produced at the ranch to St. George, Utah.
Parlor
Next is the parlor, which is on the ground floor in the north building. The north building was used as the living space of the families that occupied the fort. Pipe Spring flows just underneath the floorboards of the parlor.
Kitchen
The kitchen is attached to the parlor. The stove in the house was built in Chicago and dates back to the late 1880s. Meals were taken in shifts, and between meals the chairs were faced away from the table to remind diners to kneel and pray before eating.
Bedrooms
On the upper floor are two bedrooms, with the larger bedroom also serving as a meeting room. Gunports were place high above the floor in order to protect the fort during an attack, but they were never used.
Watch Tower
Attached to the larger bedroom is a watch tower that was built to keep an eye out for attacks. Again, it was never used. You can easily spot the watch tower from outside the fort.
Telegraph Office
The very first telegraph station in Arizona was located at Winsor Castle. It opened in 1871, and was operated by 16 year old Eliza Luella Stewart. The telegraph station, on the upper floor of the south building also served as the bedroom for the operator.
Bedrooms
Two other bedrooms were also located in the south building and used for hired girls. The rooms were also used to hide Mormon polygamist wives from federal marshals.
Spring Room
On the ground floor of the south building is the Spring Room, which has a trough flowing with water fed from Pipe Spring. The room was used for cold storage and butter production.
Cheese Room
Next door is the Cheese Room, where about 50 to 60 pounds of cheese was produced daily. The Oneida cheese vat was shipped from Almira, New York, in 1872.
