Amerind Celebrates 75 Years!
Over eighty years ago, William and Rose Fulton traveled to Dragoon, Arizona, to build their new home. Having stayed at the Triangle T Guest Ranch in Texas Canyon, William Fulton fell in love with the area and bought up 1600 acres. The Connecticut couple had both turned 50; the kids were grown and they were looking for a second home in the sunny west.
They set about building much more than that. Mrs. Fulton loved the American Quarter Horse and put their new FF Ranch to work raising the breed. Mr. Fulton loved the history, arts and cultures of Native American people. Seventy-years ago he created a nonprofit organization that he called the Amerind Foundation.
The Fultons built a spacious museum in Texas Canyon, and there they assembled a beautiful collection of Native arts and crafts created by people from North, Central, and South America. Mr. Fulton pursued and funded archaeological research expeditions that shed light on the ancient peoples of Cochise County and northern Mexico.
The Fultons passed on in the 1960s, but their legacy survives. The Amerind continues to display the fine arts and fine crafts of Native American people. The Fultons' lovely museum brings 10,000 visitors ayear to Dragoon and 800 school children from around Cochise County.
The Amerind continues to support new research into the history of ancient people in North Americaand around the world
Texas Canyon Arizona Pioneer Cemetery
A video of the subject cemetery and the area surrounding it. The cemetery is on grounds owned and managed by the Amerind Foundation. The museum managed by the foundation appears briefly near the end of this video. It is near Exit 318 of I-10 east of Benson, Arizona and contains fine examples of Native American art works.
Background music: La sans le sou
by Bluemillenium
2016 - Licensed under
Creative Commons
Attribution Noncommercial (3.0)
Transcription of the cemetery sign:
In 1895, seventeen-year-old William Walter Adams left Coleman County, Texas, to visit his older brother, Dave A. Adams, who was
one of the first of the Adams family to settle in the Little Dragoon Mountains of Cochise County. Will soon decided to put down
roots as well and applied for a homestead grant, settling on what would eventually become the Amerind Foundation property. The
two were soon joined by four more brothers, three sisters, and their mother. With so many Texans settling in the area, people
began referring to it as Texas Canyon. Will returned to Texas in 1905 to marry his sweetheart, Orphy (Ofelia) Burton, and they
returned to Arizona after the wedding. Will and Orphy had two daughters, Ethel and May, and three sons, Walter, Willard, and
Wallace. When five-year-old daughter Ethel died after being thrown from a horse, Will and Orphy buried her on the homestead. On
January 27, 1911, Ethel became the first to be laid to rest in what is now the Texas Canyon Pioneer Cemetery.
Over the years, Will Adams urged community members to reserve burial sites on the land he set aside for the cemetery. In June of
1939, their other daughter, May Clark, sent out invitations for a cemetery work party and requested donations for the fencing
material. Donations came in and many helpers showed up to set the corner, fence, and gateposts. The five-foot fencing was
ordered, but there wasn't enough cash left from the donations to pay for it, so Will put $10 down on a payment plan from Sears
Roebuck and Co. in Los Angeles and paid off the balance of $116 in $9 monthly installments.
After Will Adams' death in 1959, Orphy sold the homestead and cemetery to William Shirley and Rose Fulton, founders of the
Amerind. Taking care of the cemetery upkeep and maintaining the records is now the responsibility of the Foundation. Reservations
for burial sites made during Will Adams' time are still in effect, but no additional reservations can be made and no one can be
interred here unless their name appears on the pioneer list. As you can see, an area behind the cemetery has been fenced as well.
Mr. and Mrs. Fulton, their son and daughter, and other family members are buried in this Fulton family plot.
Family Picture:
Back Row: (Lena Adams Thate, Paul Thate, unknown, unknown, Will Adams, unknown, unknown, Elick Adams, Jim and Maggie Shilling, unknown, Jesse Weems, unknown Front Row: Grandma Laura Adams, Grandma Shilling, Dave Adams, Molly Shilling ***Don Zirkle ORIGINALLY submitted this to Don Earl Zirkle Family Tree on 30 Sep 2012
Texas Canyon
People who are driving on I-10 between Willcox and Benson in Arizona are often surprised to come across an outcrop of gigantic boulders in the area, as if dropped from the sky in an intentional manner. This geological collection is known as “Texas Canyon” (named for early settlers to the area) and is millions of years old, slowly transforming into its present state thanks to erosion from our rare rain. The area is home to the Amerind Foundation and Triangle T Guest Ranch.
Producer: Tony Paniagua
Videographer: Nate Huffman, Bob Lindberg
Editor: Nate Huffman
The Amerind Museum: Celebrating 75 Years
This year marks the 75th Anniversary of the Amerind Foundation. Help us celebrate on October 21st, 2012 for a day of programs featuring native craft demonstrations, music & dance performances, tours, lectures, and of course, food!