History of Pearson Dude Ranch

A Southwest NM working cattle ranch...not your typical dude ranch

The history of Pearson Dude Ranch all started with a woman named Nellie Whiskers. Nellie made her way west with her Irish born parents to the frontier of El Paso Texas. She falls in love with a handsome and dashing Mexican ranchero and horse trader named, Juan W. Carrejo. Juan, who was originally from Casas Grande, Chihuahua - moved to the United States. Nellie learned to speak Spanish but with a very heavy Irish accent.

Family tradition tells that Nellie's parents did not approve of Nellie's and Juan's courtship and that the two eloped in a hail of bullets.

Seven children were born to the Carrejos, but only three survived infancy - Ambrosio, Juan Jr., and Enrique (all sons). Juan Sr. (dad) died when he was killed by a band of Texas outlaws while driving a herd of horses to Tucson. Nellie helped bury her husband not far from their ranch house at Carrejo Crossing.

Not long after Juan Sr.'s death, Nellie moved her family to a small Hispanic and Mormon Community in Springerville, Arizona. Shortly before New Mexico and Arizona became states in 1912, Nellie packed the family’s belongings into a large mule drawn wagon, sold her little Arizona homestead, gathered her three sons and headed east to the adobe village of Quemado, NM. Nellie had decided to move there when her oldest son Juan received a contract to carry mail by horseback, from Quemado to Datil.

The Carrejo family became involved in freighting goods from the railhead at Magdalena 80 miles East. After two years in Quemado, Nellie once again packed the family and headed South up Largo Canyon settling beneath the Lagged Southface of Queens Head. There they built their home.

Juan the middle son, gave up his mail route to homestead 160 acres and built a small log cabin of his own - which still stands on the Pearson Ranch. He also acquired a job as caretaker of the nearby Jewett Ranger Station. Juan eventually had children of his own. Juan had a son named Ernest, who eventually took over the Ranch until 1936.

The Carrejos sold the property to the Gables in 1936. The Gables owned the property for 23 years (1936-1959). A second home was built in 1945 by the Gables family. The Gables sold the property to the Pearsons in September of 1959.

When the Pearsons purchased the Ranch, the house had no water, heat or electricity. Today it still doesn’t have electricity.

Highlights in the history of the dude ranch once the Pearson family purchased it:

• May 28, 1960 - The first cattle were brought to the ranch.
• June 12, 1960 - Ken Pearson works on a hook up for the refrigerator. On June 13 he had it connected and working.
• June 14, 1960 - they worked on the gas line and installed a gas range from the trailer.
• June 14, 1960 - next was to pipe water to the house. They had to pipe a total of 2200 ft. They piped water across the road from the springs, then 4 days later 21 more lengths of 600 ft. of plastic started from the gate all the way to the meadow ditch. The morning of June 20th, they piped another 600 ft. By that afternoon Ken and Don Pearson had water to the house.
• June 29, 1960 - They started plumbing the house.
• July 1, 1960 - The hot water heater was installed.
• July 3, 1960 - Gas was piped to the hot water heater. That afternoon they had hot running hot water in the house!
• July 11, 1960 - The septic tank was dug.
• July 18, 1960 - Plumbing was completed to the bathroom and they now had a flush toilet!
• Summer of 1994 - Ken Pearson’s great nephew, Marvin Cromwell, decided to take the ranch on full time. Since then, Pearson Ranch has expanded to include dude ranch activities such as city slicker vacations and cattle roundups. In the Fall, Pearson Ranch also offers hunting of elk, black bear, mule deer and wild watusis.