Resident and proprietor Elisha M. Reavis (1826 to 1896) of the famed "Reavis Ranch" with its perennial spring/creek, popular backpack camping, and apple trees located in the eastern Superstition Wilderness- Tonto National Forest;

"The ranch was founded by Elisha M. Reavis in the 1870s. He was born in Illinois in 1827 and came west in the 1850s to look for gold in California. He was married there and the couple had some children but split up around 1869 when he came to Arizona. He spent some of his time around Fort McDowell and had some peripheral involvement with Gen. Crooks 1872 Apache campaign in Tonto Basin, possibly as a horse wrangler. It is likely that he became aware of the valley in the Supers during this time and moved up there to squat around 1874. One must keep in mind that central Arizona was a very dangerous place at that time. Apaches and Yavapais were still frequenting the area up until the 1880s. Reavis apparently told a story that in 1878 he defended himself for a day or two in his cabin against Apaches, killed three, and convinced them to leave by acting crazy. He, of course, was the only witness. He lived as a hermit, selling his produce to the mines in the Globe and Superior area. He never saw his wife or children again, dying by the trail-side in 1896. A friend found his body half eaten by animals, his mules still tied up nearby and starving. A coroner was brought out but no determination could be made, so death by natural causes was assumed. They buried him near the trail. The ranch went through various hands afterward and virtually all of the improvements that can still be seen, such as the foundation of the ranch house, the apple orchard, farm tools, etc., we added much later. All Reavis left was his name." Source Credit: HAZ- Dennis William