The Penrod family of Pinetop homesteaded Sierra Springs Ranch in the early 1920's. Desendents of Mormon pioneers, the Penrod's are an established family that has lived in the area for generations. The ranch was farmed by this family until the early 1960's. The only building on the property at that time was a small shed that stood in the area between the Recreation Room and the road.

The ranch was sold to Gray Madison in the 1960's and was used as his summer residence. The first building to be constructed was the home now known as the Pueblo. This served as living quarters for the caretaker and his very large family. A Barn was built with a small apartment above, which was accessed by an outside staircase going up the West End of the building. The apartment was very rustic with a small kitchen, bathroom, one bedroom and living room.The lower level had a barn door that opened on the north side of the building and was used to store tractors, equipment and garden supplies.

The main house (where the office is now located) was the next to be built. It was the residence of the Madison family. Mrs. Madison disliked staying there and would organize large "sleep over" bridge parties so that she could always have a group of her friends around. The room that she used to hold these parties in is now the fitness center and the recreation room. Mr. Madison loved the place and was an avid outdoorsman and hunter. He had numerous kennels on the property for his many hunting dogs and loved to bring his friends to visit. (Frank Kush was among them.) The ranch was approved as a heliport and they would often land in the area out beyond the bass lake. At this time the trout pond was created as a lake especially designed for fly-fishing and a small golf course was constructed with the number one tee box on the hill where the small gazebo now stands. Mr. Madison died in the early 1970's and the ranch was sold to Jack Hogan.

Jack Hogan was from the Chicago area and successful in the insurance business and horse racing. He built the Honeymoon, for himself, the Santa Fe for one daughter, the Cheyenne for another daughter, the two garages, added more wells, the tennis court, the waterfall, the bass lake and the small gazebo. He also remodeled the Pueblo and the main house. He was fond of bringing his celebrity friends to stay for elaborate parties. He was an eccentric and had some interesting habits. He painted all the cabins jet black and installed heavy blackout drapes or shutters on all the windows. He was something of a recluse and didn't allow many local people on the property. The name of the ranch at this time was Jac-Not Ranch, a compilation of his name and his father's name.

The ranch was sold in the 1980's to Empire Machinery Company of Mesa. They used the ranch primarily as a retreat for the president of the Company, Jack Whiteman, and as a corporate retreat for upper management. The main house was used as a guesthouse for parties and day long meetings. There was a dance floor with a disco ball light above in the recreation room. During their ownership things were cosmetically taken care of but no serious maintenance was done.

In July of 1991 Don and Barbara Ottosen bought the ranch from Empire. They spent a full year remodeling, refurbishing and redecorating all the cabins. They installed new roofs and porches on all the cabins, sand blasted the exterior of all the cabins to remove the black paint and brought them back as close as possible to their original colors. They converted the Barn into a cabin and built the Conference Center and connected it to the small Gazebo.

They opened for business on Memorial Day weekend in 1992 with the Santa Fe and the Cheyenne. Of the guests that occupied the two cabins, one set were perfect guests, however the second set left the place in shambles. After that first weekend the Ottosens almost closed the ranch. Lucky for all of us who enjoy the ranch they persevered and developed Sierra Springs Ranch into a successful guest ranch. They owned and operated the ranch for six years and in 1997 sold the property to the current owners, Neal and Brenda DuCharme.
 

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