Established in 1922, the TriangleT Historic Ranch boasts a
colorful and exciting past.
TRIANGLE T IS RENOWNED FOR...........
Apache Chieftain, Cochise, and his band used the ranch as a
winter camp for many generations. The ranch also holds a centuries-old sacred
ceremonial location among the boulders, complete with petroglyphs and rock
carvings.
Many diplomats and dignitaries including President John F.
Kennedy, General John J. Pershing, and Dr. Leon T. Silver, a director of NASA
(who had his Cal Tech geology students complete their thesis at the ranch each
summer) were among the ranch's distinguished guests. A fairly well preserved
brochure (c. 1930) found in one of the cabin walls in 1996 lists as references
the home addresses of the Rockefellers, the Vanderbilt's, and other contemporary
socialites.
Notable artists, musicians, and writers have been inspired while
working at the ranch and have included their impressions of the area in their
work. Paul Scott Mowrer, the first poet laureate of New Hampshire, wrote "Texas
Canyon, Arizona - A Writer Fantasy" in his well-known "Book of Poems." Others
include: Philip T. Drotning, prolific writer, humanitarian and historian,
honored by 5 presidents for his contributions to society; Francis Lee Jacques -
wildlife artist; Olive Ewing Clapper; Walter Collins O'Kane; Lillian Smith and
Larry Lewis, to name a few.
To Kill a Memory filmed on the ranch 2011
In 1927, it came into the hands of Metta Tutt,
the result of a daughter with TB requiring a warm, dry climate, and was
named the Triangle T for "Tutt". Since then, the Triangle T has been the
site of many historical events.
It was the center of intrigue during World
War II. The subsequent rumors that high-ranking Japanese officials were
detained at the ranch were recently confirmed by award-winning author Jane
Eppinga, after years of exhaustive research and the lifting of the 50-year
moratorium on classified information. Details of the incarceration of the
world's "most wanted" war criminals are now available in the library at the
Triangle T.During World War II, the Japanese ambassador to Hawaii, along
with his entourage of 26 with 6 children and a Japanese spy were covertly moved from Pearl Harbor
to the Triangle T, and kept there throughout the war. At the end of
WWII, the Japanese prisoners were exchanged for American prisoners.
The immediate area has served as the location for many motion
pictures and television productions including the TV series, "Young Guns," and
the movies, "Geronimo" and "Tombstone." Western films featuring John "Duke"
Wayne "Duel in the Sun" with Gregory Peck, and the film "3:10 to Yuma," which starred Glen Ford and Van Heflin, were
filmed on location at the Triangle T, as were some of the original Lone Ranger
movies. Many of the landmarks and locations are
still visible and accessible, evoking a feeling of the Old West as portrayed in
these western films. More recently, the ranch was the site of a television
production by Kenny Rogers, "Psychic Kids" filmed by A&E TV, and filming of the
final scenes of "To Kill a Memory" with Kix Brooks.
The bicentennial salute to the American Cowboy, "The Last
Cattle Drive," originated at the ranch in October 1975 and ended 30 days and 350
miles later in Tucson with all proceeds going to the Muscular Dystrophy
Association, Inc.
People From Triangle T History
DUNCAN MCLEOD
Dead Men the Series filmed on the ranch, 2012