The History of Kohl's Ranch, Arizona

In 1917, the Kohl family purchased a ranch that had been homesteaded in 1896. The ranch included the area that is now a neighborhood of approximately 123 cabins know as Kohl’s Tonto Creek Subdivision. In addition to raising cattle, the family had many vegetable gardens and fruit trees. Their ranch house stood where the current Kohl's Ranch Lodge is now located.

In the early 1930’s, the family converted the ranch to a resort. Cabins were built on the east side of Tonto Creek and to the northwest. Camp Geronimo Boy Scout camp was established north of what is now Highway 260 on both sides of the Tonto Creek. The resort was very successful. The Kohl’s decided to retire in 1940 and sold the resort portion of the property.

This included the land in the immediate area of the lodge and the property east of Tonto Creek down to what was called the third pasture. The Kohl family also sold or gifted some of their remaining land. A fire destroyed the Ranch House in 1941. The new owners rebuilt their house on the other side of the highway, near the remaining rental cabins. All of those properties were demolished in the 1980’s when the widening of Highway 260 began.

In 1951, the new owners sold the third pasture and some surrounding land to Arizona State University. This area was then developed by ASU into Camp Tontozona.

Michael Mikol purchased the resort in 1952. He also purchased land on the west side of Tonto Creek near Old Trespass Road from the Forest Service. A new lodge and resort properties were built in their current locations and much of the land was subdivided and sold as residential lots.