By Kiera Riley | Arizona Capitol Times
Cattle roamed the rocks and bluffs around Quarter Circle U Ranch long before the U.S. president’s signature cemented Arizona’s statehood.
Through verdant springs and unflinching heat each summer, a string of families have reared and herded cows in the shadows of the Superstition Mountains since 1876 – with the buck now passed to Amy Doyle from her parents, Chuck and Judy Backus, who ran the ranch for more than 40 years.
“We’re hoping to be here in 50 years,” Doyle said.
The ranch’s settlement and struggles came well before Arizona joined the United States proper, but the history of Quarter Circle U ranch is American history — a history still living with the Doyle family.
Arizona became a state 132 years after the signing of the Declaration of Independence. But as the United States celebrates its 250th birthday, historians work to thread the lives, stories and ethos of Arizona before and after statehood into the history of the country.
