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| www.springvalleyaz.com The official website for Spring Valley Arizona |
Spring Valley was part of Bensch Ranch just east of Mayer, AZ. Our first visit to the area was to find rolling hills, the Big Bug
Creek, a stock watering pond, an old ranch house and the remains of a Pony Express Station. There were no roads, the
electricity was in the center of the acreage a long way from the highway, and the only water supply was a well for the ranch
house.
After quite a bit of discussion we decided to see what could be done with the 320 acres for a subdivision. Les and I were
living in Scottsdale and both had jobs, so that left only weekends to do what we could to get started. As soon as work was
finished on Fridays, we would head up the hill and work until Monday morning and then go back to work in the Valley.
| P.O Box 397 Mayer Az. 86332 |
History of Spring Valley
Page 1
By Les and Virginia Kyllo
Page 1
By Les and Virginia Kyllo
Les and Virginia Kyllo |
| This Website is sponsored and hosted by S.V.P.O.A. For comments, suggestions, advertising or more information: svpoamail@yahoo.com |
There were many subdivisions (Cordes Lakes, Prescott Valley, Verde Valley, Yarnell) starting up in Yavapai County at that
time. The main difference with the developers of those subdivisions and ours was that they had lots of people and lots of
money, and we didn’t have either one. The things we did have were strong backs and a strong desire to see what we could
do.
In 1968 Yavapai County only had two people in the development department; the director and his secretary. We made an
appointment with Director Bruce Evans to find out what we had to do to get approval for the subdivision. He gave us a list of
items, and off we went. One of the first things was to get permission form Housing and Urban Development in Washington, D.
C. An attorney was required and we had no attorney. After much research we found a good one, but he gave us another list of
things that had to be done. There were many questions about how far our property was from schools, churches, shopping
centers, utilities, etc. We did all the checking on the data and this gave us an opportunity to become more acquainted with the
area and the people around us. After filling in all the blanks, our attorney flew to Washington and in two days came back with
our approval to begin our project. This was our first celebration.
Now we had 320 acres of land an approval from HUD and the County. One thing we found out in a hurry was the fact that
although the ranchers will sell you land, they still like to keep their cattle there. If you don’t want them, you have to fence them
out. 320 acres of land looks pretty big when you have to put a fence all the way around. All we had was one car and you can’t
haul much fencing in an automobile. Off we went to the car lot to look for a pick-up! We were fortunate to buy a new 1970
pickup with all the trimmings for $2700.00. This pickup is still in the family today and Les has quite a sentimental attachment
to that piece of machinery.
We would fill the pickup on Friday evenings, come up the hill, work all weekend, and go back down to our jobs on Monday
morning. We were so thankful when the Evergreen Hardware store opened in Mayer! Les fenced the entire 320 acres by
himself. I wasn’t much help in the labor part, but I could drive the pickup and hand him the tools. There was a small stretch
of land that was fenced previously and it started out pretty good, however, a little ways down the hill, we found that the wires
were all mixed up and then we found the whiskey bottles. That explained why it was all mixed up and never finished!
The fence worked pretty good except when it rained and the creek came up and washed out parts of it. The cattle would come
and the residents would complain about them ruining their lawns and gardens. One of the ranchers asked what the cattle
were eating and the residents would tell him they were eating their beans, cabbage, tomatoes and other garden veggies.
The rancher would say, “That’s OK, I don’t think that would hurt the cows any!”
time. The main difference with the developers of those subdivisions and ours was that they had lots of people and lots of
money, and we didn’t have either one. The things we did have were strong backs and a strong desire to see what we could
do.
In 1968 Yavapai County only had two people in the development department; the director and his secretary. We made an
appointment with Director Bruce Evans to find out what we had to do to get approval for the subdivision. He gave us a list of
items, and off we went. One of the first things was to get permission form Housing and Urban Development in Washington, D.
C. An attorney was required and we had no attorney. After much research we found a good one, but he gave us another list of
things that had to be done. There were many questions about how far our property was from schools, churches, shopping
centers, utilities, etc. We did all the checking on the data and this gave us an opportunity to become more acquainted with the
area and the people around us. After filling in all the blanks, our attorney flew to Washington and in two days came back with
our approval to begin our project. This was our first celebration.
Now we had 320 acres of land an approval from HUD and the County. One thing we found out in a hurry was the fact that
although the ranchers will sell you land, they still like to keep their cattle there. If you don’t want them, you have to fence them
out. 320 acres of land looks pretty big when you have to put a fence all the way around. All we had was one car and you can’t
haul much fencing in an automobile. Off we went to the car lot to look for a pick-up! We were fortunate to buy a new 1970
pickup with all the trimmings for $2700.00. This pickup is still in the family today and Les has quite a sentimental attachment
to that piece of machinery.
We would fill the pickup on Friday evenings, come up the hill, work all weekend, and go back down to our jobs on Monday
morning. We were so thankful when the Evergreen Hardware store opened in Mayer! Les fenced the entire 320 acres by
himself. I wasn’t much help in the labor part, but I could drive the pickup and hand him the tools. There was a small stretch
of land that was fenced previously and it started out pretty good, however, a little ways down the hill, we found that the wires
were all mixed up and then we found the whiskey bottles. That explained why it was all mixed up and never finished!
The fence worked pretty good except when it rained and the creek came up and washed out parts of it. The cattle would come
and the residents would complain about them ruining their lawns and gardens. One of the ranchers asked what the cattle
were eating and the residents would tell him they were eating their beans, cabbage, tomatoes and other garden veggies.
The rancher would say, “That’s OK, I don’t think that would hurt the cows any!”
In October 1968 we started our 35-year journey
developing “Spring Valley”. This was a new
adventure for us, having never done it before. We were
living in Scottsdale, having migrated from Montana in
1963. Les was teaching school in Phoenix and I was
working at ASU. We should have worked a little longer
and retired but instead of retiring, we embarked on a 35-
year mission.
developing “Spring Valley”. This was a new
adventure for us, having never done it before. We were
living in Scottsdale, having migrated from Montana in
1963. Les was teaching school in Phoenix and I was
working at ASU. We should have worked a little longer
and retired but instead of retiring, we embarked on a 35-
year mission.