The Evans Ranch School for Boys was founded in 1902 by Harry David Evans, a Cambridge-educated Briton, as a college-preparatory academy for twenty boys aged 15-18. It was located on El Rancho Bonito in Mesa, Arizona and was intended to provide students from the eastern seaboard with a western, ranch-style setting.
Students lived at the Mesa location for most of the year, and around May 1st of each year, they were moved to a property near Flagstaff, Arizona for the summer months. This property was located a block north of where Schultz Creek joins the Rio de Flag, and it included cabins for a students and a summer home for Evans and wife Mabel, called Evancoyd. While at the summer location, students often took horseback trips to places of interest, including Grand Canyon, Wupatki and Walnut Canyon; they also attended numerous events such as round-ups, rodeos, Hopi Snake Dances and Fourth of July celebrations in Flagstaff.
In 1921, the Evans School was moved to Tucson, Arizona. Lionel F. Brady, who had been a master at the school since 1910, purchased the Mesa property and renamed it the Mesa Ranch School in 1922. He also purchased Evancoyd and continued to bring students to Flagstaff each summer. The Mesa Ranch School was destroyed by fire in 1943; the fate of the Tucson location of the Evans School is not clear from materials provided with the collection.
From the guide to the Evans School collection, 1898-1924, (The Museum of Northern Arizona)
