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The Dugas/Teskeys

In the early 1870’s Louis and Mary Dugas with their two young sons, Fred and Chris, headed east from San Francisco and settled in Prescott, Arizona. The infamous little town was then a tent city filled with miners and mountain men. Louis took a job at a local sawmill; he also owned a small brewery on Whiskey Row.

In 1877 Louis and Mary moved to the wide open spaces homesteading 25 miles east of what would become the town of Mayer. They farmed and ranched their land. The town of Mayer was not established until 1883 when Joe Mayer arrived. Prescott was the closest town but was a two day trip.

The oldest of the Dugas boys, Chris, married and had a daughter. The cabin he built in Mayer stands today.

In 1903 the younger son, Fred, married Gertrude Showers. They remained on the family ranch where Fred ran a boarding facility for men and mules. It was a popular stop for teamsters building the power line from Childs to Poland Junction.

Fred and Gertrude also operated a boarding school where their own three children, Alfred, Evelyn and Phoebe, began their education. Soon a post office and general store were added to the land and the town of Dugas was born.

The boarding school closed down just as Charles and Minna Orme were ready to start a school of their own. This is how the Orme School came to be.

Alfred Dugas enlisted in the service and was taken prisoner of war in the Philippines where he remained for 6 years. Evelyn married Lloyd Dingman and they took up ranching in Black Canyon City. Phoebe married Colonel Teskey in 1938.

The Teskeys began their lives together at Colonel Teskey’s ranch east of Cordes Junction, now known as the EZ Deer Farm. Colonel Teskey also owned and operated a ranch at the mouth of the Big Bug creek. The couple had three children, Trudy, Bert and Fred. In the late 1940’s, the Teskey family moved back to the Dugas Ranch to help Phoebe’s parents. It was a difficult life for Phoebe because her children attended school in Mayer in the red brick schoolhouse. She spent much of her time away from her husband and the ranch to see to her children’s education.

The Dugas/Teskey Ranch is still a working cattle ranch run by Bert. The school teacher’s house, the post office building, the school and boarding house are still standing. The cemetery at the Dugas/Teskey Ranch is the final resting place for Dugas and Teskey family members.

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Arizona Highway 69 Chamber Of Commerce
12791 E Central Avenue, Suite B - Mayer, AZ 86333

Phone: 928.632.4355
Fax: 928.632.4355
Web: www.arizonahighway69chamber.org
E-mail: highway69chamber@gmail.com

 

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