McAdams Ranch: A Historic Desert Homestead and the Road to Catalina State Park
In 1935, Joseph McAdams, a successful businessman and Hereford cattle rancher from Ohio, purchased the former Bernardina Romero property after becoming enamored with Southern Arizona’s desert landscape and climate during visits to the area. Respecting the property’s history, he named it Rancho Romero and developed it into a working cattle ranch encompassing approximately 4,100 acres.
Joe McAdams – Kelly Ranch House
Five years later, in 1940, McAdams commissioned renowned Tucson architect Josias Joesler to design a residence on a hilltop parcel east of Oracle Road near what is now the intersection of Tangerine Road. The home was built the same year by Tucson contractor John Murphey, whose company was responsible for several notable residential developments throughout the region, including Catalina Foothill Estates. Joesler, a Swiss-born architect educated in Europe, had arrived in Tucson in 1926 and partnered with Murphey for more than three decades, creating many of Southern Arizona’s most distinctive homes.
The McAdams residence exemplifies the Contemporary Ranch style frequently employed by Joesler and Murphey. Constructed of stabilized adobe brick with traditional clay tile roofs, the property included a main residence, a separate guest house, and a detached garage. The three buildings were carefully positioned atop a hill and surrounded by the natural desert landscape. The main house featured a distinctive C-shaped floor plan oriented toward an open courtyard on the north side. Joesler’s original architectural drawings, along with Murphey’s construction records, are preserved in the Arizona Architectural Archives at the University of Arizona.
An unexpected discovery occurred during site preparation in 1940. As construction crews graded the hilltop, they uncovered a substantial Hohokam archaeological site containing pottery, grinding stones, a human burial, and evidence of additional features, possibly including pit houses. According to records preserved in the Murphey-Joesler files, Murphey immediately halted construction and contacted the Arizona State Museum. Museum staff documented the site, and McAdams, who remained in Ohio while the house was under construction, expressed great interest in the findings. Murphey assured him that the archaeological site would be protected from disturbance.
The ranch continued to operate as a successful cattle operation, eventually supporting approximately 150 Hereford cattle. Following Joseph McAdams’s death in 1965, his descendants elected to sell the property. Plans were developed for a massive residential community known as Rancho Romero, designed by James V. Sutherland. The proposal envisioned 6,800 homes housing a population of 17,500 residents, along with a golf course, hotel, and two lakes.
The development proposal sparked significant opposition from local residents, who worked with county and state officials to preserve the area’s natural and cultural resources. Their efforts ultimately succeeded, leading to the creation of Catalina State Park. The park plan excluded 109 acres surrounding the Joesler-designed house, preserving the historic residence outside the park boundaries. The McAdams house later became known as Kelly Ranch. Today, the house still stands on the east side of Oracle Road, identifiable by its white adobe entrance fence and mailbox.
In 2004, a county bond election approved $2.5 million to be used by the Town of Oro Valley to buy Naranja Park, Steam Pump Ranch, and the Kelly Ranch property.
Map of pre-1974 subdivisions, Town of Oro Valley Cultural Resources Inventory
However, the Oro Valley Town Council approved an alternative use of the bond money, to buy the parcels needed to create a wildlife crossing of Oracle Road. The purpose of the crossing, which is part of the Arroyo Grande planning effort, is to preserve an ecological connection between the Tortolita Mountains and the Coronado National Forest via Catalina State Park.
In April 2025, the Pima County Board of Supervisors approved the acquisition of 109 acres of this historic Kelly Ranch property. Read more at County to acquire historic Kelly Ranch adjacent to Catalina State Park.