USGS Guesthouse & Spencer Bunkhouse

Stone buildings at Lees Ferry.

NPS/ Amanda Rich

Quick Facts

Location:

Lees Ferry, AZ

Significance:

Historic River Trail

Amenities

1 listed

Historical/Interpretive Information/Exhibits

The USGS Guesthouse
U.S. Geological Survey (USGS)

Build in 1950

The USGS established a presence here as part of the Colorado River Compact, a 1922 water rights agreement. Using a cable car to measure the river’s flow, they ensured proper water sharing between neighboring states. The USGS constructed this guesthouse using stones from demolished Spencer buildings.

Spencer Bunkhouse
Sleeping Quarters for Gold Miners

Build 1911

Ferryman Jerry Johnson turned the last of Charles Spencer’s crew bunkhouses into a school in 1921–25.In 1947, the USGS remodeled it as a residence, then a silt laboratory. Image of cable car from 1921 over river with a crew of men. Picture of school age children outside of bunkhouse now school.