Villa Philmonte
Encyclopedia
The Villa Philmonte is a large ranch manor located outside of Cimarron, New Mexico
, on the Philmont Scout Ranch
property of the Boy Scouts of America
.
The Villa was built in 1926 by oil magnate Waite Phillips
who used it to oversee his 300,000 acre (1,200 km²) cattle ranch in northeast New Mexico
. It was built in a Spanish-style motif befitting the American Southwest. Phillips named the house by combining the first half of his name with monte, the Spanish
word for mountain
. In addition to the Villa, Phillips built several other retreats on his ranch’s property, including Fish Camp on the Agua Fria Creek and a Hunting Lodge near Cimarroncito.
Phillips donated the Villa, along with 91538 acres (370 km²) of land and the Philtower office building in Tulsa
, Oklahoma
, to the Boy Scouts in 1941, supplementing a 1938 gift of 35857 acres (145 km²) that had created the Philmont Rocky Mountain Scout camp, near Cimarron, New Mexico. The Boy Scouts of America has retained control over the property since that time, opening the Villa to Scouts and visitors alike as a museum; it is open for regularly scheduled tours during the summer months.
Cimarron, New Mexico
-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 917 people, 382 households, and 255 families residing in the village. The population density was 479.5 people per square mile . There were 449 housing units at an average density of 234.8 per square mile...
, on the Philmont Scout Ranch
Philmont Scout Ranch
Philmont Scout Ranch is a large, rugged, mountainous ranch located near the town of Cimarron, New Mexico, covering approximately of wilderness in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains of the Rocky Mountains of northern New Mexico...
property of the Boy Scouts of America
Boy Scouts of America
The Boy Scouts of America is one of the largest youth organizations in the United States, with over 4.5 million youth members in its age-related divisions...
.
The Villa was built in 1926 by oil magnate Waite Phillips
Waite Phillips
Waite Phillips was an American petroleum businessman who created a fully integrated operation that combined petroleum producing, refining and marketing. With headquarters in Tulsa, Oklahoma, he also developed several office complexes and engaged in banking and ranching...
who used it to oversee his 300,000 acre (1,200 km²) cattle ranch in northeast New Mexico
New Mexico
New Mexico is a state located in the southwest and western regions of the United States. New Mexico is also usually considered one of the Mountain States. With a population density of 16 per square mile, New Mexico is the sixth-most sparsely inhabited U.S...
. It was built in a Spanish-style motif befitting the American Southwest. Phillips named the house by combining the first half of his name with monte, the Spanish
Spanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
word for mountain
Mountain
Image:Himalaya_annotated.jpg|thumb|right|The Himalayan mountain range with Mount Everestrect 58 14 160 49 Chomo Lonzorect 200 28 335 52 Makalurect 378 24 566 45 Mount Everestrect 188 581 920 656 Tibetan Plateaurect 250 406 340 427 Rong River...
. In addition to the Villa, Phillips built several other retreats on his ranch’s property, including Fish Camp on the Agua Fria Creek and a Hunting Lodge near Cimarroncito.
Phillips donated the Villa, along with 91538 acres (370 km²) of land and the Philtower office building in Tulsa
Tulsa, Oklahoma
Tulsa is the second-largest city in the state of Oklahoma and 46th-largest city in the United States. With a population of 391,906 as of the 2010 census, it is the principal municipality of the Tulsa Metropolitan Area, a region with 937,478 residents in the MSA and 988,454 in the CSA. Tulsa's...
, Oklahoma
Oklahoma
Oklahoma is a state located in the South Central region of the United States of America. With an estimated 3,751,351 residents as of the 2010 census and a land area of 68,667 square miles , Oklahoma is the 28th most populous and 20th-largest state...
, to the Boy Scouts in 1941, supplementing a 1938 gift of 35857 acres (145 km²) that had created the Philmont Rocky Mountain Scout camp, near Cimarron, New Mexico. The Boy Scouts of America has retained control over the property since that time, opening the Villa to Scouts and visitors alike as a museum; it is open for regularly scheduled tours during the summer months.
Furnishings
The Villa is lavishly furnished, and retains many of Phillips’ original furnishings and collections, including particularly notable displays of antiques and weapons. The building features a large courtyard with a fountain in the center, large columns, and numerous porticoes. The interior was decorated using an eclectic mix of European, American, and Southwestern furnishings.Interesting facts
- A small window on the second floor that looks towards the ranch was an addition to the house by Phillips. He commissioned the window be put in so that he could view a large rock on the side of a nearby mountain. Therefore the rock is named Window Rock.
- The window on the stairs between the first and second floor shows a wagon being pulled by horses and saguaro cacti on the landscape. In reality, wagons on the Santa Fe trail were pulled by oxen, and there are no saguaro cacti in the area of the ranch.
- There is a grand piano in the entrance worth an estimated $200,000.
External links
- Official Philmont Site about Villa Philmonte
- Home & Garden TV on the Villa
- Unofficial Philmont Web Page
- Pictures of the Villa
- Voices of Oklahoma interview with Elliot "Chope" and Virginia Phillips. First person interview conducted on May 5, 2009 with Elliot "Chope" and Virginia Phillips, son and daughter-in-law of Waite Phillips. Original audio and transcript archived with Voices of Oklahoma oral history project.