On South San Francisco Street stands one of the Southside's best survivors. The Tourist Home was built in the early 1920s by Jesus Garcia, a Basque sheepherder, and his mother. The building has been renovated top to bottom over the decades, but it still tells the story of a way of life that once defined this side of the tracks.
Who were the Basque sheepherders of Flagstaff?
The Basques came from the Pyrenees region spanning France and Spain, a distinct ethnic group, possibly the oldest culture in Europe, with a language all their own. They earned a reputation as superior sheepherders, and when Basque men began arriving in the United States around the turn of the century, some followed the flocks west and settled in Flagstaff. They were often tagged as clannish and wary of outsiders, which made a place of their own all the more important.
A boarding house built for herders
The original building worked as a boarding home for single Basque men: small individual bedrooms and one large common dining room. When they were not in the pastures, the herders played pilotaleku, a game similar to handball, against a wall built in the 1920s. Remnants of that wall remain at the Tourist Home, and it is said to be the largest Basque handball wall left standing in the Southwest.
Dr. R.O. Raymond, friend of the Basques
No story of Flagstaff's Basque community skips Dr. R.O. Raymond, one of 1930s Flagstaff's genuine originals. He came west after medical school, some say for asthma, others say arthritis, and became a beloved figure in town. Raymond believed in diet and exercise, kept an organic garden, cultivated beehives in his basement, and made house calls with his corgis in tow, dropping off produce and honey along the way. He grew close to the Basque herders and became a major sheep holder himself. In his later years he would close his medical practice and travel with the Basques as they moved the flocks south to green winter pastures.
Is the Tourist Home haunted?
Not especially, and we would rather tell you that straight. Staff have mentioned food items jumping off shelves without provocation, but that is about it. We are picky about which stories hold up, and this building earns its place for the history, not the hauntings. It is a beautiful structure, full of memories of a different way of life.
The Tourist Home is one stop among many down here, from the old two-block wild district to the tunnels and barrel houses we cover in our Southside explorations.
See the Southside on foot
We run Southside walks as private group bookings only. If your group wants the herders, the madams, and the buildings that outlived them both, reach out through our contact page and we will set a date. For a public evening walk, downtown is a short stroll across the tracks.
