The Compound

The Italians were renowned for their outstanding skills in stonework, and here in the high desert, our pioneer built a compound from the very Earth itself.

The corner joints are hand-cut roughly to square, from a pink sandstone-like material that appears almost translucent when the light is just right. Shown here are the barn and another small outbuilding that might have been for storage, or housing for a hired hand or two.

Behind them, the monolithic boulder under which the settler is said to have spent his first year or so. The rough timber awning would provide some shade in summer, but not much comfort in winter.