Following the passage of the Edmunds Act in 1882 and the Supreme Court upholding the Act's constitutionality, the federal government began cracking down on polygamy (the practice of having multiple wives, a tenet of the early Mormon Church). Federal marshals were directed to track down and bring to court any men who were suspected of practicing polygamy. Those sentenced were handed stiff jail terms, and a number of church members did spend time in Utah and Arizona prisons.

It didn't take the Mormons very long to realize that, if the polygamist couldn't be found, he couldn't be convicted and sent to prison. Furthermore, it was difficult to convict a man of polygamy if the plural wife or wives could not be located.

A series of safe houses were established to shelter polygamists or their wives as they stayed ahead of the federal marshals.

Those using the Pipe Spring safe house were often pregnant women with children in tow. Another safe house in the system was reportedly in Fredonia, 20 miles to the east. Some say that the name of that town is a mixture of the word "free" and "woman" in Spanish, and refers directly to this period of polygamist persecution.

The bed in the photo above shows another example of the process of faux graining we discussed in the middle bedroom. Note that the headboard and footboard of this pine bed have been painted to look like an expensive birds-eye maple, and the side rails mimic quarter-sawn oak. A time consuming process for a group of people who already seemed to have plenty to occupy their time.