Ed Riggs was instrumental in the development of Chiricahua National Monument. Quiet and warm-hearted, he liked to work with his hands and grew up nearby on his family's cattle ranches in the Sulphur Springs Valley. At the outbreak of World War I, he signed up for the army, and after studying engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, he served in France with the Army Air Corps. In 1923, he married Lillian Erickson and came to live at her family home, Faraway Ranch. Together they developed the ranch for raising cattle and accommodating guests. Appreciating the natural beauty of the Chiricahua Mountains, they sought ways to promote the area. When Chiricahua National Monument was established in 1924, he surveyed the boundaries and served as a trail construction foreman with the Civilian Conservation Corps. His engineering skills helped create the remarkable system of park trails that lead through the "Wonderland of Rocks."