Archive All Issues November 1988

Wickenburg at 125

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Like many a community founded on a mineral strike, Wickenburg might be only a ghost town today had it not been for a die-hard and loyal citizenry.

Featured in the November 1988 Issue of Arizona Highways

BY: Jerry Eaton

Come to the 125th birthday party...

Henry Wickenburg's discovery of gold in 1863 not only wrote a sensational chapter in Arizona history but also laid the foundation for a town with enough true grit to survive boom, bust, flood, and fire. Legend tells us that the rich strike occurred when the Austrian immigrant picked up an ore-laden rock to throw at a recalcitrant burro. True story or not, the gold was real enough, and the site became the famed Vulture Mine, located five miles southwest of the present town of Wickenburg in central Arizona. Prospectors, get-rich-quick sharpies, and all manner of folk with dreams of easy fortune descended on the mining camp along the banks of the Hassayampa River. Wickenburg soon became the gateway to a foothill gold district of more than 80 working mines.Eventually the gold fever subsided, and the Vulture and other diggings became colorful parts of the area's history. Wickenburg, like so many of its sister boomtowns, might well have dried up and blown away. But it didn't. From the start, there was more to the town than here-today, gone-tomorrow opportunists. Solid citizens-merchants, craftsmen, and ranchers-recognized the area's potential and began to establish a stable community, bringing the first taste of law and order to the area. But then disaster struck. In 1891, torrential rains washed out a dam in the mountains north of town and the Hassayampa ran wild, leaving behind a tragic toll in human life and widespread destruction of property. The only good news was that the flood drove away most of the lawbreakers and rowdies, leaving those of sterner stuff to repair, rebuild, and eventually prosper. Wickenburg had much to offer: a sunny, dry, mild climate, good grazing land, rich soil. Settlers irrigated and

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Young cowpokes cheer their parents at the Wickenburg Roping Club. Members meet twice a week to practice team roping.

OUT WICKENBURG WAY

OUT WICKENBURG WAY

In 1906, black pioneer Elizabeth Smith built the Hassayampa Hotel (OPPOSITE PAGE), Wickenburg's first brick structure. Her dining room, famed across the Southwest for its excellent meals, served Santa Fe Railway passengers and was a favorite gathering place for miners of the area. Retired cowboy Henry (Dinky) Molina sits in front of the building, which now houses offices.

brought in cattle. By the turn of the century, the town had established itself as a community blessed with caring, concerned people known for their civic spirit and never-say-die attitude. Incorporated in 1909, three years before Arizona attained statehood, Wickenburg continued...

...

The idea caught on, and a new industry was born. Burden and White's Remuda Ranch eventually was joined by 11 other guest ranches, and Wickenburg branded itself "The Dude Ranch Capital of the World."

Today, five resorts survive: the Flying E Ranch, the Kay El Bar Ranch, Rancho de los Caballeros, Rancho Casitas, and the Wickenburg Inn Tennis and Guest Ranch. The path-finder Remuda Ranch, a private residence in 1988, is now for sale.

The town of Wickenburg itself is nestled in the foothills where the Sonoran Desert rises toward the Bradshaw Mountains. At an elevation of 2,100 feet, it logs temperatures averaging 10 degrees cooler than those of the Phoenix area.

Wickenburg retains a small-town quality of life that in some respects suggests America circa 1930 delightfully frozen in time and space, a reminder of "the way we were."

Downtown Wickenburg, with its small stores and specialty shops, is a stronghold of the independent entrepreneur. But fast-food chains and statewide banks have of course discovered the town. Now another midtown traffic light appears a certaintythere's been just one.

A major event in this pleasant place of smog-free air and 345 sunny days a year is Gold Rush Days, a two-day celebration held the second weekend in February.

First organized in 1948, Gold Rush Days in 1988 attracted 30,000 people. Waves of curious visitors tried panning for the $2,000 in gold the chamber of commerce placed in troughs in the dry bed of the Hassayampa River. Bearded locals with big hatsand big guns and painted women in garters and lace mingled with the crowds of modern-day prospectors who streamed into town to enjoy the boisterous echoes of the wild, wild West. Gold Rush Days bolstered Wickenburg's economy during the 1950s and '60s, but in 1972 the town reeled under the impact of a major fire. The flames destroyed a favorite community institution, the Desert Caballeros Western Museum. Predictably, residents responded quickly, and the museum was soon rebuilt. Today the two-story, 22,000-squarefoot facility is an attraction many a larger city would be proud to claim. Its Western art collection includes bronzes, paintings, and drawings by nationally known masters of the past and present. Other sections of the museum offer a Hall of History, an early Wickenburg street scene, a Mineral Room, and an Indian Room.

OUT WICKENBURG WAY

and big guns and painted women in garters and lace mingled with the crowds of modern-day prospectors who streamed into town to enjoy the boisterous echoes of the wild, wild West. Gold Rush Days bolstered Wickenburg's economy during the 1950s and '60s, but in 1972 the town reeled under the impact of a major fire. The flames destroyed a favorite community institution, the Desert Caballeros Western Museum. Predictably, residents responded quickly, and the museum was soon rebuilt. Today the two-story, 22,000-squarefoot facility is an attraction many a larger city would be proud to claim. Its Western art collection includes bronzes, paintings, and drawings by nationally known masters of the past and present. Other sections of the museum offer a Hall of History, an early Wickenburg street scene, a Mineral Room, and an Indian Room.

"More than 13,830 people visited the museum in the first five months of 1988, compared to 18,847 visitors in all of 1987," says MacRae Harris, director. "The museum is recognized increasingly as a remarkable resource that enriches the minds and hearts of those who visit it."

Several years after the town rebuilt the museum, Vi Wellik, owner of the Flying E Ranch, launched her own personal campaign to save from demolition the historic Santa Fe depot, portions of which date to 1895. When she learned in 1980 that the Santa Fe Railway planned to demolish the structure, Wellik, a Santa Fe stockholder, promptly telephoned board chairman John S. Reed to try to persuade him to donate the building to Wickenburg. "It took a lot of arm twisting," Wellik recalls, "but Santa Fe finally decided it was better to give us the depot than to hassle with me week after week."

The late George Wellik, Vi's husband, helped finance restoration of the structure, and Vi designed the interior, achieving the comfortable ambience of 1900. The handsome offices now serve the chamber of commerce. The building reflects

The Vulture Mine's ore crusher can be glimpsed through the windows of the compressor-forge building (RIGHT). Henry Wickenburg discovered the mine's rich gold lode, says one account, when be grabbed up a rock to throw at an uncooperative burro.

OUT WICKENBURG WAY

the history and culture of the community while retaining the atmosphere of a working train station.

Wickenburg natives Bob Wentworth, a retired pharmacist and former mayor, and Adolph Garcia, a utility company retiree, agree that the efforts to rebuild the museum and save the depot are examples of the town's spirit and determination. "The history of Wickenburg is the history of strong individuals who believe in themselves, their town, and the future," Wentworth says. "Our people contribute their money, their time, and their talent to make this community an exceptionally progressive and distinctive place to live."

Services and retail trade account for almost 70 percent of Wickenburg's employment today, but a more diversified economy is on the horizon, according to Gerald Stricklin, town planning director, and Julie Brooks, a fourth-generation Wickenburger and executive director of the chamber of commerce.

They are betting that the 160-acre Wickenburg Industrial Airport will attract light industry, providing a host of new jobs for the available labor force. This pool includes many of the retired people who make up 65 percent of the town's permanent population of 4,300. (Winter visitors and the seasonal workers they keep busy bring the "high season" population to about 10,000.) Aware of Wickenburg's growth potential, Phoenix investors have purchased almost every large parcel of land in the area, says Jim Corbet, a real estate agent, former attorney, and president of the chamber of commerce. Real estate values have tripled in recent years.

"Next to people, our topography is perhaps our greatest blessing," Bob Wentworth says. "We have hills separated by sand washes. Why, I don't think there are five flat acres in Wickenburg. The topography deters large-scale developments, encourages building of custom homes, and promotes light population density."

Local entrepreneur Dana Burden insists that Wickenburg's future is assured "as the northern outpost of a megalopolis that will, inevitably, extend southeastward through Phoenix all the way to Tucson."

Wickenburg will wind up the celebration of its 125th anniversary this year by hosting 150 participants and 3,000 spectators at the ninth annual Bluegrass Festival, November 11 through 13; by observing History Day on November 19; and by dedicating Desert Caballeros Museum Park on November 26.

It expects to plunge into the 21st century still happily defined in terms of its past and its place. For Wickenburg without memories, dude ranches, trail rides, Gold Rush Days, the Western Museum, and the early morning procession of cardinals and quail, jackrabbits and deer, javelina and roadrunners and great horned owls, is quite unthinkable.

Freelance writer Jerry Eaton, a former newspaperman, has written three books about Arizona and 60 magazine articles. He also teaches marketing classes for Maricopa Community Colleges and serves as a consultant to nonprofit corporations. Phoenix-based freelance Fred Griffin specializes in editorial photography. Getting there: Wickenburg is 54 miles northwest of Phoenix on U.S. Route 60-89.

WHEN YOU GO...

Accommodations: The town has 14 motels with 194 rooms; five guest ranches with 209 rooms; 11 mobile home parks with hookups; two parks for recreational vehicles; and one campground.

What to see and do: The annual Gold Rush Days celebration takes place the second weekend in February. The five-day Desert Caballeros Trail Ride is in April. For dates of this month's special events, see top of this column.

Nearby attraction: The Arizona Nature Conservancy's Hassayampa River Preserve. For location and tour schedule, telephone 684-2772.

For information: Arizona Office of Tourism, 1100 W. Washington St., Phoenix, AZ 85007; (602) 255-3618. Wickenburg Chamber of Commerce, Drawer CC, Wickenburg, AZ 85358; (602) 684-5479. Town of Wickenburg, Box 1269, Wickenburg, AZ 85358; 684-5451. Arizona Department of Commerce, State Capitol Tower, 1700 W. Washington St., Phoenix, AZ 85007; 255-5434. Adventure Trails of the West, Inc., Box 1494, Wickenburg, AZ 85358; 684-3106.