Wickenburg in 1870

Henry Wickenburg

In 1870, Wickenburg was a young, booming town. Founded in 1863, it wasn’t officially incorporated until 1909. The boom was largely due to Henry Wickenburg's discovery of the Vulture Mine—“The biggest and richest gold mine yet discovered on this continent [the Vulture] is yielding plenty of ore,” the Weekly Arizona Miner stated. Two mills were running at this time, one of which had a whopping 40 stamps to crush the ore.

The Wickenburg Massacre: Nov. 5, 1871

“The stage for California left Prescott on the morning of Saturday, November 4, 1871, carrying the US Mail,” the Weekly Arizona Miner began. Aboard were a driver and six passengers. Three of the passengers were from Prescott: Frederick Sholom, William Kruger, and a “soiled dove” named Mollie Shepherd. The other three passengers were part of the Wheeler Expedition, a US Geological Survey mission to map the West that started the same year. Among these three was a popular, well-known 22-year-old writer named Frederick W. Loring- a native of Boston and a graduate of Harvard. The driver, John Lentz, was hired recently and was about to embark on his first return trip.

The first leg of the trip to Wickenburg “was almost a pleasure trip,” the same paper described. Loring told several people that he planned to write what he observed on his trip—that sentiment back East, believing the Indian Wars were nearly over, was fallacious, and he planned to redress the mistaken view.

But the following day would quickly become nationally infamous.

Arizona's 1st Telegraph Pole Was Erected at Ft. Whipple

Officer's Quarters Ft. Whipple (1871)

As 1873 dawned, the Weekly Arizona Miner lamented that Arizona was “about the only great geographical division of the Union that is not now connected with the Capital of said Union…by telegraph.” Indeed, Lt.-Gen. George R. Crook, the man in charge of fighting in the Indian Conflicts, requested that the War Department build a telegraph line from California into the Arizona Territory in 1871. However, by 1873, Crook had already made peace with the Apaches, and the “Indian Wars,” as they were called, were winding down. Yet the wiring of Arizona to the rest of civilization would still be of great benefit in case of conflict from Mexico, and Arizona “would no longer be isolated,” the Miner observed.

Undercover Detective or Stagecoach Robber?

On May 12, 1877, the California-Arizona Stage left Prescott, ultimately headed to San Bernardino. Stage robberies were far too prevalent in the mid-1870s, and the party was relieved to arrive at Wickenburg unmolested. 

As the driver, Jesus Lujan, pulled out of the station, he couldn’t know that just a few miles down the road his stage would fall victim to a carefully crafted ambush. 

Railroad's Arrival Brought a Gala Day in Prescott

Prescott's 1st depot for the Prescott & Central Arizona RR

As the last month of 1886 began, anticipation in the young capital of Arizona had never been higher. The Prescott and Central Arizona Railroad was inching its way south from the main Atlantic & Pacific line. It would open up Prescott to the world.

The Indian Offensive of 1868

Although Indian attacks were a constant fear in the 1860s, they were not a constant occurrence. However, in the last third of 1868, the Native Americans definitely took the offensive.

1871: CB Genung Builds the Old Yarnell Road

Come 1871, the farmers and ranchers of Kirkland and Peeples Valley had a logistics problem. They wanted access to the Wickenburg and Phoenix markets for their products, but no wagon road down the rim was suitable for heavy loads.

"There was a road that could be traveled by light rigs and empty teams, but no (loaded wagon) could be handled over it." Additionally, the old trail was an excessive 60 miles long.

A new, better route was desperately needed, and Charles Baldwin Genung proposed a road that would cut off a whopping 33 miles from the journey.

Pioneer Surveyor / Miner Robert W. Groom

Originally, Robert W. Groom came to the area to mine. However, Groom was also a surveyor, which was a rarity in Yavapai County in the mid-19th century. Soon, he would be pressed into service to plot the streets and blocks for both Prescott and Wickenburg.

Groom Creek was named in his honor.

He was also involved in one of the most bizarre duels in the history of the Southwest.