CrowMac Creek

Last Friday I was looking at some Facebook posts when I came across a person's post lamenting the loss of an old friend who had passed several years ago. The two had been close friends virtually all of their lives and had never parted ways. They had grown up in La Crescenta, CA and had remained close friends throughout their move to Utah and grew older together. I had attended the same high school as the two and though I didn't have the pleasure of knowing them well, I remember them as being friendly and that they seemed happy. It was mentioned in the post that both were members of the Church of the  Latter Day Saints and one person commented on the Facebook post stating, "You don't believe in the same God as we do." I have attended churches where the members, and even some pastors remarked similarly and I disliked what I heard. My uncle, a fine and respectable man was a Mormon. I taught at Noah Webster Basic School, a charter school in Mesa, AZ owned and operated...

         Miller Canyon            Okay, I've been derelict in posting on my blog. So I need to ask, "Who cares?" I've been blogging for fifteen years and I have a following of nearly four supporters. One passed, but she didn't like my writing anyway.      Yesterday, Jack and I headed toward Sierra Vista to find a trail to hike and after driving a bit, I found access to Miller Canyon. It wasn't the hike I had wanted. I'm really interested in hiking Miller Peak, all 9466 ft. of it. But yesterday was good cook hiking weather and Miller Canyon is an attractive hike.  The only problem I had was Jack.      Jack is well known here in Benson. He's smart, too smart! He's manipulative, passive aggressive, and..., That may be a little over the top.  But he grew up on the end of a cable, identifying everything that passes as a potential danger. That's hard to do. I've managed to train him to co...

  Tombstone  in Boot Hill Cemetery, Tombstone, Arizona. In its heyday, the 1880s Tombstone had a reputation for lawlessness . (n.d.). https://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/2017742136/ HistorHistorical re-enactors at the Old Tombstone theme park and movie set help vistors visualize the raucous days of the 1880s in Tombstone, when this dusty patch of southeastern Arizona was so violent, it was known as “The Town Too Tough to Die.” Pictured are, left to right, owner Lee McKechnie, Udaya Sun, Jim Kolegraf, Leva Clark, and Jon Mossholder . (n.d.). https://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/2018663251/ The MillioMillion Dollar Stope from which a million dollars worth of silver was taken in Tombstone’s initial boom. Stope mining is carried on in timber- supported passages. The passages lead for miles under the surrounding county and connect with other mines. Tombstone, Arizona . (n.d.). https://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/2017786498/

Fairbank For those who don't like driving long distances on dirt roads or walking trails through through the thorns of Palo Verde and Mesquite, you'll enjoy a visit to Fairbank. And no, this isn't a typo. There is no "S" at the end of Fairbank. The town is actually named after  Nathaniel Kellogg Fairbank, a Chicago investor, and the person who brought trains to Fairbank. As you arrive at Fairbank, you will notice a nice, large parking lot. When you walk into what looks like a park, you will notice the remaining buildings. 

Contention City Contention Mill Contention City is a ghost town that produced fortunes in silver ore during the 1880s. It is located approximately four miles north of the ghost town, Fairbank, AZ. There’s little or nothing left but scraps of metal, splintered pieces of wood and construction material, yet, for its purpose, it had been a good location for milling ore and mining. It was close to the San Pedro River, so there was water for operations, and water can be scarce where there are mines.  I also wondered why anyone would name a city, Contention. Well, the name, “Contention City,” came about due to an argument. Nikola Petrovski, the author of “All That Remains of the Once-Booming Town of Contention City, Arizona is Rubble and Dirt” states that Ed Schieffelin and two miners, Jack Friday and Ed Williams, argued over who owned the mine.  Friday and Williams’s mules had wandered off trailing their reins behind them. After finding the mules gone, Friday and Williams followed t...

Courtland Arizona 1909 It was 1909 and mining had found itself in the blood of many young men of that time. Gold and silver had been found throughout the Tombstone area. According to author of  Arizona Ghost Towns,  Noah Austin, it is estimated that a population of several hundred to 2,000 people lived in Courtland at its peak. Both the El Paso and the Southern Pacific railroads had branch lines to Courtland. Things were looking good for Courtland. Both the El Paso and the Southern Pacific Railroads had branches to Courtland. Commerce was looking good as well with many new businesses and even a Post Office (which closed in 1940) coming to town.  ,      As with mining anywhere, the great days         will come to an end. The ore will run out,         the miners will hit limestone, or it will just      become too expensive to make a profit.              An...