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And though the state is technically still quite young—founded just over a century ago—passers-through still associate it with the gun-slinging showdowns and bombastic gold rush days of the Wild West.
The 1863 gold mine which gave life to Wickenburg is all but forgotten by modern residents of the town, but that may change in the near future. Restoration is being breathed into the ghost town which surrounded the mine, and owners hope to make it a tourist destination.
Arizona has many ghost towns, but among the finest is Vulture City near Wickenburg. It began life in 1863 after Henry Wickenburg discovered the Vulture mine (supposedly he was retrieving a vulture he’d shot when he found it).
While prospecting along the Hassayampa River in October 1863, Henry Wickenburg and several associates discovered a gold-bearing quartz outcrop 500 feet long, 400 feet wide and 100 feet tall.
In the Sonoran Desert in Arizona, prospector Johannes Henricus Wickenburg discovered a deposit of gold in 1863. As often happened, once the mine was established, a town grew up around it. The Vulture Mine was the most productive in the state’s entire history.
What makes a great ghost town? Lots of buildings to see and explore, artifacts to see and wonder at, an easy to reach location, great legends, true history and the possibility of being haunted. Vulture City has all of these qualities and a Hanging Tree too.
A TOWN SO LOVED,
IT NEVER DIED.