The Mesa City - Globe Wagon Road

September 30, 2013 © Thomas J. Kollenborn. All Rights Reserved.

There was an old mill town named Pinal City located a few miles west of Superior on Queen Creek. This was a booming mill town in the late 1870s and early 1880s. Small rolling hills lead up to Iron (Irion) Mountain just north of Pinal City, and these hills provided small springs and good grazing for cattle.

The area also had a canyon called Haunted Canyon. This canyon was filled with small caves. The region is known today as the Roger’s Mining District and includes upper Hewitt Canyon, Iron Mountain and Roger’s Canyon. According to a July 17, 1880 Pinal Drill newspaper article, a group of Mormons tried to build a wagon road from Mesa City to Globe through this region. They followed a route east from the Bark Ranch, then up Fraser Canyon. The promoters of this toll road idea finally ran out of funds and the road was never completed.

Early in February of 1891, Surveyor William M. Breakenridge, a famous Tombstone deputy, A.J. Halbert and William Kimball made a trip into the mountainous region west of Globe. They were in quest of a suitable route for a wagon road between Globe and Phoenix. This party found the mountainous region west of Globe extremely difficult to cross with a wagon road.

Billy Breakenridge and his party left the Mesa City-Pinal Road about six miles east of Desert Station and swung around the southeast end of Superstition Mountain to Marlow’s (Bark) Ranch, some twenty-seven miles east of Mesa City. A road was surveyed up a canyon to the Fraser Ranch (JF Ranch) on a slight grade. From the Fraser Ranch, Breakenridge surveyed a line that ran four miles up and over the mountain range east of the Fraser Ranch. From the summit, the road would follow the course of the West Fork of Pinto Creek to the Horrell Cattle Ranch. One mile below the Horrell Cattle Ranch and a few miles to the east of Globe the road would connect with a county road leading to Globe.

Breakenridge believed this route to be the most feasible from Mesa City to Globe. The construction of a wagon road between Mesa City and Globe was attempted again in 1892, but failed because of a lack of funds.

Caption: Allen Blackman leading a ride along a portion of the old
Mesa City - Globe Toll Road that was never completed. Photo, c. 1979.

The railroad arrived in Phoenix from Maricopa in 1879, allowing a rail connection to the Globe-Miami area through Safford by 1898. The King Trail provided sufficient access to the area for many years and discouraged the spending of funds for a wagon road. The citizens of Arizona Territory were not too keen on tax funded transportation routes. The concept of public funding of roads did not reach Arizona Territory until well after the turn of the 20th century. The original Mesa City-Globe Wagon Road was planned as a toll road.

Shortly after the Mesa City-Globe Wagon Road survey project, Breakenridge became involved with locating a site for the Tonto Dam (Roosevelt Dam). Breakenridge soon realized the government would be building a road from Phoenix to the Tonto Dam site. This road would eventually connect with the old Tonto Basin Wagon Road, therefore providing a wagon road to Globe via the Tonto (Roosevelt) Dam. Breakenridge soon realized there would be very little need for a toll road from Mesa City to the Globe area through the mountains west of Globe. The Mesa-Roosevelt Road was bonded in 1903 and completed in 1905. The Mesa-Roosevelt Road (Apache Trail) was used for wagons and self-propelled vehicles from 1905 until 1922.

The Globe-Superior Road, U.S. Highway 60 today, was completed in May of 1922. This road provided Phoenix merchants an opportunity to tap into the rich economic markets provided by the copper mining towns of Globe and Miami.

Globe was a rich mining area prior to the turn of the 20th century. When copper became king, Globe and Miami became very important Arizona cities. The remnants of the old Mesa City-Globe wagon toll toad attempted by a group of Mormons road are still visible along the course of Fraser Canyon southwest of the JF Ranch today.

Sources: Arizona Republican, 02/28/1891. Pinal Drill, 07/17/1880.

Saguaro Markers

September 23, 2013 © Thomas J. Kollenborn. All Rights Reserved.

It is difficult to find a story about lost treasure or a lost gold mine in the Superstition Mountain area that is not associated with a Saguaro cactus marker of some kind. There are several mutilated old Saguaro cacti in the wilderness area with a variety of markings on them that include crosses, arrows, and slashes. Some actually have stones embedded in them pointing out certain directions.

The Saguaro marker along the trail to
West Boulder Canyon. c. 1988

My first experience with a marked cactus was when my father and I hiked into La Barge Canyon in the spring of 1949. Near a place called Horse Camp, just southwest of Charlebois Spring, there was a Saguaro cactus about ten feet tall with no arms on it. About half way up the cactus was a perfectly carved cross. I ask my dad about the cactus. He told me he didn’t know a lot about it and had heard several stories. Judging from my knowledge about Saguaros today the cactus couldn’t have been older than fifty to seventy-five years. The cactus must have been a seedling sometime between 1875-1900. Oh yes, just in time for Jacob Waltz of Lost Dutchman mine fame to have carved the cross. Basically that is the story my dad told me about the cactus at Horse Camp.

The last time I saw the Saguaro cactus it was down and on it’s side dying. It had been blown over in a severe storm. The carving of the cross on the cactus allowed insects to get inside and eventually kill the plant. This was around 1979. Bud Lane told me another story about the Cactus. He said a couple of Dutch Hunters (people who hunt the Lost Dutchman Mine) carved the cross in the cactus in the early 40’s. I am sure there are many stories out there as to how the cactus received its death sentence by man.

The four aligned Saguaros near First
Water Road and Apache Trail. c. 1976.

Another interesting Saguaro cactus carving is on the trail to West Boulder Canyon. This appears to be a trail marker of some kind depending on whom you are talking to. This Saguaro has two large arms and appears to be about a hundred years old. The marking on this Saguaro cactus is an arrow that is pointing downward just below the intersection of the arms of the plant. I have always suspected this to be just a trail marker used by somebody some fifty or so years ago. I have been riding by it since the late 1950’s when I worked on the old Quarter Circle U Ranch for William T. Barkley. Even then the marker didn’t look freshly cut into the cactus.

It is interesting that the marking didn’t damage the cactus so severely that it eventually died from disease. I suppose this would make a case for the carving to have been made during the winter months when there were no insects that would lead to the cactus becoming diseased and eventually meeting its demise. Now I had an old friend name Monty Edwards who was convinced the cactus served as a marker on the Spanish Trail to the top of Superstition Mountain. He said this trail was used by "El Gato," who carved the Peralta Stone Maps. Monte’s Spanish Trail was the Summit Trail to Summit 5024. This same trail through upper West Boulder was used to bring strays off the top of the mountain. Cattle would often wander to the top of the mountain looking for greener range. Usually they ran out of water up on the mountain and would then come back down. There is always an explanation for a trail in the Superstition Wilderness Area. If the storytellers had been around in the early 1850’s they would have found Native American trails all over the rugged Superstition Mountain range. Did they mark Saguaro cactus? Who knows for sure? It is reasonable to believe they may have marked Saguaros by pounding rocks in them marking a certain direction.

There are many markers in the Superstition Wilderness Area and all of them have different stories depending on whom you talk to. Four perfectly aligned large Saguaro Cacti just outside of the wilderness area near the Apache Trail are either freaks of nature or somebody a hundred fifty years ago planted them like this for a marker of some kind. These cacti could be between a hundred and hundred and fifty years old. The four are no longer standing. I am not sure whether their demise was deliberate or natural. I photographed them in 1976 and they were in very good shape then. I was told at that time the Saguaros were about one hundred and fifty years old. Recent research reveals Saguaros grow much faster than once believed.

The markers found throughout the Superstition Wilderness Area continue to fascinate prospectors, treasure hunters, researchers, and storytellers. The stories are numerous and they are widespread. Contemporary prospectors (1880-1983), cowboys (1876-2013), the military (1860-1898) and others who wandered these mountains used a variety of markers to guide themselves from place to place in this rugged terrain.

What Dreams Are Made Of

Arizona’s Superstition Wilderness Area has fascinated and mesmerized those who have walked and ridden the trails within the towering spires and deep canyons of this region. The terrain can overwhelm you with beauty, isolation, tranquility, vastness and pure ruggedness. These 159,780 acres of wilderness continues to attract gold and treasure hunters. Prospectors continue to wander the trails of the Superstition Wilderness Area in search of gold.

Most of the gold they searched for was in their minds according to "Doc" Rosecrans, an old time prospector of the area now deceased. He spent forty years living along the Apache Trail and occasionally hiked into the Superstition Wilderness to explore a hunch. He published a small book on the Dutchman’s Lost Mine in 1949. Although his book wasn’t much of a success, it did get him the threat of a lawsuit from Barry Storm, another author on the topic.

Prospectors and treasure hunters still wander the region but, for the most part, their way of life is slowly disappearing. Strict forest service regulations have ended the legal mining in the region.

Contemporary writers, weekend explorers, and the curious continue looking for facts and information associated with events that occurred decades ago. The three most controversial topics are the location of the Dutchman’s Lost Mine, the Peralta Stone Maps and the tragic death of Adolph Ruth. These topics continue to attract a wide range of interest among readers on the web. The internet has changed the way we view and research material today. A forum about the Dutchman’s Lost Mine can be factual or it can be fictional depending on its source. It is very difficult to separate the fact from the fiction especially online.

When someone claims they have found a lost gold mine how do you know they are telling the truth? A simple question might be: "Where is the gold?"

If that person were to produce gold, then there would be some interesting repercussions from those curious about where the gold was found. The next question would be: "Did you stake a claim?" Would any person in their right mind stake a claim on rich vein of gold? Probably not! A claim notice would be an invitation for everyone to come and look at your rich gold mine. I believe this explains the dilemma you would be in. I would believe most old timers would not have told anyone about their discoveries in the hills. This type of behavior could easily explain all the confusion associated with the Dutchman’s lost mine today.

Jacob Waltz, the legendary "Dutchman," may or may not have had a gold mine. Nobody knows for sure. When he died on October 25, 1891, a candle box of high-grade gold ore was found under his bed. This gold proved to be of bonanza quality. The discovery of this candle box of rich ore created a controversy that continues to linger to this day. Where did this gold ore come from? How much was there, 24 lbs., 48 lbs.? Men and women have searched the high peaks and deep canyons of the Superstition Wilderness Area for the source of this gold ore to no avail.

The Dutchman’s lost mine continues to be just a tale about a lost gold mine in the Superstition Mountains. To many folks, the mine is a figment of somebody’s imagination that continually draws in more dreamers each year. Since the early 1920’s more than 170 individuals have claimed they found the fabulously rich Dutchman’s lost mine. The roll of discoverers lists men like Glen Magill, Barry Storm, Robert Simpson Jacob, Charles M. Crawford, and many, many more that allegedly found the mine and reaped its profits. Most of those profits were monies they extracted from innocent and naïve investors. I have watched this vicious cycle for more than fifty years and have witnessed the destruction and heartache it has caused.

Former Arizona Attorney General Robert K. Corbin successfully tried and jailed a couple of these crooks. Most notable was Robert Simpson Jacob. Jacob was sentenced to ten years in prison for his part in a criminal conspiracy.

Now you ask me: "Is there a Dutchman lost mine somewhere out in the rugged Superstition Mountain region?" Like many others, I have dreamed of finding this mine, but I have not found any evidence that suggests the mine ever existed. Everything is based on subjective hearsay. Actually facts about this lost mine just don’t exist. Even the alleged rich gold ore found under Waltz’s bed is based on hearsay information. Yes, there are supposedly pieces of this gold that exist today. But the documentation that supports this alleged gold ore is nothing more than hearsay. Even I am guilty of signing an affidavit some thirty years ago verifying I saw the gold ore and jewelry "Brownie" Holmes claimed belonged to Jacob Waltz. Again, even witnessing such a thing is still subjective information at best.

A very distinguished gentleman once said Waltz’s gold ore is what dreams are made of. Who knows where that gold came from that was found under his bed? Dreams help to build subjective ideology.

Let’s face it, if you have spent a lifetime searching for the gold of Superstition Mountain there has to be something meaningful to the story. Maybe my father had it all figured out when he basically said, "Yesterday’s adventures are today’s memories."

The iconic Dutchman and his burro stand at the entrances to Apache Junction and greet all who visit.

September 16, 2013 © Thomas J. Kollenborn. All Rights Reserved.