Tag: Arizona

Arizona, located in the southwestern region of the United States, is renowned for its diverse landscapes and cultural richness. Home to iconic natural wonders such as the Grand Canyon, Monument Valley, and the red rocks of Sedona, Arizona offers a dramatic and varied terrain that ranges from arid deserts to pine-covered mountains. The state’s climate is typically characterized by hot summers and mild winters, with the southern parts being desert-like while the northern regions experience a more temperate climate. Arizona is also rich in Native American history, with numerous tribes such as the Navajo, Hopi, and Apache having deep roots in the region. The state’s cities, including Phoenix and Tucson, blend modern urban life with a strong appreciation for the natural environment and cultural heritage. Arizona’s economy thrives on tourism, technology, and agriculture, making it a dynamic and multifaceted state.

Norton’s Landing, La Paz County Ghost Town

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La Paz County Arizona Seal
La Paz County Arizona Seal

Norton’s Landing (also Norton’s or Nortons Landing) was a short-lived steamboat landing and mining settlement on the Colorado River in what was then Yuma County, Arizona Territory (now La Paz County, Arizona). It sat on a rocky point of land at about 213–215 feet elevation, roughly 52 miles upriver from Yuma, 4 miles above Picacho (California), and 18 miles below Clip, Arizona. Roads from the nearby mines in the Trigo Mountains met the river there, just east of Red Cloud Wash and Black Rock Wash.

Founding and Development

The landing developed to support the Red Cloud Mine and other claims in the Silver Mining District of the Trigo Mountains. Prospecting in the area dated to the mid-1860s under Jacob Snively, but activity largely lapsed after his death in 1871. The district revived in 1879 when George Sills, Neils Johnson, George W. Norton, and Gus Crawford relocated many abandoned silver claims.

The settlement and landing took their name from George W. Norton, a civil engineer who had supervised construction of the first railroad bridge across the Colorado River at Yuma in 1877. Norton owned the Red Cloud Mine and established a smelter (ore reduction works) at the landing itself. By about 1881 the Red Cloud Mining Company had a successful reduction works there processing copper, silver, and gold ores from the district. A general store operated at the site.

A post office named Norton’s opened on June 4, 1883, and operated until August 24, 1888 (mail then went to Yuma). It reopened September 3, 1891, and closed for good on March 13, 1894. The community persisted a bit longer; the Arizona Sentinel (Yuma) reported on April 17, 1897, that the once-well-known silver-district town was completely deserted because of low silver prices and mine closures. Residents moved to the then-flourishing camp at Picacho. One secondary account notes it was briefly known as Pacific City.

Role in the Colorado River Steamship Industry

Norton’s Landing functioned as a steamboat stop primarily in the 1880s–early 1890s (sources commonly list active years as roughly 1882–1894). It served as a transshipment point for supplies, machinery, provisions, and coal bound for the Silver District mines, and for outbound ore or concentrates. Steamboats of the Colorado Steam Navigation Company (and later operators under Southern Pacific influence after the railroad reached Yuma in 1877) called here while navigating the lower Colorado’s shallow, shifting channels, sandbars, and seasonal low water.

The landing formed part of a chain of river ports that included Castle Dome Landing, Picacho, Clip, Ehrenberg/La Paz, Hardyville, and others, stretching from the Gulf of California upstream toward the mining districts of Arizona, California, and Nevada. Freight rates and reliability on the river remained important for remote mines even after the railroad arrived at Yuma, though overall steamboat traffic declined as rail connections expanded. One historical assessment notes that the Silver District mines (including those served by Norton’s and Clip) had their own mills and therefore generated relatively limited steamboat business compared with earlier boom periods, but the landing still operated as a recognized stop.

Ships associated with service to the landing include vessels of the Colorado Steam Navigation Company fleet active in the relevant decades. Contemporary and later accounts specifically link the sternwheelers Gila (launched in the 1870s, a major workhorse on the lower river into the 1890s) and Mohave / Mohave II (the latter a larger 149-foot vessel of the mid-1870s) to service of Norton’s Landing and the surrounding district. These boats typically pushed or towed barges to increase capacity and operated when water levels permitted. Other CSNC steamers of the era (such as later vessels like Cochan) worked the same general route between Yuma and upriver points, though primary documentation of individual calls at Norton’s is sparse.

Steam navigation on the lower Colorado effectively ended after the Laguna Dam was completed in 1909, blocking the river; residual commercial traffic ceased around 1916.

Decline and Present Site

Falling silver prices in the 1880s–1890s, the repeal of the Sherman Silver Purchase Act in 1893, competition from railroads, and high overland freight costs after river transport became less competitive caused the mines and the landing to close. By 1897 the town was empty. Today Norton’s Landing is a ghost town in La Paz County. Only scattered foundations, mining debris, and slag from the reduction works remain.

Norton’s Landing exemplifies the brief, specialized river ports that supported Arizona Territory’s mining economy in the final decades of Colorado River steamboating—linking remote desert claims to the wider commercial network until railroads and market forces rendered them obsolete.

Picacho, California – Imperial County Ghost Town

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Imperial County California Ghost Towns
Imperial County California Ghost Towns

Picacho (on the lower Colorado River, California side; historically linked to Arizona Territory) was a gold-mining settlement and steamboat landing that flourished from the 1860s into the early 20th century.

Founding and Early History

The site lies along the Colorado River roughly 48 miles (77 km) upstream from Arizona City/Yuma (then in Arizona Territory), opposite Arizona-side landings such as Eureka and Williamsport. It takes its name from nearby Picacho Peak (Spanish for “peak” or “big peak”; earlier Anglo references sometimes called it Chimney Peak). The original townsite is now submerged under Imperial Reservoir; remaining mill ruins lie above the waterline within present-day Picacho State Recreation Area (California Historical Landmark #193).

Spanish explorers and prospectors likely worked placer gold in the area as early as around 1780. Sustained American-era activity began after the California Gold Rush and the establishment of Fort Yuma. In spring 1862, Sonora-born prospector José María Mendivil, traveling north from Yuma toward the La Paz gold discoveries, found placer gold in the washes near Picacho Peak. He returned later, homesteaded riverfront land, and laid out a townsite initially called Rio (soon renamed Picacho). Streets were named after his daughters. Early methods included dry-placering (shaking gravel on blankets to concentrate heavier gold particles).

Mining remained sporadic and small-scale through the 1860s–mid-1870s. Hard-rock development accelerated in the late 1870s. In 1878 (some accounts note an earlier arrastra around 1873), Yuma businessman David Neahr built a substantial 10- to 15-stamp mill of hand-cut local rhyolite stone on a bluff overlooking the river. He chartered the sternwheeler Cocopah to deliver about 30 tons of machinery. The mill processed ore from Mendivil’s nearby Apache claim and other properties; ore was packed by mule from the hills. Neahr expanded but later went bankrupt after embezzlement. Subsequent operators, including Dr. DeWitt C. Jayne, continued work; by the early 1880s reports noted thousands of tons of ore averaging around $21 per ton.

A larger boom came in the 1890s–early 1900s under promoter Stephen A. Dorsey and the California King Gold Mines Company. A large (reported ~450-ton capacity) stamp mill was erected, along with a narrow-gauge railroad (about 4–5 miles) from the mines near the peak to the riverside mill. Peak employment reached around 700 miners; the town’s population is commonly cited at up to 2,500 at its height, with stores, schools, saloons, and supporting industries (woodcutting for steamboat fuel, ranching, stage work). Gold production was strongest around 1904–1906.

Decline followed from depleting/lower-grade ore, mill accidents, rising costs, and especially the loss of cheap river transport after construction of Laguna Dam (completed 1909), which blocked upstream steamboat navigation. The mill was eventually moved inland; operations largely ceased around 1910. The townsite was flooded by Imperial Reservoir in the late 1930s.

Role in the Colorado River Steamship Industry

Picacho served as a regular steamboat landing from about 1862 to 1910, part of the network supporting mining, military posts (Fort Yuma and others), and settlements along the lower Colorado. Shallow-draft sternwheelers (and earlier sidewheelers) of George A. Johnson & Company and later the Colorado Steam Navigation Company (reorganized 1869) dominated the trade. They carried mining machinery, supplies, passengers, and wood (often cut by local labor in desert washes), and took out ore or concentrates for further shipment via the Gulf of California and coastal vessels to San Francisco or other ports. Barges were frequently towed for extra capacity. The landing sat in a cottonwood-and-willow grove with adobes and huts; it was a practical stop roughly midway in the lower-river run above Yuma.

Steamer "Cochan" on Colorado River at Needles. The Otis Marston Colorado River Collection. The Huntington Library, San Marino, California.
Steamer “Cochan” on Colorado River at Needles. The Otis Marston Colorado River Collection The Huntington Library, San Marino, California.

Steam navigation on the Colorado began in the early 1850s primarily to supply Fort Yuma more cheaply than overland routes from San Diego or San Francisco. Regular service expanded with mining booms (La Paz, Castle Dome, Eureka, Eldorado Canyon, and Picacho itself). The Southern Pacific Railroad’s arrival at Yuma in 1877 reduced through traffic, but local and upper-river freight (including Picacho) continued until the Laguna Dam ended commercial navigation upstream of Yuma.

Ships and landings associated with Picacho include vessels of the dominant fleets that routinely called at lower- and mid-river points (Castle Dome, Eureka/Williamsport, Picacho, Norton’s Landing, Clip, Ehrenberg/La Paz, and farther north). Documented or strongly indicated connections include:

  • Cocopah (Cocopah I, sternwheeler launched 1859; or the later Cocopah II of 1867): Chartered specifically to deliver mill machinery to Picacho in 1878; the class of vessel regularly served the lower river.
  • Mohave / Mohave I (sternwheeler, 1864–1875) and Mohave II (1876–c. 1900): Standard workhorses on routes that explicitly included Picacho among mid-river stops.
  • Other Colorado Steam Navigation Company vessels such as Colorado (various), Gila, Nina Tilden, and supporting barges that worked the same corridor of landings.
  • Later/smaller craft in the declining years (e.g., light freighters operating into the early 1900s) continued intermittent service until the dam closed the route.

Picacho’s steamboat era thus tied a remote desert mining district directly into the commercial and military logistics of Arizona Territory and the broader Southwest until railroads and dams rendered river transport obsolete. The site’s remaining mill ruins and the surrounding recreation area preserve tangible evidence of this chapter of Colorado River history.

Williamsport, La Paz County Ghost Town

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Williamsport, Arizona Territory (c. 1863–1870s) was a short-lived mining camp and Colorado River steamboat landing in what is now La Paz County, Arizona. It functioned primarily as a supply point for nearby silver mines rather than a major settlement and has since vanished as a ghost town site.

La Paz County Arizona Seal
La Paz County Arizona Seal

Founding and Early History

In the fall of 1863, silver discoveries in the Chocolate Mountains of Arizona led to the formation of the Eureka Mining District. Eureka Landing and Williamsport quickly developed on the Arizona (east) bank of the Colorado River to serve these mines. Williamsport sat roughly 47 miles upriver from Arizona City (later Yuma) and about 2 miles upriver from Eureka Landing. Across the river lay Picacho, California, and the related Picacho Mining District.

Both landings and the Eureka District appear on the official 1865 map of the new Arizona Territory (compiled by Richard Gird and approved by Governor John N. Goodwin). At the time, the site fell within Yuma County; later boundary changes placed it in what became La Paz County. Williamsport consisted of a small cluster of adobe buildings on the riverbank. It never grew into a substantial town and existed mainly to handle freight, supplies, and ore for the local mines.

The location is approximately 33°01′48″N 114°35′38″W. No physical remains of the landing survive today; the site has been erased by river shifts, flooding, and time.

Role in the Colorado River Steamship Industry

Steamboat navigation on the lower Colorado River began in the early 1850s primarily to supply Fort Yuma more cheaply than overland routes from California. By the early 1860s, the system had expanded to support mining booms. Shallow-draft sternwheelers (and earlier sidewheelers) carried mining machinery, provisions, passengers, and outgoing ore between the Gulf of California / river mouth area and points as far upstream as Hardyville / Fort Mohave and beyond during high water.

Williamsport operated as a regular steamboat landing from 1863 through the 1870s. It ranked among a series of stops on the lower river: after Castle Dome Landing (about 35 miles above Yuma/Arizona City) came Eureka (45 miles) and then Williamsport (47 miles), followed closely by Picacho on the California side (48 miles). These landings allowed boats to discharge cargo for the Eureka mines and take on ore or wood. Barges were sometimes used as temporary wharves. Freight rates were significantly lower to nearby downriver points than to more distant upriver destinations such as La Paz.

The dominant operator was George A. Johnson & Company (reorganized as the Colorado Steam Navigation Company in 1869). Competition from an opposition line in the mid-1860s was short-lived; Johnson’s firm absorbed rivals and controlled the bulk of traffic with a fleet of steamers and barges. Steam navigation remained the primary freight mode until the Southern Pacific Railroad reached Yuma in 1877 and progressively undercut river traffic. The era effectively ended for through navigation with the completion of Laguna Dam in 1909.

Ships Known to Operate on the Route (and Thus Stop at Williamsport)

No surviving records isolate individual calls exclusively at the tiny Williamsport landing, but every major steamboat working the lower Colorado between Yuma and the Ehrenberg/La Paz or higher reaches in the 1860s–1870s necessarily passed and stopped at the Eureka–Williamsport landings when serving the district. Key vessels of the period included:

  • Colorado (sternwheeler, launched 1855) — early workhorse of Johnson’s fleet.
  • Cocopah I (sternwheeler, 1859–1867) — one of the larger early boats; later dismantled for housing at Port Isabel.
  • Mohave I (sternwheeler, 1864–1875) — powerful vessel capable of heavy cargoes and towing barges; notable for fast upriver runs.
  • Nina Tilden (sternwheeler, 1864–1874) — competition boat later absorbed into the Johnson fleet; wrecked at Port Isabel.
  • Cocopah II (sternwheeler, launched 1867 at Arizona City) — replacement for the first Cocopah; part of the core late-1860s fleet.
  • Later boats such as the Gila (1873) and Mohave II (1876, the largest vessel ever on the river) continued the same lower-river service while the Eureka landings remained active into the 1870s.

Captains associated with the company and these vessels (notably Isaac Polhamus) routinely worked this stretch of river. Wood yards staffed largely by Cocopah laborers supplied fuel at intermediate landings.

Decline

As the Eureka District’s silver production waned and railroads offered cheaper overland transport, traffic to Williamsport and Eureka dwindled. By the later 1870s the landings had largely ceased to function. The physical site disappeared, leaving Williamsport as one of many ephemeral Colorado River mining landings that briefly supported Arizona Territory’s early development.

Primary modern sources for these details are Richard E. Lingenfelter’s Steamboats on the Colorado River, 1852–1916 (University of Arizona Press, 1978) and contemporary maps and landing lists preserved in historical compilations of the river trade.

Benson Shootout – February 28, 1907

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The Benson Shootout (also known as the Shootout in Benson or the Rock Fight) occurred on February 27–28, 1907 (sources vary slightly on the exact calendar date due to overnight events), in Benson, Arizona Territory. It stands as one of the last notable Old West-style gunfights, remarkable for its origins in a love triangle, its intense close-quarters combat, and its unusual conclusion involving thrown rocks.

Background and Reason for the Shootout

The confrontation stemmed from a classic lovers’ triangle involving jealousy, pursuit, and threats of violence.

J.A. Tracy, a wealthy businessman and agent for the Helvetia Copper Company at Vail Station, had a prior romantic relationship with a young woman from a prominent Colorado family (her name was withheld from contemporary newspapers to protect her family’s reputation). She rejected further involvement with him and moved on. Between 1905 and 1906, she met and allegedly married D.W. Silverton, Jr. (son of a Kentucky Colonel) in Phoenix, possibly in a ceremony performed by a traveling evangelist. Some later accounts questioned whether the marriage was fully legitimate, but the couple presented themselves as married.

Tracy, unwilling to accept the rejection, pursued the couple with threatening letters. In February 1907, learning they were heading toward Bisbee, he followed them. The Silvertons spotted him at Vail Station and continued to Benson, a key railroad town, where they stayed overnight at the Virginia Hotel near the station. Fearing for their lives, they sought help from local law enforcement and bystanders.

Arizona Ranger Lieutenant Harry C. Wheeler (sometimes referred to in accounts as part of a group with Captain Thomas H. Rynning) was also staying at the Virginia Hotel. The Silvertons informed him of the threats, showed him a photograph of Tracy, and described the danger. Wheeler, known as a level-headed and exceptionally skilled gunman, agreed to intervene and arrest Tracy if he posed an immediate threat.

The Participants

Cochise County Sheriff Harry C. Wheeler — in the pre-statehood Arizona Territory.
Cochise County Sheriff Harry C. Wheeler — in the pre-statehood Arizona Territory.
  • Harry C. Wheeler (1875–1925): Born in Jacksonville, Florida, to a military family (his father was a West Point graduate). Wheeler enlisted in the U.S. Army in 1897, served in the Spanish-American War with the 1st Cavalry as an expert marksman, and received a medical discharge as a sergeant in 1902. He joined the Arizona Rangers in 1903, rising quickly to sergeant and then lieutenant. He had already been involved in at least one prior fatal shooting (killing a saloon robber in Tucson in 1904). Wheeler was respected for his marksmanship, professionalism, and restraint—he reportedly lived by a code that he would never fire first. He later became the third and final captain of the Arizona Rangers (1907–1909), served as Cochise County Sheriff (1912–1918), and as a U.S. Army captain in World War I. He died young in 1925.
  • J.A. Tracy: A prosperous mining company agent from Nevada who had relocated to Arizona. Contemporary accounts portray him as determined and volatile in matters of the heart. He was reportedly wanted for two murders in Nevada (with a $500 reward), one victim being the brother of a former Arizona Ranger, though Wheeler later declined the blood money and suggested it go to the victim’s widow.
  • D.W. Silverton, Jr., and his wife: The couple at the center of the dispute. Silverton confronted Tracy earlier at Vail Station. They were the ones who alerted Wheeler and sought protection while trying to board a train out of Benson.

Other minor figures included hotel staff, bystanders, and possibly Captain Thomas H. Rynning (Wheeler’s superior), who was in the area.

The Shootout

On the morning of the incident, Tracy was at the railroad station/platform, armed with a Colt .45 revolver and waiting as the Silvertons prepared to depart for Bisbee. When he spotted them, he drew his weapon and threatened them.

Wheeler approached and identified himself: “Hold on there. I arrest you. Give me that gun.” Tracy immediately opened fire. A furious pistol duel ensued at close range. Wheeler drew his own revolver and returned fire while advancing methodically, hitting Tracy four times (accounts vary on exact locations but generally include wounds to the neck/chest area, shoulder, hip/thigh, and arm). Tracy hit Wheeler at least once or twice—commonly described as a serious wound to the upper left thigh/groin area and later to the foot/heel.

Tracy feigned surrender (“I am all in. My gun is empty”), prompting Wheeler to lower his guard and approach. Tracy then fired again (hitting Wheeler in the foot). Out of ammunition, Wheeler resorted to throwing rocks at Tracy (or, in some versions, clubbing him with a rock while both were down). The fight ended with both men severely wounded on the street. Wheeler reportedly quipped to the dying Tracy something like, “Well, it was a great fight while it lasted, wasn’t it, old man?” Tracy allegedly expressed no ill will toward Wheeler before succumbing.

The Silvertons escaped unharmed and continued on.

Aftermath

Tracy died of his wounds shortly afterward, reportedly at or near Mescal Station en route to Tucson. Wheeler was seriously wounded but recovered fully after treatment (including time in Tombstone) and returned to duty. He was soon promoted to captain of the Arizona Rangers.

The incident received significant newspaper coverage as a dramatic example of frontier justice. Wheeler wrote a detailed letter to his friend, Pima County Sheriff Nabor Pacheco, expressing sorrow over the necessity of the killing despite believing it was justified.

The Benson Shootout highlighted the twilight of the Old West era and the Arizona Rangers’ role in maintaining order in a still-rough territory. It added to Wheeler’s legendary status as a fearless lawman. Benson, a railroad hub, preserved some of the sites (like the reconstructed station), and the event remains a colorful footnote in Arizona history.

This gunfight is often remembered not just for the bullets but for Wheeler’s resourcefulness with rocks when his revolver ran dry—earning it the nickname “Rock Fight” in some retellings. It exemplified the personal, high-stakes nature of law enforcement in the early 20th-century Southwest.

Gleeson Gunfight – March 5, 1917

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The Gleeson Gunfight (also known as the Gleeson Shootout) occurred on the night of March 5, 1917, near Gleeson in Cochise County, southeastern Arizona. It is widely regarded as one of the last traditional gunfights of the Old West, taking place during the transition to the modern era marked by automobiles, World War I, and statewide Prohibition.

Background and Context

Gleeson's Main Street in 1917. Original publication: 1917 Gleeson, Arizona
Gleeson’s Main Street in 1917. Original publication: 1917 Gleeson, Arizona

Gleeson was a small mining town in the Courtland-Gleeson Mining District, known for copper and turquoise. By 1917, the area had quieted from its earlier boom days but remained active with mining and border-related activities.

Arizona had gone “dry” on January 1, 1915, banning the sale and manufacture of alcohol. However, neighboring Mexico and parts of New Mexico remained “wet,” turning the U.S.-Mexico border and areas like Cochise County into major smuggling corridors for bootleggers.

Harry C. Wheeler, a former captain in the Arizona Rangers and then Sheriff of Cochise County, was a staunch enforcer of Prohibition. A nationally recognized champion marksman, Wheeler and his deputies frequently patrolled the border regions and had been involved in several prior shootouts with smugglers.

The Gunfight

On March 5, 1917, Sheriff Wheeler and his deputy, Lafe Gibson, had spent the day searching the Chiricahua Mountains for smugglers. Exhausted after dark, they pulled their 1915 Oldsmobile Touring Car off the road about two miles east of Gleeson, near the Southern Pacific Railroad tracks, and camped for the night.

Cochise County Sheriff Harry C. Wheeler — in the pre-statehood Arizona Territory.
Cochise County Sheriff Harry C. Wheeler — in the pre-statehood Arizona Territory.

They were ambushed shortly after settling down. A gang of at least four Mexican alcohol smugglers, positioned behind rocks about 200 yards away, opened fire. The first shot shattered the car’s windshield.

Wheeler and Gibson returned fire. Wheeler, armed with a rifle and a box of ammunition, took a position on the railroad berm. Gibson had only his revolver and belt ammunition. The smugglers advanced under cover of darkness, closing to within 50 yards while shouting taunts like “We’ll fix you gringos!” and “Come and get us now!”

The full moon initially silhouetted the lawmen, giving the attackers an advantage. After exchanging roughly 100 shots, Wheeler waited for the moon to set. When one smuggler nearly hit him, Wheeler aimed at the muzzle flash and fired six rapid shots from his rifle. He struck the man, who groaned audibly, halting the smugglers’ advance.

Once the moon dipped below the horizon, Wheeler and Gibson charged the attackers’ position. The smugglers had fled, abandoning their camp. The lawmen found four burros loaded with ten cases of whiskey. A large pool of blood and drag marks (knee and elbow prints) indicated at least one smuggler was seriously wounded (possibly killed), though no body was recovered. Horse tracks led toward the Chiricahua Mountains.

Aftermath and Capture

Wheeler and Gibson drove their damaged car to nearby Courtland and telegraphed for reinforcements. Chief Deputy Guy Welch arrived from Tombstone with additional men and supplies.

Knowing the smugglers would likely try to cross into Mexico via Apache Pass, the posse pursued them. They captured two members of the gang, including leader Santiago Garcia, who were jailed in the Gleeson Jail. Garcia later claimed they mistook the lawmen for rival bootleggers trying to hijack their load. The remaining smugglers escaped across the border.

The Gleeson Jail upon completion in 1910.
The Gleeson Jail upon completion in 1910.

The confiscated whiskey was taken to Tombstone. The Gleeson gunfight was Sheriff Wheeler’s final shootout. He later resigned to serve in World War I, returned, ran unsuccessfully for sheriff again, and died in 1925.

Historical Significance

The Gleeson Gunfight symbolizes the end of an era. While earlier famous shootouts like the Gunfight at the O.K. Corral (1881) occurred in a lawless frontier, this 1917 event involved automobiles, Prohibition smuggling, and a shift toward modern law enforcement — yet it retained the classic elements of an Old West ambush and firefight.

The restored Gleeson Jail (built in 1909–1910) still stands today as a tangible link to this history and the broader mining and law enforcement stories of Cochise County. The event is remembered in local histories, ghost town tours, and accounts of Arizona’s Prohibition-era border conflicts.

This relatively minor but dramatic confrontation highlights the ongoing challenges of border control, smuggling, and law enforcement in early 20th-century Arizona.