Exploring Northern Arizona’s Lava River Caves
About 14 miles north of Flagstaff in the Coconino Forest, a network of caverns and lava-encased passages lie just below the feet of hikers, hunters and other recreation seekers. This relatively small slit, hidden amongst boulders, will take you there. Just large enough to accommodate a grown a man, this doorway leads to a mile-long lave … Read more...
Besh-Ba-Gowah: The Non-Ruin Ruins in Globe
GLOBE -- Most ancient ruins in Arizona are just that -- ruins. Overseen by government agencies, they are stabilized but never rebuilt because the philosophy is to preserve, not restore. But the old pueblo here, known as Besh-Ba-Gowah, has been partially rebuilt and nobody's getting their nose bent out of shape because of it. The site's … Read more...
Relive 1930s Mobster Scene During Dillinger Days in Tucson
TUCSON -- Dillinger Days are held in this city on the third Saturday of each January, giving the locals and visitors a chance to dress in pinstripe suits, felt fedoras, flapper dresses and moustaches. The annual event at the Hotel Congress commemorates the arrest of John Dillinger, the notorious gangster who became the FBI's first Public Enemy … Read more...
Why Do Rabbits Have White Tails?
Excerpt from “Valley 101: The Great Big Book of Life,” a collection of Clay Thompson’s columns for The Arizona Republic. (Originally published September 19, 2002.) Q: Why do rabbits have white tails? They really blend into the background until they run and then you see their white tails like a target. A: There is a school of thought … Read more...
Why Do People Put Cups on Cacti?
Excerpt from “Valley 101: The Great Big Book of Life,” a collection of Clay Thompson’s columns for The Arizona Republic. (Originally published December 14, 1999.) Q: My husband and I recently drove to Cave Creek and along the way we noticed many people had put plastic-foam cups on their cactuses. I said this is for protection from the … Read more...
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Besh-Ba-Gowah: The Non-Ruin Ruins in Globe
GLOBE — Most ancient ruins in Arizona are just that — ruins. Overseen by government agencies, they are stabilized but never rebuilt because the philosophy is to preserve, not restore. But the old pueblo here, known as Besh-Ba-Gowah, has been partially rebuilt and nobody’s getting their nose bent out of shape.
Ewing Young: The Southwest’s Premier Mountain Man
By and large, the history of the fur trade in the Southwest regions has been left out of the mainstream of American history. Trappers like Walker, Bridger, Fitzpatrick and especially Carson have become American legends and folk heroes, their fame coming primarily from exploits in the northern Rockies…
Mule Train Meatballs Recipe
Once a month, we’re bringing you a scrumptious and “doable” recipe with a southwestern flare. This one was originally published in Clay Thompson’s Enormously Big Official Valley 101 Cookbook. Do you have a recipe you’d like to share? We just might feature that too. Submit to info@arizonaoddities.com.
Arizona History Trivia 3: Can You Pass?
Test your knowledge of Arizona’s history with this quick quiz, originally published in Marshall Trimble’s Official Arizona Trivia. Don’t scroll down too quickly. The answers are posted shortly below the questions. When you’re finished, leave a comment with your score. Good luck!
Featured Artist: Claudia Torres
Once a month, Arizona Oddities features a Q&A with a talented Arizona artist who is influenced by our state’s people, places and history. This month, budding photographer Claudia Torres explains how living in Tucson has shaped her portfolio.
Featured: Small Town Scene
Rex Allen: A Cross-Eyed Hero from Willcox
Most fans of the old Western B movies watched Rex Allen fight the outlaws and rescue the heroines without ever realizing that he was once a cross-eyed country singer who performed at barn dances.
Fortunately for everyone involved (Allen and fans alike), he had corrective surgery shortly after his singing career took off in Chicago. But his eye problem is prominently mentioned on a bronze plaque placed next to his statue in Railroad Avenue Park in Willcox. The larger-than-life bronze sits across the street from the Rex Allen Arizona Cowboy Museum and the Willcox Cowboy Hall of Fame.
The World’s Smallest Museum in Superior
Even though it never gets any larger, the World’s Smallest Museum in Superior remains a work in progress. Owner Dan Wight never enlarges the museum itself, but he’s always working on improving the grounds that surround it. Like adding new fountains. The most recent one is made of old mining equipment; before that Wight constructed one out of old tires.
Arizona Place Names (Pt. 3): Surprising Towns Named After People
Long ago, Arizona settlers felt inspired to attach names to the special places they found. Sometimes they achieved palpable immortality by naming it after themselves; and sometimes it backfired.
Like the time Henry Mortimer Coane was running a small store in the Verde Valley. Folks wanted to use the place as a post office, so Coane filled out the paperwork and applied to Washington and requested it be named Coaneville after himself. Much to Mr. Coane’s disappointment some bureaucrat got the letters mixed up and the place was officially named Cornville.
Contrary to logical assumption
Death of Old Arizona Gunslinger Inspires Well-Known Western Axiom
Bill Downing was one of the most disliked fellows in old Arizona. He was moody, morose, bad-tempered, sullen and surly. That was when he was sober. He got downright mean and ugly when he was drinking ol’ red-eye.
He was so unpopular that even members of his gang couldn’t stand him. It’s a historical fact that one time when Bill and several other members of the Alvord gang were languishing in the Tombstone jail on a train robbery charge, a crony broke in and freed the other outlaws but left Bill locked in his cell.
He was so bad that the only thing good one could say about him was he wasn’t as despicable sometimes as he was usually.
If I seem to have painted ol’ Bill with a jaundiced brush, it’s because he likely would have wanted it that way. If he had any good qualities history has mislaid them like some old lost gold mine.
The Partial Resurrection of Fairbank in Southern Arizona
In its prime, Fairbank was the site of a hotel, school, mercantile, several houses, stage depots and four railroads. Not bad for a town which, even at the height of its popularity, had only about 500 residents. But those days are gone and Fairbank is now a mere remnant of its glory days as a center of mining activity. Now, however, there’s a valiant effort underway to make sure those days aren’t forgotten, as well.
Featured: Dose of History
Mogollon Monikers: Origins of Place Names in Arizona’s Rim Country
Ever since man first set foot in this rugged piece of terrain known as Arizona, he has felt compelled to brand everything with a name. Inspiration for these place names came from a variety of sources—some quite obvious.
Lousy Gulch got its name after all the residents got lice. When Mormon pioneers decided to settle near a large stand of Ponderosa pines, they simply named their community Pine. Another group settled in a small valley where they found wild strawberries growing in abundance and decided to name their town Strawberry. Henry Clifton, a member of an early Indian-fighting militia, claimed that in 1864 the place was known as Wah-poo-eta for a prominent Tonto Apache chief better known to whites as Big Rump. The most obvious place name in Mogollon Rim country was bestowed when a group of settlers pulled into a little green valley and promptly named it Little Green Valley.
Legend of the Bill Smith Gang
Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid are believed to be the only outlaws who actually saw themselves portrayed in a motion picture. It happened when they stopped off in New York City on their way to South America. They also had the dubious distinction of seeing themselves gunned down by a posse. It must have been rather disturbing to hear the audience cheer their demise. Incidentally, their real names were Robert Leroy Parker and Harry Longabaugh.
The Bill Smith gang was one of the meanest band of desperados that ever rode the owl-hoot trails of Arizona and New Mexico. Hollywood overlooked them and I reckon the name had something to do with it. So, I’d like to bend yer ear a while and tell a story about Smith and his wild bunch.
Captain Burt Mossman, of the Arizona Rangers, knew Smith about as well as anyone and according to him the outlaw chieftain had once been an honest cowpuncher who’d gone bad. According to Cap Mossman, nobody seemed to know why Smith turned his back on the law.
The Story of Frank Murphy’s Impossible Railroad
At the peak of its prosperity, the fabled Bradshaw Mountains of central Arizona produced a king’s ransom in gold and silver. Towns and mines with picturesquely whimsical names like Bueno, Turkey Creek, Tiger, Tip Top, Oro Belle and Big Bug were peopled with boisterous devil-may-care miners aptly described as unmarried, unchurched and unwashed. Each community boasted it was built atop the madre del oro and its streets would soon be cobbled with golden nuggets.
In 1899, the vast riches inspired railroad entrepreneur Frank Murphy to extend his Prescott and Eastern Line from Mayer into the heart of the great mountains. Although Murphy was warned he’d be stopped by this maze of rugged, perpendicular grades laced with canyons so steep that big horn sheep had to shut their eyes and walk sideways, he was determined to meet the challenge of the mountains. That’s why it’s best-remembered as Frank Murphy’s Impossible Railroad.
A Two-House Story in Snowflake
SNOWFLAKE — This is a two-house story, rather than the usual two-story house. It begins in 1878, when Andrew Rogers built a simple one-room log cabin for his family after they migrated to northeastern Arizona. As the family grew, Rogers added more rooms. In fact, he added so many new rooms that they swallowed up the original structure. After a while, all mention and memory of the cabin disappeared.
It stayed that way until 1989, when the house of many add-ons caught fire. While clearing the debris after the blaze was extinguished, workmen discovered the cabin standing among the ashes. Protected by all the additions, the thick logs had withstood the flames.
Wickenburg’s Botanical Incarcerator
Right in the middle of downtown Wickenburg, there’s an old mesquite tree that folks around town say has been there longer than anyone can remember. Local historians who check into such things say it’s more than 200 years old, and claim they have evidence to prove it. They also say it once served as the community’s only jail.
