Arizona Oddities

Main Menu

  • Home
  • Your Guides
  • Departments
    • Art
    • Dose of History
    • Culture
    • Natural Surroundings
    • Odd Observations
    • Weather Talk
    • Food & Dining
    • Small Town Scene
    • Recreation
    • Only in Arizona
  • Get the Books
  • Contact Us

logo

Arizona Oddities

  • Home
  • Your Guides
  • Departments
    • Art
    • Dose of History
    • Culture
    • Natural Surroundings
    • Odd Observations
    • Weather Talk
    • Food & Dining
    • Small Town Scene
    • Recreation
    • Only in Arizona
  • Get the Books
  • Contact Us
Dose of HistoryNorthern Arizona
Home›Dose of History›Pipe Spring National Monument Named After Sharpshooter Feat

Pipe Spring National Monument Named After Sharpshooter Feat

By Sam Lowe
November 9, 2014
1597
0

PIPE SPRING NATIONAL MONUMENT — William Hamblin, also known as “Gunlock Bill,” was a sharpshooter who arrived in the area with an advance party in 1858. Hamblin’s ability with a rifle was a prime source of income for him and his associates, who wagered that he could shoot a hole through a kerchief from 50 yards away. He hit the target, but the bullet didn’t make a hole because the cloth merely gave way.

Windsor Castle located at Pipe Spring National Monument in northwest Arizona. Source: Wikipedia

Windsor Castle located at Pipe Spring National Monument in northwest Arizona. Source: Wikipedia

Upset by the apparent failure, but determined to prove his marksmanship, Hamblin bet he could shoot the bottom out of another man’s pipe. The pipe’s owner, a sensible man, said he wouldn’t clench the pipe between his teeth while Hamblin shot at it, but did agree to set it on a rock. Hamblin fired once and blew the bottom off. As a result, the place became known as Pipe Spring. In 1932, Pipe Spring National Monument was set aside by the federal government.

 

 

(Visited 267 times, 1 visits today)

Related Posts:

  1. Southern Arizona’s Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument Declared “Hidden Gem”
  2. Step Back in Time at Tuzigoot National Monument
  3. Greenway Road Named After Hero with Remarkable Wife
  4. Protecting the Protector of the Casa Grande Ruins National Monument
  5. Cornville Named After Post Office Mistake
Tagspipe spring national monumentplace names

Leave a reply Cancel reply

Arizona Oddities Archive

Most Popular Posts

  • How to Keep Scorpions Away from Your Home
  • How to Keep Javelinas Away from Your Yard
  • What’s With All the Backyard Concrete-Block Fences…
  • Did You Know it’s Against the Law to Grow…
  • Can You Get a Sunburn Under Water?

This Week Past Years

2020

  • Scottsdale is Home to Frank Lloyd Wright’s Desert-Inspired Winter Haven

2017

  • Mid-Century Modern Architecture Still Vibrant in Phoenix

2016

  • An Educated Ghost Lost on Campus

2015

  • Get a Whiff of This Old Arizona Party Spot

2014

  • Hear the Balladeer's Ballads at Arizona Folklore Preserve

2013

  • Featured Artist: Pete the Miner
  • Abraham Lincoln’s Bodyguard and Other Civil War Soldiers Buried in Southern Arizona

2012

  • Celebrating the Centennial (sort of) with a Message, Compilation from Clay Thompson
  • Celebrating the Centennial: 10 People that Shaped Arizona
  • Celebrating the Centennial: My Long Distance Love Affair With Arizona
  • Billy Stiles: Lawman-Outlaw-Lawman

2011

  • Trivia on Arizona Cities & Towns: Can You Pass?

2010

  • Doc Flower: One of Old Arizona’s Great Con Men
  • Recent

  • Popular

  • Comments

  • Find a Famous Writer and Explorer's Mountain Retreat in Greer

    Find a Famous Writer and Explorer’s Historic Mountain Retreat in Greer

    By Taylor Haynes
    July 31, 2020
  • thousands of Mexican free tail bats make Phoenix tunnel their summer home

    Thousands of Mexican Free-Tail Bats Make Phoenix Tunnel Their Summer Home

    By Taylor Haynes
    July 17, 2020
  • How to Keep Scorpions Away from Your Home

    By Andrea Aker
    January 3, 2011
  • Javelina

    How to Keep Javelinas Away from Your Yard

    By Andrea Aker
    November 23, 2011
  • Phil Motta
    on
    August 27, 2021

    Why Does Downtown Phoenix Seem to Have Two Downtowns?

    I know this post ...
  • Carol
    on
    October 17, 2020

    The Tucson Artifacts are the Southwest’s Greatest Hoax

    lol ... these "clues" ...

Follow us

© Copyright 2009 – 2023 Aker Ink, LLC :: Arizona Oddities is published by Aker Ink.