Surprise Venture Haul Road - Salt River Recreation Area

While strolling around on the west side of the Lower Salt River Recreation Area I've stumbled onto several abandoned mine sites over the years.  Recently, I looked up three of them on a Arizona Department of Mines and Mineral Resources (ADMMR) website.  The three described by ADMMR in the Salt River Recreation Area are the Arizona Barite Mine, the Little LaDonna Prospect and the Surprise Venture (Big Red) Mine.  Based on what I'd found while out walking over the years, I thought that there were four old mines in the area.  However, it turns out that the Surprise Venture consisted of multiple sites.  I also found that I was confusing the Little LaDonna with the Surprise Venture for the last decade or so.

(Rev. 12/2015: This has become more confusing since I noticed that the GPS coordinates given by ADMMR match the shaft mine that I've been calling Little LaDonna.  Coordinates given for Little LaDonna are to the NW of the shaft. Also, I've been posting the mine locations at the Waypoints website as Azbarite.)

One of the first sites that I'd looked at turned out to be be the mill site for the Surprise Venture.  The Surprise Venture sites are pretty easy to identify because the mine owners were still proposing improvements as late as 1994.  I haven't been able to find documentation but I'm pretty sure that the recreation area is now closed to mining.  Per the map, there's a mill and a mine shaft on T2N R7E Section 17 and an excavation in Section 9 (Rev. 12/2015: circled area marks coordinates of Surprise Venture per ADMMR. However, the margin notes on the map indicate that it is the location of the Little LaDonna.  I believe that the contradiction is due to inaccuracies in the coordinates.).  The map below is dated 1983 but some of the ADMMR documentation dates back as far as 1962.

(TCS 2/6/17: Warning, the location of the millsite is shown below on the wrong wash.  It is actually located on the next wash system to the east. The millsite and shaft may have been in same general location.  Also, the actual haul road is closer to Bush Hwy.)

Revised 12/2015

Photo of West End of Haul Road Looking West

According to a 1962 Arizona Dept. of Mines and Mineral Resources (ADMMR) report, the owners were extracting granitic rock that contained specks of hematite and scheelite (see possible sample in photo above.  The sample was picked up along the haul road near the mine.).  Scheelite is a tungsten ore and tungsten was the primary commodity of interest.  There's some discussion in the owner docs of gold and silver being trace elements in the ore but I get the feeling that it may be exaggerated. The original claims were filed as Surprise Venture in the 1970's but the land was withdrawn from mineral exploration due to plans for Orme Dam.  The original claim consisted of a single shaft in Section 17 that was being mined as early as 1962.  The plans for Orme Dam were subsequently dropped and claims were refiled as Big Red Mining Co. in the early 1980's.  The new proposal included a mill site and plans to strip mine the ore instead of using a shaft mine.  As of 1985, the only production consisted of a trial run and the sites caretaker was proposing further improvements to get the shutdown facility back in operation.  Much later in 1994, there was a response from the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality to a proposal for processing facility improvements.  There doesn't seem to be any further documentation beyond 1994.  As far as I can tell, the owners and operators have been part-timers.

Surprise Venture Highwall (Section 16)

The site map includes a symbol for a shaft mine near the fork in the haul road in Section 9.  I haven't see any sure signs of it yet but there was a large chunk of concrete near the site of the symbol that seem suspicious. I want to spend some more time looking for the abandoned shaft before I'm sure its at the location below. There's usually a lot more trash and ore in the vicinity of an abandoned mine.

The mill site includes ore dumps, trash piles and signs of what appears to be have been a trailer parking spot. The ores match similar piles at the mine site.

Ore Dump

Ore Dump

Ore Dump

The following photos show some of the trash and building materials at the suspected admin or caretaker sites.

Retaining Wall in Wash

Concrete Blocks (for leveling trailer?)

Buried Trash

Retaining Wall

There seems to have been activity here for 30 years or more.  It would be fun to look back in time to watch what was going on.  I'd guess that a family with children lived on the site for a while based on items in the trash heaps and a strange rock lined path that winds with no apparent logic for several hundred feet through the nearby washes and hills.  The path looks like the work of children with a lot of time on their hands and no internet access.

These sites are easily accessible from the Hawes Trail System or Bush Highway.

It's sure been fun researching this stuff and it sure beats the hell out of working.

Adios

Sanchez Homestead - Salt River Recreation Area

I went for a short stroll near the Salt River this morning and realized that although Summer has moderated somewhat, its still hot here in the Sonoran Desert.  During the Summer, I found a few old maps of the area and wanted to see if I could find some of the landmarks.  This morning I was looking for a site labeled "Sanchez" on the 1932 Dept of Interior General Land Office map which I assume was a homestead.

1932 Map of T2NR7E (Salt River Recreation Area)

I parked along the road to Coon Bluff in the Salt River Recreation Area and headed NNE.  I couldn't really find any of the old roads with any confidence but I could find the river bluff and then explore along it looking for signs of habitation.  Those signs are pretty sparse after 70 or 80 years.  I finally found a spot on some high ground near a boundary marker to T2NR7E and the intersections of Sections 3 & 4.  The first signs were rusty cans, some barbed wire scattered around the ground and piles of stones that could have been parts of an old foundation.  The boundary marker cinched it though.

Dwelling Outline?

Part of a Worn Horseshoe

Piece of Foundation?

Broken Cast Iron Stove Lid

Signs of Original Road?

Township (2N) and Range (7E) Marker within 100' of Site

I waited a bit late to get out and it was getting pretty toasty so while walking, I kept to the shady groves of mesquite.  The Salt River "wild" horse herd had the same idea.  I tried to avoid them but didn't have much luck.  They looked pretty good considering the long hot summer.  There were at least 2 colts and I didn't see much in the way of ribs showing.  I'm guessing that they were getting plenty to graze in and around the river.  I took a few pictures but the horses may be hard to pick out among the mesquite trees.

I hope to spend a lot more time in the area this fall.  There are a few more homestead sites to try and find.  I'd also like to research the BLM records for earlier sites and maybe grazing permits.  It might also be interesting to try and find out something about the homesteaders (Sanchez, Chavez and Monroy) on the 1932 map.  There are also apiaries (bee hives) shown on the 1932 map but I doubt that there would be any visible sign of them.

Oh well, hot or otherwise, its a beautiful day in Arizona.

Looking East from Coon Bluff Road

Adios

Dr. W.W. Jones & Family - Salt River Recreation Area

Lately I've been snooping around in a website called Chronicling America set up by the Library of Congress. I ran into the site by following the Google+ site "Phoenix, Arizona Historical Images".  The Google+ site posts lots of interesting historical images and notes.  I decided to do some research on some East Valley pioneers who didn't fit into the typical history book profile.  The following accounts are mostly taken from newspaper articles found in Chronicling America.

Several of the old and existing landmarks around the East Valley are named after folks from the late 1800's and early 1900's.  One of these pioneers was Dr. W.W. Jones.  He was born and educated as a doctor back east in Maryland and then migrated to Los Angeles, California. For several years around 1870, he and a partner operated a freighting business between California and Arizona.  During that period, he married 18 year old Alcaria Montoya in Yuma. They built a home at 1008 E. Buckeye in Phoenix in 1879. His connection to the East Valley is through accounts of his having a ranch near Coon Bluff.  The landmark "Jones Ford" is shown on a 1904 topo map near Coon's Bluff in what is now the Salt River Recreation Area. In addition to Jones Ford, "Monroy's Ranch" is also shown on the map.  It probably belonged to Alcaria's Tio Poncho. Jones is also reported to have operated another ranch near Hidden Water Spring on Cottonwood Creek north of what is now Saguaro Lake (Butcher Jones Beach).

Remnants of ranch life east of Coon Bluff

In addition to ranching, dabbling in politics and occasionally practicing emergency medicine (bullet wounds & such), he was a prospector and mining speculator. He, from time to time, owned shares in several mines from Prescott to Florence including the famous Vulture Mine. In some circles, it's hinted that he may have known Jacob Waltz of the Lost Dutchman Mine legend.  

Dr. Jones is buried in Double Butte Cemetery, Tempe, AZ.

After the Dr's death in 1896, Colonel Alonzo Ridley acted on the behalf of his estate in probate court. The Colonel was a long-time friend of the Dr's.  He was a confederate in the civil war, refused to agree to surrender, emigrated to Mexico, fought on the side of Maximilian in the Mexican Civil War and worked on the Vera Cruz to Mexico City Railroad before returning to Arizona. Colonel Ridley is another character worth exploring.  (I'll write something of the Colonel later).  After the Colonel's return to the states, he lived on the Jones ranch for several years.  Deputy Sheriff G.G. Gonzales (a well known Tempe lawman, at least back then) was initially assigned as guardian of Jone's children until the Dr's son John could take responsibility.  

The son of Dr. Jones, Johnny Jones, ran the Jones ranching business after the Dr.'s death in 1896. According to Dane Coolidge's book "Arizona Cowboys", Johnny worked very hard to collect and sell enough cattle to provide his sisters with an inheritance. Johnny ran cattle in the western foothills of the Four Peaks Range around the Cottonwood Canyon drainage. 

Western Foothills of the Four Peaks Range

Along with other cattlemen in the early 1900's, he had serious issues with sheep traveling through the range. Between the sheep and cattle, the range became badly overgrazed leading to lack of ground cover and increased erosion. The Salt River dams were being built during that time and there was concern by downstream farmers and the government that the erosion could cause increased sediment at the lakes and dams. The overgrazing ultimately led to the formation of the Tonto National Forest. Sadly, Johnny died of the flu while still in his late 30's.

Abandoned Stock Tank and Cattle Pens along Cottonwood Creek

It's been fun researching this stuff.  I'm looking forward to seeing what else I can find.

Adios

Some History Lessons - Salt River Recreation Area

The wife has traveled back to Columbus Ohio to visit friends and family.  I'm not really alone though, I've had my youngest grand-daughter to keep me company this weekend.  She's stayed both nights (have I become so old that I require a babysitter?).  Although she mostly has her nose in the Ipad, it's nice to have company for dinner.  She and I have different tastes regarding meals so we compromised and had Taco Bell Friday night and KFC last night.  I'll probably cook breakfast this morning (assuming she gets up before lunch).

I recently read Dane Coolidge's book "Arizona Cowboys".  It was originally published in 1938.  He was a photographer who traveled the West recording flora, fauna and frontier life.  "Arizona Cowboys" is a narrative of his times spent with cowboys and cattlemen in the Arizona of the early 1900's.  It gives a good description of the times and certainly redefines some of the Hollywood notions of rodeo and sheep-cattle conflicts.  The book also explains how overgrazing by sheep and cattle were destroying the grasslands around the Tonto Basin and Salt River watershed leading to erosion problems that could threaten the water projects being developed.  The Tonto National Forest was a direct result.

It turns out that a rodeo was work not sport in the late 1800's and early 1900's.  It was a time when cattle owners got together to gather up their stock.  Not all cattlemen were ranchers, some were just individuals who branded a few head of stock and turned them loose on the open range.  A rodeo was arranged so that all owners could participate in the roundup and be available to identify their branded stock and to claim any new calves belonging to their stock.  By the way, there's still at least one bovine roaming around near Coon Bluff.  I've seen it's tracks and spoor but haven't been around early enough to see it.  By the time I get out, it's probably laying in cover chewing its cud.

The proof may be clearer to those of us who have spent time cleaning up after cattle and also recognize the split hoof print.

One series of the Coolidge stories were recorded in the area along Cottonwood Creek north of what is now Saguaro Lake (the lake appeared 1930).  There were several ranches between Mesa and the Tonto Basin (Roosevelt Lake now).  I believe that the largest was probably the Stewart Ranch (under the lake now at Butcher Jones Beach) but Dr. W.W. Jones and his brother-in-law Francisco "Pancho" Monroy also had ranches in the area.  The Monroy Ranch is shown on 1904 topo maps at a bend in the River near the present day Usery Rd. intersection. I'm not sure of the details yet but Dr. Jones is said to have had a couple places along the river.  There's a Jone's Ford (river crossing, not car showroom) shown near the Verde River, Jones Canyon and Butcher Jones Beach near Saguaro Lake and a Jone's Creek near Cottonwood Creek, these could be clues the locations of Dr' Jone's places.  There are several signs of ranching near this area. The most extensive are near Jone's Ford north of the Forest Service Goldfield admin site.

The Monroy Ranch is shown on the topos as being Southeast of Jone's Ford and it's ranch house is described in "Results_of_Spirit_Leveling_in_Arizona_1899-1909" as being 600' NE of BM1382 PHNX.  I haven't been able to find the benchmark or any sign of a ranch house. Here's what the nearby area looks like.  It's mostly mesquite bosque with a few scattered clearings.

I drove out to Cottonwood Creek via FR104 to see what was left of Stewart's Camp (1907 Roosevelt topo).  It was a locale described in a rodeo story in the Coolidge book.  I took the Beeline Highway east to the turnoff to Four Peaks then drove on to the intersection with FR401.  On the way to Stewart's Camp, not too far along FR401, there's a cattleguard in the roadway and soon afterward a stockyard with an old scales.

Stockyard with scales in background

Stockyards with Superstition Mtn in background

Surprisingly, FR401 was a good road all the way to Cottonwood Creek.  It was, of course, dirt but there were very few potholes and not much washboarding.  There's still a lot remaining of the old stock camp.  The most evident are corrals, a large water tank and some scattered stone/cement foundations.

Sadly, the area hasn't been treated very gently.  Folks had used the rear of the water tank for a toilet and there was graffiti sprayed all over it.  There also appeared to be someone homesteading in their mini-van.  Driving down here I was reminded why I don't do much hiking near Forest Service roads.  As usual, there was a lot of target shooting going on.  Good or bad, it's pretty disconcerting for hikers.

I've been doing a bit of research on some characters of the era and will try and post stuff as I get more info.

Adios

High Noon in January above the Arctic Circle

The posting by someone on Google+ this morning (re. super cold temps in Wisconsin) got me thinking about the coldest place I'd ever been.  That was at an early warning radar station at Hall Beach Canada.  

I was sent there by the Air Force in mid January of 1976 with a small team of communications technicians to install some upgraded electronic equipment.  All told, the trip took around 6 weeks.

We first flew into a frigid Winnipeg, Ontario where we picked up cold weather gear and caroused around for a couple of days waiting on a flight out.  Then we flew in typically crappy winter weather to FOX-Main (a resupply hub).  We got stuck there for a few more days waiting out the weather until we could fly to Hall Beach.  There may have really been a beach but we never saw any sand or surf.  The only signs we saw were massive blocks of blue ice.

Ice on the "Beach"

We lived in a dormitory portion of the facility referred to as a "train".  Probably because it was long with a narrow corridor with rooms on the side.  We stayed two to a room and had small cabinets for clothes.  An elevated, enclosed walkway connected the dorm train to the operations train.  The operations train included our electronics, admin offices, a recreation hall (foosball & pool table) and a dining hall.

As usual, there were glitches in the logistics and the parts we were to install hadn't made it the site when we arrived.  That meant that we'd be enjoying the sites hospitality for an additional week or so.  Other than than not being able to do much outside, it wasn't really horrible duty.  They had beer and plenty of it for the civilian contractors.  The cafeteria had professional chef's for the main courses and desserts.  Every Friday was surf and turf night with steaks, lobster and shrimp in all sorts of combinations.  Every evening there was a large dessert table set up with cakes, pies and cookies.  Oh yeah, there was also a gym.

The few times we went outside it was in the neighborhood of 30 below so we didn't stay out long.  I guess I could claim that it was me in the pictures but its actually one of my Air Force buddies.

Metzler in seasonal beachwear

We were flown back on a contract flight carrying a 6 month rotation of the contractors out.  They were in a party mood and heading for different resort locations in the Caribbean or Mexico.  One fella was staggering down the aisle offering helpings form his whiskey bottle.  A lot of others were smoking like chimneys and you could see a layer of smoke working its way down from the ceiling.  By the time we got to the states I was almost on the floor from either helpings of friendly whiskey offerings or avoiding the smoke.

We made it back to our home base in Sacramento after a trip of 6 weeks and maybe a total of 5 actual working days.  That was probably about par for the course.

I looked up Hall Beach as it is now and they seem to be going for tourism.  I couldn't get my wife interested.  I think she'd rather go with the contractors to the resort in Mexico.

Adios

Went looking for the Monroy Ranch this past week.  It was one of the landmarks on the early 1900's topo map I found online.  I found the old Arizona Dam site the week before last.  The top map showed the ranch  SE of what is now the Ellsworth - Bush Hwy intersection in the Salt River Recreation Area.  I looked around that area on Thursday but didn't find any sign of ranching like old fencing, corrals or foundations.

Kikki feels that this photo needs a unicorn

Today, I walked around SW of the same intersection.  While I still didn't see much in the way of direct physical signs of ranching,  much of the are seemed to have been overgrazed.  It was very pretty with the new grass but the plants were much less dense than in neighboring areas.  There were also several old roads crossing the area.  It would be my guess that the area was part of a ranch at some time.

Adios