October 20-27, 2021

Wickenburg is another Arizona city that had its start as a mining town (we’ve visited Oakman and Chloride already this summer). In this case, Henry Wickenburg discovered gold at his Vulture Mine in 1869 and Wickenburg the town developed to support the mine.

Bust of Henry Wickenburg

The population of Wickenburg is about 8,000 and it’s a cowboy kind of town–even the streetlights wear cowboy hats.

Sculptures are scattered around town representing people who lived there in the late 19th century. A push-button recorded message told us this woman has just gotten off the train and will be teaching school in Wickenburg. The sculptures are the work of sculptor J. Seward Johnson whose work we first admired at Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute in Fort Pierce, Florida.
Wickenburg train station
Apparently the railroad has hired a new engineer.
We don’t know what this fellow did to end up tied to the tracks.
The story is that Wickenburg didn’t have a jail from 1863-1890 so outlaws were chained to this tree. This is another Johnson sculpture.

We drove down to a city park in Surprise, Arizona (about 30 miles) for a fun geocaching Meet and Greet. While we were there a contractor delivered a load of catfish to stock the lake. A gentleman standing near Jane as she took the following video told her the fish were all the way from Arkansas.

Desert Caballeros Western Museum

The Desert Caballeros Western Museum is both a museum of western art and an immersive tour of Wickenburg in 1912.

Jane was especially drawn to this piece of chrysocolla
1912 kitchen
1912 parlor
Quilt exhibit
Diorama of Wickenburg
Categories: Travel

3 Comments

Alice Mcgregor · December 4, 2021 at 2:11 am

Looks like a town with a sense of humor about itself! At first I thought that huge piece of chrysocolla was a map of some islands 🤪

Brett · December 4, 2021 at 4:07 am

I am in love with that terrifying scarecrow.

Joette · December 4, 2021 at 7:12 am

The 1912 parlor reminds me of my grandmother’s living room, except she did not have a piano.

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