List of historic properties in Dateland, Arizona

Last updated

List of historic properties
in Dateland, Arizona
Dateland-Camp Horn Monument-1943-1.jpg
Camp Horn Monument
NRHP 2003, reference #03000900.

This is a list which includes a photographic gallery, of some of the remaining ruins and monuments of historic significance in Dateland, Arizona and the surrounding areas which include Hyder and Sentinel. Dateland is a CDP and a populated place in Yuma County. The area was once inhabited by Native-American tribes. Dateland is named after its Medjool date trees. It was once the home of two World War II training camps, Camp Horn and Camp Hyder. The town also served as the home to the Dateland Army Air Field, a World War II United States Army Air Forces training airfield.

Contents

Brief history

The Oatman Mountain was formed from multiple lava flows from a series of vents that over time, built the peak into the shield shape. The mountain was named after the Oatman family who were massacred nearby by the Apaches in the 1850s. [1]

Three of the prehistoric cultures which are believed to have resided in the Sears Point, located in the area surrounding Dateland, are the Desert Archaic, Patayan and Hohokams. They lived in the area between 10,000 BC and 1,450 AD. Evidence of their existence can be found in the hundreds of symbolic and artistic rock etchings in the Painted Rock Petroglyph Site. The ancient Native-Americans obviously used the Gila to hunt, fish and farm [2] [3] When European settlers arrived in the region the area was home to the Tonto and Yavapai Apache tribes. One of the first European expeditions into the area was led by Juan Bautista de Anza. The explorer set forth from Tubac and headed west towards California. During his travels in the Yuma area he established good relations with the Yuma tribes. The trail in the Dateland area is now known as the Juan Bautista de Anza National Historic Trail. [1]

Mormon Trail

Arizona belonged to Mexico until the end of the Mexican–American War in 1848. In 1846, President Polk, authorized the army to recruit 500 Mormons to join their forces in the war with Mexico. The Mormon Battalion was mustered into service on July 16, 1846, in Council Bluffs, Iowa. Although the battalion was prepared to engage the enemy if necessary, the Mormon Battalion did not find an occasion to fire their weapons in combat. The government wanted to establish a southern route to California, as the northern route was impassable up to 9 months of each year due to snow in the mountains. The Battalion came through the area on December 30, 1846, with 25 wagons and road building equipment under the command of Stephan W. Kearney. They completed a 700-mile trail between New Mexico and California. The trail established by the battalion became known as the Mormon Battalion Trail. [2] [3] [4]

The Oatman family were members of the Mormon faith who left Independence, Missouri in August 1850, and headed towards California on the Butterfield Stage Road. They were attacked by the Apaches in March 1851. Royce and Mary Oatman and four of their seven children were murdered. The Apaches took two of the girls, 14 year old Olive and 7 rear old Mary Ann. They left one of the boys, Lorenzo, for dead. The girls were eventually sold to the Mohaves. The girls were accepted as members of the Mohave. Mary Ann died while in captivity and Olive was released by the Mohaves after her brother Lorenzo found out that she was still alive and where she was living. The site where nine members of the Oatman family are buried is located close to the Oatman Massacre site on Oatman Road in Dateland. [5]

Butterfield Overland Mail Trail

The Mormon Battalion Trail was later used by the Butterfield Overland Mail Route. The Butterfield Overland Mail Trail [6] was a stagecoach service in the United States, operating from 1857 to 1861. In 1867, the trail was once more used and was known as the Southern Overland Trail.

William Fourr (1841–1935) was born in Missouri. Like so many other pioneers, Fourr headed to Arizona in search of gold. He did not excel as a prospector and instead worked as a rider on the Southern Arizona mail route. He eventually became a rancher, Apache Indian fighter and finally a cattleman. Fourr and his family established a ranch on Datelands Oatman Flat. Fourr, who was once an agent of the Butterfield Stage Stop, built a Southern Overland Trail stage stop station on the old Butterfield Mail Trail in 1869. [7]

Nate Salsbury (1846–1902), who was the principal owner and business manager for William F. Cody 's "Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show", owned a ranch in Dateland. [8] Salsbury was also a mining partner of William F. Cody a.k.a. Buffalo Bill Cody. Allegedly Buffalo Bill resided for a short time with his friend and in 1890, scratched "Bill Cody 1890" in wall inside the adobe and stone house. That same year Salsbury died and Cody headed to Oracle, Arizona. The ruins of the stone house are located on the frontage road just off the Spot Road in Dateland. [9] [10]

World War II

Medjool Date Palms in Dateland Dateland-Medjool Date Palms in Dateland.jpg
Medjool Date Palms in Dateland

Dateland, named after the Medjool Date Palms, was a road stop in the 1920s that served the travelers who were headed to and from California. During World War II, Dateland became the home to two of General George Patton's desert training camps, Camp Horn and Camp Hyder. It was also the home of three airfields including the Dateland Army Air Field.

Both Camp Horn and Hyder were established in 1943. Camp Horn served the 81st Infantry Division and 104th Infantry Division. Camp Hyder, named after the farming community of Hyder was located on the grounds of an old 1890s military camp site. It was used to prepare and harden the troops for action in the North African desert. [11]

The Dateland Army Air Field was also established in 1943. It was originally a gunnery training base, but it was eventually converted into a B-25 bomber training facility during World War II. The air field later became known as the Dateland Air Force Auxiliary Field. [12]

Properties, plaques and monuments pictured

The properties and monuments pictured are the following:

Historic structures and monuments

The following are the images of the historic structures, monuments and plaques in Dateland and its surrounding areas.

Further reading

See also

Related Research Articles

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References

  1. 1 2 "Oatman Mountain : Climbing, Hiking & Mountaineering : SummitPost". www.summitpost.org.
  2. 1 2 "Sears Point Petroglyph Site, Near Dateland, Arizona. Ancient Hohokam Patayan Petroglyphs. Hikes, Travels & Tours, Pictures, Photos, Images, & Reviews". delange.org.
  3. 1 2 "Painted Rock Petroglyph Site records Arizona's history".
  4. "U.S. Army of the West – Mormon Battalion Historical Marker".
  5. "Arizona Pioneer & Cemetery Research Project". www.apcrp.org.
  6. Also known as the Oxbow Route, the Butterfield Overland Stage, or the Butterfield Stage
  7. "William Fourr" (PDF).
  8. "The man behind Buffalo Bill's Wild West: Nate Salsbury". April 27, 2014.
  9. "Buffalo Bill Cody and the Melting Adobe House".
  10. www.nerdmecca.com. "Abandoned 1902 Rock House, Dateland, Arizona – Ghost Towns of Arizona and Surrounding States". www.ghosttownaz.info.
  11. www.nerdmecca.com. "WW2 Camp Hyder Ghost Town, Arizona – Ghost Towns of Arizona and Surrounding States". www.ghosttownaz.info.
  12. www.nerdmecca.com. "Dateland Air Force Auxiliary Field – Ghost Towns of Arizona and Surrounding States". www.ghosttownaz.info.