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

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mormon Battalion</span> Military unit

The Mormon Battalion was the only religious unit in United States military history in federal service, recruited solely from one religious body and having a religious title as the unit designation. The volunteers served from July 1846 to July 1847 during the Mexican–American War of 1846–1848. The battalion was a volunteer unit of between 534 and 559 Latter-day Saint men, led by Mormon company officers commanded by regular U.S. Army officers. During its service, the battalion made a grueling march of nearly 1,950 miles from Council Bluffs, Iowa, to San Diego, California.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Apache Pass</span> Landform in Cochise County, Arizona

Apache Pass, also known by its earlier Spanish name Puerto del Dado, is a historic mountain pass in the U.S. state of Arizona between the Dos Cabezas Mountains and Chiricahua Mountains at an elevation of 5,110 feet (1,560 m). It is approximately 20 miles (32 km) east-southeast of Willcox, Arizona, in Cochise County.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fort Bowie</span> 19th-century US Army outpost in Arizona

Fort Bowie was a 19th-century outpost of the United States Army located in southeastern Arizona near the present day town of Willcox, Arizona. The remaining buildings and site are now protected as Fort Bowie National Historic Site.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dateland Air Force Auxiliary Field</span> Abandoned military airfield in Yuma County, Arizona

Dateland Air Force Auxiliary Field is an abandoned military airfield located in Dateland, Arizona, 40 miles (64 km) east of Yuma, Arizona. Its last known military use was in 1957.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dateland, Arizona</span> CDP in Arizona, United States

Dateland is a CDP, populated place, and colonia in Yuma County, Arizona, United States. It is in an area well known for date palm dates.

Fort Cummings is a former U. S. Army post located near Cooke's Springs, in Luna County, New Mexico. It is located 20 miles northeast of Deming, New Mexico.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Southern Emigrant Trail</span> 19th-century immigrant route in the United States

Southern Emigrant Trail, also known as the Gila Trail, the Kearny Trail, Southern Trail and the Butterfield Stage Trail, was a major land route for immigration into California from the eastern United States that followed the Santa Fe Trail to New Mexico during the California Gold Rush. Unlike the more northern routes, pioneer wagons could travel year round, mountain passes not being blocked by snows; however, it had the disadvantage of summer heat and lack of water in the desert regions through which it passed in New Mexico Territory and the Colorado Desert of California. Subsequently, it was a route of travel and commerce between the eastern United States and California. Many herds of cattle and sheep were driven along this route and it was followed by the San Antonio-San Diego Mail Line in 1857–1858 and then the Butterfield Overland Mail from 1858 to 1861.

The San Antonio–San Diego Mail Line, also known as the Jackass Mail, was the earliest overland stagecoach and mail operation from the Eastern United States to California in operation between 1857 and 1861. It was created, organized and financed by James E. Birch the head of the California Stage Company. Birch was awarded the first contract for overland service on the "Southern Route", designated Route 8076. This contract required a semi-monthly service in four-horse coaches, scheduled to leave San Antonio and San Diego on the ninth and the 24th of each month, with 30 days allowed for each trip.

The Butterfield Overland Mail was a transport and mail delivery system that employed stagecoaches that travelled on a specific route between St. Louis, Missouri and San Francisco, California and which passed through the New Mexico Territory. It was created by the United States Congress on March 3, 1857, and operated until March 30, 1861. The route that was operated extended from where the ferry across the Colorado River to Fort Yuma Station, California was located, through New Mexico Territory via Tucson to the Rio Grande and Mesilla, New Mexico then south to Franklin, Texas, midpoint on the route. The New Mexico Territory mail route was divided into two divisions each under a superintendent. Tucson was the headquarters of the 3rd Division of the Butterfield Overland Mail Company. Franklin Station in the town of Franklin,, was the headquarters of the 4th Division.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Agua Caliente, Arizona</span> Former resort in Maricopa County, Arizona

Agua Caliente in Maricopa County, Arizona on the border with Yuma County, is a place north of the Gila River near Hyder, Arizona. Named 'Santa Maria del Agua Caliente' in 1744 by Father Jacob Sedelmayer. In 1775, Father Francisco Garces used the current short form. The location was the site of a resort established at the site of nearby hot springs. Agua Caliente, a name derived from Spanish meaning "hot water", received its name from nearby hot springs which were originally used by the local Indigenous population.

Burke's Station was a stagecoach station on the Butterfield Overland Mail route in Arizona. It was named in 1858 after Patrick Burke, the first proprietor of the station. It was temporarily closed when the Butterfield line shut down during 1861 due to the American Civil War. Burke's was located 9.43 miles from Grinnels Ranch approximately halfway over the difficult route to Oatman Flat. It was afterward purchased by King Woolsey. Later revived as a stagecoach station in 1866, it was purchased by William Fourr who also sold flour and groceries there and acquired a dairy herd. Then in 1869, Fourr sold Burkes Station and it continued as a stage station until the Southern Pacific Railroad arrived in Arizona, making it obsolete. After closure as a stage station, the name was changed to 'Burkes Ranch' and by 1900 to 'Alpha' (AZ-T101).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vallecito, San Diego County, California</span> Former settlement in the United States

Vallecito, in San Diego County, California, is an oasis of cienegas and salt grass along Vallecito Creek and a former Kumeyaay settlement on the edge of the Colorado Desert in the Vallecito Valley. Its Spanish name is translated as "little valley". Vallecito was located at the apex of the gap in the Carrizo Badlands created by Carrizo Creek and its wash in its lower reach, to which Vallecito Creek is a tributary. The springs of Vallecito, like many in the vicinity, are a product of the faults that run along the base of the Peninsular Ranges to the west.

Murderer's Grave Station is a historic locale, later called Kinyon Station and Kenyon Station was a stagecoach station of the Butterfield Overland Mail located along the Gila River in Arizona. The site was located 20 miles east of Oatmans Flat Station and 15 miles west of Gila Ranch Station. It was located along the Gila River near the present site of the Painted Rock Reservoir

Oatman Flat Station, later Fourr's Stage Station, was a stagecoach station of the Butterfield Overland Mail located along the Gila River in Maricopa County, Arizona. The site was located 20 miles (32 km) east of Flap-Jack Ranch and 20 miles (32 km) west of Murderer's Grave Station, near the Gila River at Oatman Flat. It is to the east of the Oatman Grave, where the family of Olive Oatman was buried following their massacre on the Southern Emigrant Trail by Yavapai in 1851.

Oatman Flat, is a flat, south of Oatman Mountain, on the south bank of the Gila River and north of the mouth of Wild Horse Canyon in Maricopa County, Arizona. The flat was named for the Oatman family that was massacred in their camp on the bluff overlooking the flat in 1851. They were later buried there along the Southern Emigrant Trail overlooking the flat that bears their name. What became known as Oatman Grave 33°00′15″N113°09′23″W, on the flat below is a memorial and not the grave site.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sentinel, Arizona</span> Unincorporated community in Arizona, United States

Sentinel is an unincorporated community in Maricopa County, Arizona, United States. It has an estimated elevation of 692 feet (211 m) above sea level.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Camp Hyder</span> US Army sub camp during World War II

Camp Hyder was a US Army installation in Arizona, functioning as a subcamp of the Desert Training Center in Riverside County, California. The main headquarters for the Desert Training Center was Camp Young, this is where General Patton's 3rd Armored Division was stationed. Camp Hyder is 2 miles (3.2 km) miles south of Hyder, Arizona. The camp was just north of the Gila River. Camp Hyder is 60 miles (97 km) miles east of Yuma, Arizona, near Camp Horn. Camp Hyder was built at the site of an old 1890s military base. Trained at Camp Hyder, in 1943, for six months was the 77th Infantry Division from April 1943 to September 1943. Then the 104th Infantry Division moved in for training. Unlike the other camps, no large tank activity was done. The camp was built by The 369th Engineer Regiment. Camp Hyder had its own rail station at which most troops arrived. The train station at Sentinel, Arizona south of the camp was also used. Over 13,000 troops were trained at Camp Horn and Camp Hyder.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Camp Horn, Arizona</span> California Historic Landmark

The Camp Horn was a sub camp of the US Army, Desert Training Center in Riverside County, California. The main headquarters for the Desert Training Center was Camp Young, this is where General Patton's 3rd Armored Division was stationed. Camp Horn was near Camp Hyder about 6 miles (9.7 km) miles west of Hyder, Arizona. Camp Horn was just north of the Gila River. Camp Horn was 54 miles (87 km) miles east of Yuma, Arizona. Most troop arrived at Camp Horn from the train station at Camp Hyder or the train station at Sentinel, Arizona south of the camp. Over 13,000 troops were trained at Camp Horn and Camp Hyder. The 81st Infantry Division trained at Camp Horn was from June 1943 to November 1943.

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.