Quartzsite
lies on the western portion of the La Posa Plain along Tyson Wash. The Dome
Rock Mountains overlook the town on the west with Granite Mountain on the
southwest edge of the town and Oldman Mountain on the northwest. The Plomosa
lie across the La Posa Plain to the east.
The
town has a hot desert climate with mild to warm winters from November to March
and hot to extreme summers for the remainder of the year. In the middle of
summer, Quartzsite is one of the hottest places in the United States.
Quartzsite was originally known as Fort Tyson. Fort
Tyson
was a privately owned fort built in 1856 by Charles Tyson to protect the local
miners and a water supply from the raids of the Yavapai (Mohave-Apache), a
Native-American tribe. They resented the arrival of the Anglo-European settlers
on their land and raided the early settlements. The water supply in the area
became the target of the Yavapai tribe.
In
the early years of the American gold rush, pan handlers began to arrive in
the La Paz valley of Arizona searching for the precious metal. Many of the early pioneers and miners
who settled the area arrived from California and other places in the United
States and aboard. Gold deposits were discovered in the desert mountains of
Plomosa and Dome Rock in the area and a boom in the mining industry followed.
 |
| Plomosa Mountains at sunrise to the east of Quartzsite |
The
famous placers that surround the town of Quartzsite are known to have been
successfully worked by individual prospectors since the 1860's and it continues
to this day. Gold placers are found in the Dome Rock Mtns west of Quartzsite,
in the Plomosa Mtns east of Quartzsite and scattered on the La Posa Plain which
lies in between the two ranges. Both mountain ranges are highly mineralized and
contain numerous lode mines bearing many different types of valuable ore.
 |
| Dome Rock Mountains to the west of Quartzsite |
When
known as Fort Tyson or Tyson’s Well, the community served as a stage stop for those
traveling from Prescott, Arizona’s state capital at the time, and Riverside,
California. The coming of the railroad affected the commercial aspect of the
area. The town fell under a complete state of abandonment when the stage lines
stopped running in the area.
 |
| Abandoned mine near Quartzsite |
However,
there was a minor mining boom in 1897, which revitalized the town. That year
the town was officially named Quartzsite and Tyson owned three stores, two
saloons and a post office. Tyson’s Well stage station continued to provide rest
and refreshment to travelers and freight drivers. However, the mining boom
faded by 1900 and the town was once more abandoned and left with only 20
residents.
Mining is active, but dwindling in the region,
mostly due to the scarcity of water. Instead, it has become a haven for "snowbirds" who live in their recreational vehicles, usually "dry camping," for months at a time during the winter.
Sources
Wikipedia
My Independence Day 1881 –
Zina Abbott’s Sweethearts of Jubilee Springs is available both as an ebook and in print on
Amazon. If you have a Kindle Unlimited account and have not yet read all three
of my first three books, this book containing three novellas will count as one
book on your KU queue. You may find the book description and purchase link by CLICKING HERE.
After you finished reading this book, please
leave a review on Amazon and Goodreads.
No comments:
Post a Comment