Coming into the town of Quartzsite from both Interstate10 exits (Exit 19 and 17), the visitor is welcomed by recently erected artistic town signs that offer a glimpse of the town’s history. The pyramid and camels have become iconic symbols for the town, reflecting the story of a camel driver that brought camels to the American desert.
I
have been fascinated with this story, and this past year we visited one more
time the Tyson’s Well Stage Station Museum and spent some time collecting more
historical information. We have been going to Quartzsite for the gem shows
since 1997, yet the first time we visited the museum wasn’t until 2013. The
winter visitors, or “snowbirds,” as they’re referred to by the locals, stay
several months in the area and have more time to visit area attractions. But
for many of us visiting Quartzsite only during the gem show, time is limited,
and sadly, we often don’t find the time to appreciate all the town has to
offer.
The
Tyson’s Well Stage Station Museum, also known as the Quartzsite Museum, is
located in the heart of Quartzsite, at 161 Main Street, very close to the QIA
Pow-Wow show. If you want to learn more about Arizona’s early gold mining
history, and how gold’s $35.00 fixed price per ounce after WWII made many of
the mines unprofitable, then head over to this museum.
The
Tyson’s Well Stage Station Museum is housed in the original adobe stagecoach
station built in 1866 by Charles Tyson at the present location. The station
served as an important watering stop for the stagecoaches and freighters
carrying mining equipment and supplies to the mines and the army from the river
port at Ehrenberg on the Colorado River. Miners came up the Colorado River in
steamboats and either stayed in Arizona or crossed over into California heading
to the gold fields.
The Station even hosted the post office from 1893 until 1895. For
several years it was the town’s grocery store, lodging and food source for the
local saloons. Around 1900 it became the Oasis Hotel, but over the years it got
neglected, until 1972, when the Rice family donated the lot with the Stage
Station for a museum to be built. The building was extensively restored, and
the museum opened in 1980. It is operated by the Quartzsite Historical Society,
and the wonderful volunteers are eager to share their knowledge.
Although
Quartzsite itself was not a mining town, it was surrounded by many mining
camps. In search of placer gold, hundreds of individual prospectors swamped the
areas around Quartzsite in the 1860s and on. Water was a precious commodity,
and was being hauled and delivered to the mines for a hefty price at $1.00 to
$5.00 per barrel. Miners prospected mostly for gold, but also for silver, kyanite,
copper and lead. The 1864 census, the first one in the territory of Arizona,
showed one out of every four residents being a miner or prospector.
A
wealth of information is available at a new exhibit about all the mines of the
area. The Cinnaber Mine, ten miles south of Quartzsite produced quicksilver
ore, valuable because gold and silver would adhere to it. The Copper Bottom
Mine was ten miles southwest of Quartzsite in the Cunningham Mountains. The
Ferrar Gulch Mine, ten miles west of Quartzsite, allegedly was one of the
richest placer gold mines. One nugget found there weighed 47.5 pounds! Over $4
million in metal was dug out from the King of Arizona Mine (KOFA), operating
from 1896-1910. The mine was so rich, that the mill had to be stopped every few
hours to remove the gold from the plates.
More
photos and information are exhibited about the Goodenough Mine, Mariquita, Moon
Mountain, Gold Nugget mines, Bonanza Mine, Castle Dome Mining District, and the
Cienega District. An area map of historical mines shows 29 mines around
Quartzsite! The extensive photographic record of the mines draws the visitor
into the area’s history of sweat, tears, and successful mining of gold, lead
and mercury.
The
fixed price for gold at $35.00 per ounce was the beginning of the end for the U.S.
gold mines, until 1975 when the gold price was released, although for many
years the gold prices would wildly fluctuate. Today placer gold prospecting
still takes place around Quartzsite using metal detecting, dry washing, panning
and sluicing. Caution is always advised. Ask at the museum or the Chamber of
Commerce for information.
We
were truly impressed with this little museum brimming with mining history, with
the quality of the displays and the treasure-trove of information on the old
mining camps. There is a great display of mining equipment inside and outside
the museum, among them the Assay Office from the Mariquita Mine, containing
assay and mining equipment from local mines.
Photographic
portraits of Quartzsite’s famous citizens are also on display. I particularly
liked the early photo of “Hi-Jolly” and his bride, as well as the humorous
print of the “Rules of Stagecoach Etiquette,” that gives a glimpse of what
stagecoach passengers could or could not do, regarding smoking, chewing
tobacco, spitting, abstinence from liquor, rough language and firearms.
In
the museum’s yard, there is a fabulous display labeled “Barretts’ Miniature
Village.” It was created by Walter Barrett, a long-time winter resident of
Quartzsite. The stone house buildings are replicas of buildings from his past,
and Barrett spent eight years building them. The village was donated by
Barrett’s children to the Historical Society after his death.
The
museum has a small gift shop and bookstore. Among the books available is Lost Mines and Prospector’s Lore adapted
from the diaries of a local miner and artist, Bill Keiser, a fascinating read
for those interested in mining history. Also available is Stone Cabins by Carol Nilson, with information about old mine sites
and stone cabins that dot the desert areas around Quartzsite. Another great two-volume
book available at the museum is Gold
Atlas of Quartzsite, by Dr. Erik Melchiorre.
There
is no admission fee to the Tyson’s Well Stage Station Museum, although
donations are always appreciated. Please visit the museum’s website for hours
and more info at www.quartzsitemuseum.com.
The Camel expedition
story
So, how did the camels of the Middle East deserts become iconic
symbols of the Arizona deserts? It all started with the idea to bring hardy
camels from the deserts of the Middle East to the American West to help the
army carry their supplies more easily through the tough desert terrain. A camel
could carry about 600 pounds for up to thirty miles per day, much better than
the mules, and travel longer without water. The idea was hatched in 1836, in
Florida, by Major George H. Crossman, who then relayed it to Major Henry C.
Wayne. Twelve years later Wayne mentioned the idea to Jefferson Davis, who at
the time was a senator from Mississippi, and later secretary of war and president
of the Confederate States of America.
In
1857, a 35-year old retired Navy lieutenant named Edward Fitzgerald Beale was
in charge of establishing new wagon and railroad routes westward to California.
The army sent some military men to the Middle East, who sent 33 camels from
Tunisia, Egypt and Smyrna (in Turkey) in 1856, and another 44 camels the
following year, to Galveston, Texas. Beale, in charge of the camel expedition,
hired a lead camel driver named Philip Tedro, known as Hadji Ali, to take care
of the camels.
Hadji
Ali was born in Smyrna circa 1828 to a Greek mother and a Syrian father, who
was a Christian Arab. Tedro converted to Islam as a young adult and went to
Mecca to perform the rites of Hajj. As an Ottoman Turkish citizen he worked as
a camel breeder and trainer in Syria, and had joined the French Army in Algiers
before joining the U.S. Army.
More
camel drivers, referred to at the time as “Turkmen” or “Orientals,” eight of
them of Greek origin, were also employed for Beale’s expedition from New Mexico
to California, with the notion that the camels would respond to the Arabic
language. Even Beale himself rode a camel. Although Beale thought that the
camels were serving the army well, others did not agree because they found them
to be ill-tempered and smelly. Also, the fellow Army pack animals — burros,
horses and mules — did not get along with the camels and were often panicked by
their large size.
The
camel experiment was forgotten once the Civil War started in 1861. When the
Civil War came to a close in 1864 the camels were officially discharged and
sold. Thirty-four camels were auctioned off in 1864 at Benicia, Calif., and the
remaining 66 at Camp Verde, Tex., in 1866. Some went to zoos, others to
circuses and some were turned loose in the desert.
Hadji
Ali (or “Hi Jolly” by his anglicized nickname) acquired two camels and joined
the freighting business from the Colorado River ports to the mining camps.
Then, in 1868, he released the camels near Gila Bend and became a prospector. He
wandered through the Mohave Desert in California and the western Arizona
deserts around today’s Quartzsite. In 1880 he married Gertudis Serna, a Tucson
woman. They had two children, and Ali reverted to his original name, Philip
Tedro. He moved to Quartzsite by himself in his final years and served as an
Army scout on and off for thirty years. He never received a pension from the
Army and died penniless in 1902 at the age of 75. He is buried in Quartzsite,
in the middle of town.
A
unique stone pyramid monument with a copper camel on top marks Hadji Ali’s
gravesite. In 1935, the Hi Jolly Monument was dedicated by the governor of
Arizona, Benjamin Moeur, to Ali and the Camel Corps. It is considered the centerpiece
of the cemetery and has been placed on the National Register of Historic
Places.
Hadji Ali’s story and the camel experiment were featured in the 1954 movie Southwest Passage and the 1976 movie Hawmps! (www.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hi_Jolly)