By Drew Desmond
In 2017 Joan Bigley, now 101 years young, took a sentimental journey over Arizona Route 89A, remembering its history from bygone days. She shared her memories of a simpler, sparser time for us to enjoy today. When Joan was born, the route was known as US Highway 79, but in 1940, it received its current name when the state took over its maintenance.
From Prescott she drove through Lonesome Valley and started up Mingus Mountain. On her right was Yeager Canyon, named after Louis Yeager, one of the area’s largest wool growers in the early 1900s. At the summit and the rest area, Joan recalled the Mingus Mountain Inn, which at times was a gas station, motel, gift shop and a restaurant she fondly remembered. The Inn was purposely burned to the ground in 1986 by the Forest Service.
Turning right and following a dirt road eastward, turning off from one side of 89A, Joan came across a summer campsite. “There were cabins, a pond, stables, a large mess hall, etc.,” Joan related. “This was owned by the Dahlbergs.” Today it is known as the Mingus Mountain Camp and Retreat Center, or the United Methodist Camp Mingus. “Every year our Congregational church members were invited to an overnight campout,” she continued. “What a fun time for the families.”
Joan then turned around and crossed back over 89A, heading westward toward the Potato Patch campground and the Woodchute trail. She recalled the days when the trail was lonely. “It was a beautiful hike,” she recalled, “and the view from the top was breathtaking, with the whole panorama of the Verde Valley, Jerome, Oak Creek and Sedona.”
“Driving on down to Jerome,” she continued, “I spotted an old wooden flume. This used to carry logs from the top to shore up the mines in Jerome. Sadly, only a short section remains as a reminder.” This is how Woodchute got its name. At one time, the mountain was nearly clearcut.
Twisting down the mountain, Joan’s next stop was Clarkdale. “In about 1950, a group of us nurses packed a lunch, drove to Clarkdale and jumped aboard the Verde Mix train,” she said. The Verde Mix train had both freight and passenger cars. Built by the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe, this 38-mile stretch was originally used to haul in supplies and haul out copper ore from the Clarkdale smelter. The line terminated at Drake, where the Santa Fe, Prescott and Phoenix railroad went north to the Atlantic and Pacific railroad in Ash Fork. “It wasn’t a tourist attraction back then,” she stated, “but a working entity.”
“Driving on to Cottonwood brought back memories of a restaurant called The Purple Sage. It was named after a book by Zane Grey called Riders of the Purple Sage,” Joan explained. “A movie had been filmed there many years ago.” Indeed, eight movies have had some portion of them filmed in Cottonwood. The first of these was Desert Fury, starring Burt Lancaster in 1947. The second was Stay Away Joe, starring Elvis Presley in 1967. “Nowadays, the old section of town is a thriving tourist mecca, but the new section is all business,” she observed.
“Onward to Sedona and more old history,” she continued. Her first visit was in 1944, “and it was hardly a town,” offering “a filling station…a grocery store and a fruit stand. An old waterwheel was still running.”
“On through to the canyon to Slide Rock. We could drive from Prescott on a weekday and have it all to ourselves,” she said. “What a contrast to the mobs there today!”
She then turned back to Prescott with “memories intact, but barely touched on anymore.”
“Days Past” is a collaborative project of the Sharlot Hall Museum and the Prescott Corral of Westerners International (www.prescottcorral.org). This and other Days Past articles are also available at www.archives.sharlothallmuseum.org/articles/days-past-articles/1. The public is encouraged to submit proposed articles and inquiries to dayspast@sharlothallmuseum.org Please contact SHM Research Center reference desk at 928-277-2003, or via email at archivesrequest@sharlothallmuseum.org for information or assistance with photo requests.