Description

Restoration as part of Corbin Tenney's Eagle Scout project.

Isaac "Uncle Ike" Bradshaw (b. 1819 - d. 1885) was born in Tennessee and a house carpenter by trade. He traveled from California to the Arizona Territory in 1863 to assist his younger brother, William D., in operating a Colorado River Ferry at Olive City, La Paz. Isaac left his wife behind in California. The brothers reportedly mined claims near Prescott briefly and abandoned those claims, due to the danger of Indians and the difficulty of transportation. William committed suicide in December 1864.

Ike was Sheriff of Yuma County in La Paz, 1864-65. In 1867, he sold his ferry and moved on. In August 1868, he had a mining interest in Black Canyon. In June 1869, Ike was elected a councilman in Yuma County and in March of 1871, he returned to Prescott and in May found a continuation of the Tiger Lode (lode refers to hard rock mining). In December 1873, Ike discovered a rich mineral deposit near Walnut Grove. He also served on the election board at Humbug in October 1876. In November 1882, Ike sold his interest in the Copper Basin mines to Honorable (Judge) C.C. Bean. Ike died of pneumonia on Christmas Eve of 1885, while camping near the Castle Creek Smelter and was buried near Castle Hot Springs on the Colorado River.

The Bradshaw Mountains were named either for his brother William or for both William and Ike.

See written summary in file.