Recreated "ghost town" preserves lost mining era
Mining towns are known for being tough.
Combine that with a remote location in the heat of the Sonoran Desert, and you've got "Castle Dome tough."
Arizona's oldest mining district, Castle Dome first paroduced silver for the Spanish. It was rediscovered in 1862 by Col. Jacob Snively, a world-class tough guy who'd been Sam Houston's right-hand man.
By the time Snively was killed in 1878 - holding off 150 Apaches while his companions escaped - Castle Dome City was seven miles long and had a population of 3,500 people. It used 10 of the largest wagons ever built to haul ore to the Colorado River.
But more impressive than any statistic about its heydey is that Castle Dome stuck around, supplying munitions lead for both World Wars.
Through the 1960s, miners worked Castle Dome claims - and ran off interlopers with shotguns. The last Castle Dome miner didn't hang up his drill until 1979.
And it's that sheer cussedness that's now made possible a truly impressive recreation of the past at Castle Dome Mines Museum. "Stuff was still here because there were miners here and those guys didn't let people snoop around," says Allen Armstrong, who bought the 26-acre mining enclave in the Kofa National Wildlife Refuge with his wife Stephanie in 1994.
Building a ghost town wasn't in their plans back then, Armstrong says. But when he learned the refuge was going to "clear" its property of the remnants of its mining past, Allen struck a deal: If he removed any buildings or equipment, he could keep whatever he found.
What he found was a whole world: about two dozen structures now, each with its own treasure trove of artifacts, like canned goods that look fresh off the shelf, Levis from the 1890s, matches that still strike after a century underground.
"There's really nothing left of the West," Armstrong says. "This is a pretty amazing collection."
DIG DEEPER
WHAT: Re-created "ghost town" museum in mining district
WHERE: About 40 miles northwest of Yuma at foot of Castle Dome: take Highway 95 north to milepost 55, turn right at Castle Dome/Kofa National Wildlife Refuge sign and go about 10 miles (stay left, don't branch off to Big Eye Mine). Road is paved first couple of miles, then graded gravel - easy passenger-car access unless monsoons wash out road.
WHEN: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesdays-Sundays until summer, then weekends only or call first. During the winter season, a guided hiking tour is offered at 10 a.m. Wednesday or for groups by arrangement.
HOW MUCH: Adults $5, kids (7-12) $2, under 6 free; guided hike is $5 extra.
IMPORTANT: No services, Castle Dome is off the grid. Fill up the tank and bring a picnic-tables are provided and the resident ravens will clean up any crumbs.
MORE INFO: 920-3062
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Ann Walker is a writer for the Yuma Visitors Bureau. She can be reached at ann@visityuma.com or 376-0100.