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| Hiking | 1.99 Miles |
123 AEG |
| | Hiking | 1.99 Miles | 1 Hour 2 Mns | | 1.99 mph |
| 123 ft AEG | 2 Mns Break | | | |
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| no partners | | After lunch at Tonto 3, the only shade we could find, it was off to Wall Street Mill. It's a flat hike but is supposed to have lots of cool old stuff to see. We really didn't know what to expect nor exactly where to go. You head up a tall Joshua Tree lined trail which is pretty cool. In fact, one of the trees presented us with a full blossom to touch and get a good close-up picture  . We saw that the trail split and we noticed an old vehicle so we headed up that way and checked it out. From there we saw a use-trail head back to the main trail so we took that. Next up was the windmill which still had the old pump intact so that was neat as well. There was also some sort of large hollow cylinder (well water tank) that Kelly rolled a bit so I filmed that.
From there we headed up to the trail which eventually veered to the left and we saw the sign about a major event that happened out here. It's really quite the story: The history of the mill’s proprietor, Bill Keys, is interesting too. He had a property dispute with his neighbor, Worth Bagley, over control of the road accessing the mill. Their argument escalated, a gun was fired, and Mr. Bagley was killed. Following this western shootout, Keys was convicted of murder and sent away to San Quentin Prison. He was released after five years when a judge pardoned Keys, ruling that Bagley had been killed in self-defense.
You'll have to read the additional and fascinating info under the picture I'll post but here is a link to the most comprehensive reporting: https://www.desertsun.com/story/news/20 ... 855007002/
After walking through a narrow wash, we started to see various things like part of a vehicle off to the right and off to the left a bit was another old truck and around the corner part of a mill stack. Next up was another vehicle that was an old 1929 Lincoln Phaeton, which was converted into a truck. It was still in good shape after all these years. From there we wrapped around the mine site which you used to be able to get into but not anymore as there is a barbed wire fence around it; probably a good idea. However, you can see photos of some of the interior online. During the Depression, the mining regions here experienced a second gold rush. As miners arrived, long-time rancher-miner Bill Keys recognized the need for a gold processing mill. In 1930 he bought the Wall Street Mill site, which had an existing well. Keys gathered the stamp mill and other machinery from area mine and mill sites to assemble his mill.
There is a very nice interpretive sign on the east side as well as the Mill site well.
I was glad when Kelly suggested we follow what looked like an alternative path from the backside of the Millsite to the Trailhead. This was a great choice and we both enjoyed it a lot as you got a lot closer to the surrounding monzogranite hillsides and a lot more Joshua Trees. There are a couple little use trails along the way but just keep veering to the right and stay on that path. And as I suspected when we had stopped at the first vehicle at the beginning of our hike; this is where the path takes you. This trail splits where you can go over to the windmill or directly back to the trailhead. We opted to head for a brick structure we also could see at the beginning of the hike from the main trail. However, this trail takes you directly to Wonderland Ranch, which I read was Worth Bagley's stonemaker (I did find additional info). There were a couple people sitting near the structure waiting for one of the other members to come back. We would end up seeing them up at Keys View later.
After subscribing to the Desert Sun (I apparently had already subscribed; must have been an ancestry thing), I was finally able to find some info, the rest of the story (one of the first things I got to do when I moved to Phx was serve Paul Harvey and his wife, Angel, in the Aztec Lounge at the Arizona Biltmore Hotel in 1981 - I will always remember that) will be under one of the photos: 1944, an artist named Signe Ohlson and her husband, Charles, bought the spread and within a few years had turned it into a 2,400 square-foot-home that Luce said "was probably the envy" of monument homesteaders. It was painted bright pink.
We wandered around here for a bit as it really is quite the spread.
You could easily combine this hike with Barker Dam which is somewhat next door.
Lots of movies and additional info in my video. Like a lot of this there is information all over the place but you can never get all you want in one place. I'm doing just one video rather than splitting them in two as it's easier for me. You just need to grab a beverage and a snack and come along:
[ youtube video ] |
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For me, sometimes it's just as much about the journey as the destination.
Oh, and once in awhile, don't forget to look back at the trail you've traveled. |
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