HOME | BOOSTER | CEMETERIES | EDUCATION | GHOST TOWNS | HEADSTONE
MINOTTO | PICTURES | ROADS | JACK SWILLING | TEN DAY TRAMPS
American Pioneer
& Cemetery Research
Project
Internet Publication
Version 110109-2
WINCHESTER, ARIZONA
and the
DESERT QUEEN MINE
Researched by: Bonnie Helten, Cindy Enos, Mary Ann Wunderlin
Photo Courtesy; Bonnie Helten,
Cindy Enos, Mary Ann Wunderlin
The Desert Queen Mine
property consists of three Patented Mining Claims:
1. The Golden Mound
2. The Gold Eagle
3. The Safe Deposit
Located 120 miles
North West of Phoenix and 2.5 miles North of Vicksburg, Arizona, The Desert
Queen Mine stopped production of GOLD in 1942 when the United States Government
no longer allowed mining of non-strategic minerals or gold during World War 2.
There is a well on the
property which was a main watering site for travelers to the North as well as
for the mine. The Grandfather Water Rights are outside the Gila River System and
source.
The Winchester Home
still remains intact named after the original owner JOSIAH WINCHESTER. The old
mine shack still standing is in poor repair. The Old Miner's Shower has been
torn down but there are several foundations including what may be the remains of
an old stamp mill with minor tailings.
Photo Courtesy; Bonnie Helten,
Cindy Enos, Mary Ann Wunderlin
Old loading bin by
"main level" is in good shape and still usable. Two loading chutes (slides) on
property are in disrepair, but could easily be put into working order. Access
roads are in excellent condition. A 500 Gallon cement water tank is in good
shape.
Results of findings
and tests conducted by Kappes,
Cassiday
& Associates & Geology Students at Arizona State University; supervised by
Faculty concluded that; values of the ore vary and sample values are listed for
Gold, Silver, Copper and other minerals.
Two twenty pound
average samples from the approximately 6,000 ton ore tailings dump of already
mined ore were sent to see if the Gold from the ore dump could be leached
successfully by the Cyanide method. This was not in use when former owners
worked the mine back in the early 1900's. The miners then only dug for visionary
Gold veins and dumped the tailings outside as they worked. Findings:
Approximately 90% of Gold and 80% of the Silver could be extracted from the ore
using the Cyanide method.
Map by: Neal Du Shane
2.5 Miles From
Vicksburg 6,000 Ton Ore Dump Gold, Silver, Copper & Other Minerals Grandfathered
Water Rights, Old Winchester Home On Property, Over 50+ Acres Two
Adit’s, well maintained ingress/egress
Two separate graves
sites were identified totaling approximately 100 graves combined between the two
sites. Historical information has not been found to document the names of the
interred.
History of the Ghost Town of Winchester
Remains of Winchester House
Photo Courtesy; Bonnie Helten,
Cindy Enos, Mary Ann Wunderlin
The town of Winchester is possibly the most well-established, shortest-lived
mining town in Arizona’s history.
Winchester was founded
by Josiah Winchester, whose mining home remains (although in poor repair) on the
Desert Queen Mine property.
Nearby Vicksburg was named after Victor Satterdahl, a
storekeeper in the 1890s who set up a post office in his store in 1906. Wells
Fargo had a stage station in Vicksburg in 1907. Josiah Winchester owned the
Desert Queen Mine and patented it in 1911, and founded the short lived town of
Winchester.
Map by: Neal Du Shane
Dick Wick Hall helped
the founding by setting off a major rush to the region. He did this by
announcing his gold assay returns on the streets of Phoenix in 1909. His returns
were between $117,000 and $338,000 per ton of ore. Gold was then at $32.00 per
oz. or less.
Winchester boomed,
approaching a population of 2000 people the first month. The town boasted 2
restaurants, a saloon, an accommodation house, various stores and a telephone
line to Vicksburg. Through scandalous promotion, Josiah Winchester, through
zealous promotion, sold $2,500 worth of lots the first day of sale. Winchester
was soon the largest settlement on the Arizona and California Railroad.
After two months the
gold was said to have run out and the despondent residents of Winchester
departed leaving behind a ghost town. Josiah’s home is the most significant
remains of the ghost town, but there are several foundations remaining on the
property.
Photo Courtesy; Bonnie Helten,
Cindy Enos, Mary Ann Wunderlin
Research identified
what we think may have been the Winchester Cemetery with interments totaling
approximately 20 graves.
This claim is for sale, 50+ Acres,
Reported Price:
$1.95 Million, 10/31/09
American Pioneer & Cemetery Research Project
Internet Publication
Version 110109
WebMaster: Neal Du Shane
Copyright © 2009 Neal Du Shane
All rights reserved. Information contained within this
website may be used
for personal family history purposes, but not for financial profit or gain.
All contents of this website are willed to the American Pioneer & Cemetery
Research Project (APCRP).