Arizona is well-known for its stunning natural beauty but our state is also well-regarded for the amount of science and history that can be found (or made) here. In some previous articles, I mentioned Arizona’s major contributions to astronomy and the Space Race, but did you the state is also a hotbed for archaeological finds? Check out just a few examples that shows just how old Arizona’s human history is:
1. There are several incredibly old mammoth butchering sites in southern Arizona.
One of the earliest was found in 1931 and all sites have, to some degree, revealed mammoth bones and tools that survived some 20,000 years. One example is the Murray Springs Clovis Site on the outskirts of northeastern Sierra Vista. A monument sits in the area, but you won’t find much in the way of mammoth bones. It does have a short interpretive trail though.
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2. A more recent example of that mammoth hunting and butchering was found in Gilbert in 2005.
Actually, construction workers for the last few decades have come across several areas in the East Valley that show evidence of hunting the massive animal. Their locations are usually underreported, however, since then it has led to locals scavenging and destroying the old bones.
3. A presidential find was made in eastern Arizona.
In 1965, President Johnson’s daughter sighted and helped dig up a 700-year-old skeleton on the Fort Apache reservation during a vacation study with the University of Arizona. Here’s a link to the news article, but there’s no word on what happened to the bones.
4. The Hohokam cremated their dead until about 1300 AD.
A practice that was common among tribes in California and western Arizona, evidence has been found at various archaeological sites that show the Hohokam practiced cremation of their dead and buried the remains along with items like jewelry. This lasted a few hundred years until they returned to regular burials.
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5. Petrified National Forest is home to at least two centuries-old villages.
Just a sliver of the 600 or so archaeological sites found within the park’s boundaries, the latest village was found in the eastern part of the park in 2014 and dated to about 200 AD.
6. Centuries old irrigation canals have been spotted all over the state.
Most people are familiar with the Hohokam canal system in the Phoenix area, but did you know you can also find them in the Verde Valley and Tucson areas? One example is near Montezuma Well, which dates to approximately the 8th-century (the 700s) and parts of it are still used today.
If there’s any place in the country with more old western towns in Arizona, we definitely don't know what is. The state is your quintessential Old West locale, where, depending on who’s telling the narrative, our state's history was either a mythos of paradise sprung to life, a romanticized image of a cowboy town in Arizona, or life interrupted by an exceedingly violent period. All of those stories create the image that Arizona continues to carry today and can be safely revisited without needing to make a time machine. We’re going to take a look at a handful of those Old West towns in Arizona and we challenge you to come with us on this wild adventure through the state!
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1. Bisbee Mining and Historical Museum, Bisbee
Arizona’s frontier history was heavily influenced by the mining industry. This Bisbee museum offers a glimpse into the working life in the mines, which is made even more vibrant with a mine cart tour led by former miners.
2. Castle Dome Mining Museum
Located a reasonable distance north of Yuma, Castle Dome Mine Museum is a reconstructed version of the old Castle Dome town that is now submerged in the Colorado River. You’ll find actual artifacts from the town and get an idea of life in a frontier town.
3. Fort Bowie National Historic Site
Fort Bowie National Historic Site
One of the many forts constructed by the U.S. Army during a series of intense campaigns against American Indians in the mid-1800s, only remnants of the old adobe walls exist today. There is also an on-site visitor center, the ruins of an old stagecoach stop, and occasional re-enactments.
4. Goldfield Ghost Town, Apache Junction
Historic Goldfield Wild West Ghost Town Apache Junction Arizona USA
Simply driving through the desert can leave us daydreaming about what life was like in one of the most fascinating Old West towns in AZ — gunslingers and duels at high noon…the whole shebang. Luckily, there’s one place that turns our imagination into reality: Goldfield Ghost Town. This reconstructed ghost town attraction sits near the actual Goldfield location and offers a classic look of a Western town complete with tours, gunfights, and a chance to pan for gold, too!
5. Heard Museum, Phoenix
This iconic and renowned museum focuses on the Indigenous peoples and their cultures both today and historically. Several of the exhibits and occasional lectures also offer compelling narratives about how American encroachment impacted the lives of Indigenous people during this time period.
One of the best examples of the trading posts commonly found in the Old West, this one located on the Navajo Nation was also a key place for trading and development of Navajo weaving styles. You can walk through the trading post, purchase some goods (it still operates as it did in the old days), and take a tour of the old homestead.
7. Jerome
It's difficult to pick one spot here that represents the Old West so we’re just including the entire town of Jerome. It’s a perfect example of what boomtowns in the late-nineteenth century resembled and the haunted stories will remind you of the rough history of such a place. What do you think: is Jerome one of the creepiest ghost towns in Arizona?
8. Museum of the West, Scottsdale
For years, Scottsdale has called itself the "West’s Most Western Town" and this is one example of that self-designation. This museum is dedicated to capturing the intricacies of Western life, past and present, through exhibitions, presentations, and storytelling opportunities.
9. Oatman
A wild donkey walks through the town of Oatman, Arizona, USA.
This little town located just off Route 66 has managed to live several lives, including that as a late boomtown shortly before Arizona became a state in 1912. Today, it is known for its wandering wild burros, Hollywood patrons (do the names Clark Gable and Carole Lombard ring a bell?), and Route 66 souvenirs.
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10. Old Tucson Studios
Watch a Western film and you’re bound to encounter a moment featuring this iconic movie set, including productions such as Arizona, episodes of Bonanza, and McLintock! A visit here will give you a behind-the-scenes look at the set’s movie history, plenty of shows, and history presentations/demonstrations.
Sometimes it can be difficult to imagine what life must have been like for our ancestors. Time makes old lifestyles seem so far removed until you realize that it is just a few short generations separating you from a time when people were more in tune with their surroundings and life for most focused on basic subsistence. The Pioneer Living History Museum is a collection of reconstructed buildings that form a little Western town, including a couple of little homes. It’s a popular spot for school field trips with an emphasis on life in Arizona’s territorial period.
13. Rawhide Wild West Town, Chandler
A Western-themed amusement park, Rawhide has attractions such as live gun shows, gold panning, and chances to ride horses or burros. They also have dining options such as a steakhouse, saloon, and a pizza parlor for the kids (even though pizza wasn’t technically part of frontier diets...). You can truly feel like you've gone back in time in one of the most immersive old western cowboy towns in Arizona.
14. San Xavier del Bac, Tucson
San Xavier Mission at sunrise
Arizona’s San Xavier del Bac, also known as the White Dove of the Desert, is a beautiful example of Spanish colonial architecture and is one of the oldest European structures in the country. There’s plenty of history — both good and bad — contained within these walls and it is a place that certainly earns a spot on this list.
15. Tombstone
When people think of the Old West, Tombstone is certainly one of the places that immediately comes to mind thanks to the town’s crazy history with outlaws and the gunfight at O.K. Corral.
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16. Tumacacori National Historic Park
“The abandoned TumacA!cori mission, now a National Historic Park, just north of the Arizona/Mexico border.”
Another old Spanish mission in southern Arizona, this one isn’t quite in the same condition as San Xavier due to the mission’s abandonment in the mid-1800s. In any case, it still makes an interesting spot to visit to see what Spanish colonial life was like and to learn about the turbulent relationship the Spaniards had with the Indigenous people. Go on a tour of the Tumacacori National Historic Park, and you'll see what we mean!
17. Whiskey Row, Prescott
After a block of buildings was destroyed in a 1900 fire, this notoriously haunted spot was rebuilt and the large number of saloons led to the street’s nickname, Whiskey Row. This spot became a focal point of the city, which continues to this day - the site is host to several Western shows and staged shootouts.
Have you visited any of these Wild West towns in Arizona? Do you have a favorite old cowboy town in Arizona?
If you're feeling especially proud of Arizona, be sure to check out state-pride apparel and accessory items from our friends at Wear Your Roots!
Left forgotten and alone, this abandoned Taco Bell in Arizona is both beautiful and yet sad. The intriguing thing about abandoned places is the grit and grime built up all speaks of a story of loss and yet in it can be found beauty. That is what I find so fascinating about these places where you can picture the time and place where this fast food joint had laughing families stopping for lunch on vacation, or see the life that this place once held. When I think of Taco Bell, I often imagine the fizzy sugar rush of a Baha Blast Mountain Dew and the flavorful snap of a Dorito Taco. However, here at this branch of the popular restaurant, you no longer will hear the sound of cash registers clinging, wrappers being crinkled, or the familiar “mmm” coming from hungry patrons, instead it is left in total silence.
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If you love creepy content, Only In Your State’s Vacant series – which partners with talented photographer Johnny Joo – explores a dozen other fascinating abandoned places just waiting to be discovered.
Editor’s Note: Due to the nature of abandoned destinations, many of the places featured in this series are off-limits to visitors or have actually been demolished. We do not condone trespassing and other illegal activity but rather encourage readers to enjoy learning about these fascinating destinations.
This Taco Bell can be found in the ruins of a place known as Fort Courage. This is located right off of I40 close to the border of New Mexico in a town called Houck. The origin of this spot is very indicative of the story of the American West. As a man named James D. Houck carried mail from Prescott Arizona to Fort Wingate New Mexico the spot that would later become known as Houck, was a strategic stopping point on the route. In those early days of the vast and dangerous wilderness, a trading post ended up becoming a necessary spot that connected the otherwise desolate locations.
Over time the trail was rerouted and this trading post was left alone and abandoned, but not without leaving an impact on building up a place of business and attraction to those passing through. Once the Mother Road of America was made Route 66 gave life back to this little town. A trading post was once again created right along the road called Fort Courage based on the popular Television program at the time known as F-Troop. In the 1960’s Route 66 brought a lot of new traffic and this attraction saw many guests, but over time interest eventually waned.
It can be easy to dismiss the old Western trading posts as something that has long been lost in lieu of our bigger cities and new ways of living, but there is something striking about seeing something as familiar and modern as a Taco Bell sitting vacant. In a place that had large picture windows that allowed that beautiful Arizona sun to stream in, the blinds are now closed and no light could be found. The dust built up on the booths does not distract from the bright blue in contrast to the dark interior.
Evidence of a cheery atmosphere is all but lost among the shattered glass and utter silence found inside. Where people once stood choosing hot sauce packets now stands a broken and rotting counter.
Graffiti has been painted on the walls and broken materials are strewn across the floor giving the place a sad sense of neglect over these many years of complete abandonment. In May 2020, a large fire left Fort Courage only a shell of what it used to be in the glory days of Route 66.
Route 66 is filled with history like this that has been left to be reclaimed by nature. Remnants of restaurants, gas stations, and motels, all speak of a time left behind. These echoes of the past are good reminders that should not be forgotten.
For more exploration of long-forgotten pieces of the history of Route 66, like this abandoned Taco Bell in Arizona, visit Petrified Forest National Park. I found this park to be a fantastic surprise on our visit to Arizona. While you are on your trip don’t forget to pack some of the best road trip snacks.
Special thanks to Cleveland-based photographer Johnny Joo of Odd World Studio for the photos used in this article. To discover more creepy and abandoned places, check out his website, Architectural Afterlife.
