THE HOHOKAM: The Birth Oof the Irrigation Canal
The Hohokam were the first settlers in Arizona. The name Hohokam is interpreted to mean “those who have vanished” or “those who have gone”. Scholars decided on this name since they could not explain the one hundred years of archaeological record and thus decided they simply disappeared or vanished.
The Hohokam are thought to have been around between 300BC and 1AD and left around 1200 AD. It is believed they migrated north from Tucson to south-central Phoenix. They were known to have inhabited South Mountain, which is in close proximity to both the Salt River and Gila River. This area first attracted the Hohokam because it was cooler, and with a great diversity of creatures. The South Mountains would have been an attractive place to visit for the ancient desert farmer. Thus the Hohokam gave life to this area, making it the most populous and agricultural productive valley in the West before 1500 AD.
The Hohokam were able to survive and transform a dusty desert into great farmland by what they are most known for: irrigation canals and ditches. These irrigation canals stretched as far as ten miles from a river’s point of origin to the next village. The canals were dug up with wood and stone and were 10 feet deep and 30 feet wide. The major prehistoric canals account for about 300 miles and nearly 900 miles of smaller ones within the lower Salt River Valley.
In modern-day Phoenix, the Hohokam are recognized for their large-scale irrigation networks. Their canal network in the Phoenix metropolitan area was the most complex in the Western Hemisphere. A portion of the ancient canals has been renovated for the Salt River Project and helps to supply the city’s water. The original canals were dirt ditches that required routine maintenance; those currently in use are lined with concrete. When the Hohokam society collapsed, the dirt canals fell into disrepair. European-American settlers later infilled some canals, while others renovated, as with the Mormon pioneers settling the Lehi area of Mesa near Red Mountain.
Several tribes do not accept that the Hohokam just vanished. The Pima and Papago tribes claim to be direct descendants of the Hohokam. The Gila Indian River Community have alternatively named then Huhugam meaning “loved ones who have passed.” Other tribes such as Hopi, Zuni, and Yuma also have cultural material which is evident of Hohokam.
Although there are controversies as to what happened to the Hohokam, they will forever be credited for there advanced skills in farming and the birth of the irrigation canals. To this day there are Hohokam ruins/homes and parts of villages that can be seen in museums around Arizona.
From Arizona Lode Gold Mines and Gold Mining – Arizona Bureau of Mines 1967
Gold mining in Arizona did not start to any appreciable extent until after the acquisition of the territory by the United States from Mexico in 1848 and 1853. What little mining was done by the Spanish and Mexican miners was for silver. A little placer gold was brought in to the churches by Indian converts from the dry working of gravels in the desert, but no systematic mining was done.
After the final occupation of Arizona in 1853, the only accessible part of the Territory was that around the old Mexican settlements of Tucson and Tubac. Considerable prospecting was done in this part of the Territory by American prospectors, and several silver mines and one copper mine were opened, but little or no gold mining was done. On the outbreak of the Civil War, the withdrawal of troops opened the door to Apache raids, and all mining ceased.
During the Civil War, prospectors entered the Territory with the California troops, and several exploring parties were organized to hunt for gold in the central part of the State, hitherto an unknown wilderness dominated by Apaches.
Rich placers Were found near the Colorado River at Gila City, La Paz, and Quartzsite, and soon after the Rich Hill, Lynx Creek, Hassayampa, and Big Bug placers in the Bradshaw Mountains of central Arizona were discovered.
Base metal mines and even silver mines were not sought, as only gold could be mined at a profit from this inaccessible and hazardous corner of the world.
After the richer parts of the placers were exhausted, gold ledges were located and worked in the crudest manner. Most of the free-milling ore proved superficial. Only one large deposit, the Vulture, was exploited on a large scale.
Vulture City AZ circa 1880
At the end of the Civil War, troops were again withdrawn, resulting in ten years of chaos and bloody warfare With the Apaches. Little mining was done except around Prescott and Wickenburg where some protection was given by troops guarding Prescott, then the capital of the Territory.
Finally, in 1872, large reservations were set aside for the Indians and the first truce was declared. The country was then enjoying the post-Civil War period of high commodity prices. Gold was relatively low in price as compared with silver and copper. Prospecting for these two metals, on the establishment of peace with the Indians, took precedence over gold, resulting, in the succeeding ten years, in the discovery and exploitation of rich silver mines in the Bradshaws, Silver King, Signal, Globe, and Tombstone.
This silver boom was followed after the completion of the two transcontinental railroads in 1881 by the discovery and early exploitation of nearly every copper deposit in the Territory.
Toughnut Mine in Tombstone (1880)
From 1884 to 1893 the country Went through a severe deflation of commodity values. The copper and silver markets fell rapidly resulting in a relative rise in the price of gold. On the demonetization of silver in 1893, practically all silver mining ceased, and only the richest and largest copper mines continued to operate.
From 1893 to 1900, miners from all the old silver camps of the West again turned to the Search for gold, which resulted in Arizona in the discovery of numerous new gold deposits, more notably the Congress and Octave in the Bradshaw Mountains, the Mammoth north of Tucson, and the rich Harqua Hala, La Fortuna, and King of Arizona mines in the desert of Yuma County.
The development of the cyanide process and of better concentration methods encouraged the reopening of numerous old mines near Prescott and the exploitation of the deeper base ore.
Octave Mine and Mill
On the collapse of Commodity prices in 1930, miners again turned their attention to gold. The first result was the search for new placers and the reworking of old fields, with indifferent results. The higher gold prices that were established by the United States in 1933 have revived activity in most of the old gold camps and stimulated prospecting throughout the State. In 1933, production was about 12 percent greater than in 1932.
Charles P Stanton in front of his hotel.
As a gold producer, Arizona ranks seventh in the United States. In the following table, the Arizona gold production is shown segregated as to its source. As is seen, about 40 percent has come as a by-product of copper and lead mining, chiefly after 1900.
