” Winner, 2014 Write Stuff Contest, What’s Worth Preserving Category
By Kraig Randal Nelson
“Jewel of the Creek” by Chad Kwiatkowski
The beautiful 26.6-acre Desert Foothills Land Trust preserve, the “Jewel of the Creek Preserve,” just south of the Spur Cross Ranch Conservation Area, is rich with diverse high Sonoran Desert flora and fauna. The cherished bird habitat is nourished by a continual supply of precious water from a two-million-year-old stream, Cave Creek.
Just east of the Jewel of the Creek Preserve was a now-vanished gold mine. This may be the most important mine in Cave Creek’s early history. The gold mine was much more than a mining operation; it became Cave Creek’s first real town-center, initially named “Marion” and later “Liscum.” The first post office with the name “Cave Creek” was established here (although not the first post office in the area), and the seminal mine provided motivation for establishing the first three-times-weekly stage service from Cave Creek Station (near today’s Rancho Manana Golf Resort), moving mail, freight, and passengers to the new town of Phoenix. Ironically, this mine, near the Cave Creek stream, was christened the “The Phoenix Mine.” The Phoenix Mine’s history and the small town-centers that arose around it are multi-layered and complex, and it all started with three Phoenix men allocating spare time looking for a cherished prize — gold.
In 1878, Francis A. Shaw, Hiram C. McDonald, and William Kent found “splendid specimens of gold,” which conveniently lay near the surface. Later, ore was processed in a circular mill called an arrastra. This process uses a draught animal (probably a mule) to drag a large stone over the ore, thereby crushing the rock; coveted gold could be extracted from the resulting “rubble.” Interestingly, Francis Shaw would become Phoenix’s second mayor from 1881 to 1883. Hiram McDonald was a jailer and Deputy Town Marshall and spent fifty years with the Phoenix Police Department. Some historians say Mr. McDonald wore Phoenix badge “Number One.” We know little about William Kent.
After two years, the industrious miners sold the enticing mining claim to James Seymour, the owner of the rich “Vulture Mine” near Wickenburg, established by Henry Wickenburg in 1863. This was the beginning of six ownership changes by 1905. In 1881, Seymour’s legal agent, E.M. Spooner, selected a level town site to accommodate a steam-driven stamp mill (rock crusher) and a camp for his ambitious miners. Spooner named the town “Marion,” after his wife. Seymour, who ingeniously made a fortune on Wall Street, starting issuing stock; this was the beginning of an abundant influx of Eastern capital in the much-heralded mine. The continual boom and bust cycle, coupled with a bevy of new owners, created a nationally-reported economic buzz.
By 1890, the energized mining town had a school, the “Cave Creek Post Office,” a Justice-of-the-Peace, a constable, a general store, and several satiating saloons. In 1894, a 100-stamp-mill, the largest ore crusher in the history of Arizona, was under construction. Cost: $200,000 dollars! Every facet of mill construction was chronicled in Eastern newspapers; the Phoenix Mine enjoyed more fame than the town of Phoenix!
In 1897, William Christy acquired the mine. Mr. Christy was one of the owners of the Valley Bank of Phoenix (later, Valley National Bank, Bank One, and now Chase Bank). The new town’s incarnation was named “Liscum” after Emerson H. Liscum. Army Colonel Emerson Liscum served in Arizona and died in China during the Boxing Rebellion in 1900. He was holding the U.S. Flag when fatally shot in the stomach by a sniper; as he fell dying, his last brave words were, “Keep up the fire!” Colonel Liscum was buried in Arlington National Cemetery. The mining enterprise of Liscum lasted about ten years.
At its peak, The Phoenix Mine employed over 100 determined workers: miners, swampers (laborers), woodcutters, blacksmiths, and mechanics. Many brought their families to the mine; all would have appreciated the majestic cottonwood and willow trees, soaring birds, fleeting deer, and soothing, flowing water. Mighty floods eventually erased most of the surviving evidence of two thriving towns near the Desert Foothills Land Trust’s splendid “Jewel of the Creek Preserve.” And today, with a little imagination, one may still hear the pounding roar of the mighty stamp mill and the din of two forgotten communities.
Congratulation to Kraig on being recognized as volunteer of the year by both the Desert Foothills Land Trust and the Cave Creek Museum. He lives in Cave Creek.
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