On April 1, I drove out to the San Pedro River for a Members Only hike provided by the docents of the Friends of the San Pedro River. For those of you who do not know, the San Pedro River is one of the last perennial rivers in Arizona and the Friends of the San Pedro River are adamant about continuing to protect its status.
The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) manages San Pedro Riparian National Conservation Area. The San Pedro RNCA is home to 84 species of mammals, 14 species of fish, 41 species of reptiles and amphibians, and 100 species of breeding birds.
It also provides invaluable habitat for 250 species of migrant and wintering birds and contains archaeological sites representing the remains of human occupation from 13,000 years ago. The river banks are lined with huge mature cottonwood trees.
Also on the banks of the San Pedro River are the ruins of 19th-century towns built to process and haul silver ore from the Tombstone mines. Fairbank is partially restored, but Charleston has mostly disappeared. Both had cemeteries.
I had been anticipating this hike to the Charleston Cemetery with the Friends since our hike to the ghost town of Charleston 2 years ago. Due to the fact that the cemetery is more than a mile from the town of Charleston, the cemetery is difficult to find, but trekking there is half the fun.
Most hikes and tours given by the Friends are free. The cemetery hike was a Members Only trip, making it a good reason to support the group. The Friends of the San Pedro River along with the BLM are the caretakers of this precious river environment with its rich history. Now on to the story of the hike and what I found.
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In March 2015, Ms. Rosemary and I joined a hike with the Friends to the ghost town of Charleston in what was then Arizona Territory to learn of the history of the town that supported the Stamp Mills of Millville in the 1880’s. Silver for these mills was supplied by the mines in Tombstone which is northeast of Charleston some 15 miles. Stamp mills require lots of running water to operate.
Again, our guide was Richard Bauer. Accompanying Richard were many other docents along for the hike who, collectively, had a plethora of knowledge about the San Pedro River environment, bugs, birds and other critters. We even had a geologist in our midst. Richard, however, is the resident expert on Charleston and the vicinity. He has spent many years studying Charleston, its colorful history and its surroundings. It all made for a very informative hike. For example, most folks don’t know this but Charleston was at least as violent as Tombstone.
We began our hike at the Old Charleston Bridge parking lot on the southeast side of the San Pedro River. From there the hike to the cemetery is approximately 1.5 miles. We followed the river on the west side for a bit, trudged up Cemetery Gulch, and took a right at a smaller wash. There we learned of the residents of the cemetery.
According to Richard, Charleston Cemetery had 37 occupants whose relatives were wealthy enough to afford a proper burial. The most notable was Jim Howell, the brother of Viola Howell Slaughter, wife of John Slaughter, then sheriff of Tombstone. Jim Howell’s sister is also buried here. These are the only two graves that are surrounded by an elaborate fence. There were also 4 boys who had been killed by the Chiricahua Apache Chief Nana in Ramsey Canyon, buried in a single grave. We know this from a diary that noted this event.
I say this place is difficult to find, but the cemetery has been well looted over the years. No headstones or crosses remain. Rocks that covered the graves, protecting them from critters, have been strewn about. The sign on the grave above pleads for those who visit to take care of the heritage of the place; and if that does not work, the sign also states that it is also clearly against the law. But that never meant much to the wild folks of Charleston.
Richard likes to tell the story of those who died in Charleston without means to be properly buried. He says they were tossed into the San Pedro to float up river to Fairbank, just to north. And, yes, the San Pedro flows north. Those who were fished out of the river in Fairbank were buried in the Fairbank Cemetery. Thus the saying “They arrived on a slow float from Charleston.”
All in all, it was a beautiful, informative day. I headed back to Tucson an hour and a half away. If you are interested in learning more about Charleston and Millville read Charleston & Millville,A.T. Hell on the San Pedro
by John D. Rose.
On April 1, I drove out to the San Pedro River for a Members Only hike provided by the docents of the Friends of the San Pedro River. For those of you who do not know, the San Pedro River is one of the last perennial rivers in Arizona and the Friends of the San Pedro River are adamant about continuing to protect its status.
by John D. Rose.