Exploring Quartzsite, Arizona
Tyson's Well Stage Station Museum, Part One
Whoooo-weee!
It’s a tad toasty out here in the Sonoran Desert, but we knew it would be if we stuck around much longer. We spent March 2020 through March 2021 holed up in our little plan-b desert oasis bungalow, so we know the drill. The desert will teach you how to think and act like a lizard, moving very little during the day and seeking the refuge of shade and/or air conditioning every chance you get.
We love being here when the crowds are gone, but it is sometimes challenging to find anything open. We recently visited Tyson’s Well Stage Station Museum, located in our fair little hometown of Quartzsite, Arizona.
The museum is only open for a few hours on Thursdays during the summer and is not air conditioned. I was offered a job as docent, which comes with a paid RV spot with water, electricity, etc, but the museum is located just a few miles from out home, where we have those luxuries in place already. Usually, Dan’s the one getting job offers (to be Santa Claus), so I felt honored.
Maybe it was all the time I spent lurking around, hiding painted rocks for La Paz County Rocks, or how I lingered at the rock village sprawled outside the museum. That will be a story for another day, as there is far too much cool stuff to cram into just one post.
The focus of the museum centers around the history of Quartzsite, which started out as a watering hole for cross-country travelers. As early as 1856, a few wells provided water for a stage stop (plus “good grass” for the horses) between the Colorado River port city of La Paz, and later, Ehrenburg, and Prescott.
This simple adobe building (later called the Oasis Hotel) served travelers into the 1880’s, making up a portion of a compound of several buildings, commonly called “Fort Tyson”, although they never operated as a fort.
Quartzsite was a regular stop for US Army troops which may have offered some protection to both settlers and those passing through against Indian attacks. While the rooms offered little more than protection against the elements, a hot meal cooked in the communal dining room must have been a real treat after a long, dusty journey.
The main draw (besides water) in the early days was mining. Gold, silver, copper, and other ores are found in the mountains surrounding Quartzsite. While huge amounts have never been taken from this area, the quest for such bounty brought early dry panners who worked hard to scratch out a living in temperatures that stayed in the triple-digits both day and night in the summertime. The Plomosa Mountains have seen extensive mining activity off and on since 1872. Quartzsite enjoyed a mild "boom” in the early 1900’s, along with other Western states. Mining continues to this day.
In the early years, Quartzsite boasted 10 saloons, one Chinese restaurant, a hotel, a butcher shop, a barber shop, a general store, a stamp mill, and a few other small businesses. During the Great Depression, clouds of dust could be seen all across the land as many tried to make their living toiling out amongst the rocks and sand.
Although the population has fluctuated over the years, Quartzsite has never become a ghost town. There is so much to learn about the history of this area! We barely scratched the surface of the relics, photographs, and documents on display at the museum, as it was hot that day and melting a bit cut our visit short. We were fascinated with what we were able to see and look forward to many return visits to hopefully see it all.
I also look forward to sharing more about the Tyson’s Well Stage Station Museum in the next few posts, plus a walk down the historic section of Main Street, Quartzsite, Arizona, our beloved hometown.
Stay tuned for more, and until then, stay cool (or warm) and be happy, no matter where in the world you might be.
Blessings, and hopefully meteor showers for all this eve!
~Brenda Cordray
“The Desert Rose”
