It’s another lost highway adventure as we follow the road to a forgotten town in the Cerbat Mountains of Arizona. ©Jim Hinckley’s America
Another lost highway adventure was inspired by the response to episode one in the new In Search of Lost Highways video series and the companion blog. But to be honest, it takes little to encourage me to share an adventure.
After all, this is Jim Hinckley’s America. Sharing America’s story, and inspiring road trips (and adventures) by telling people where to go is what we do.
On this search for lost highways we trace remnants of a 19th century road in the picturesque canyons near Kingman, Arizona. And along the way I share some of the confusing history of Cerbat Mountain mining camps, a tale of lost treasure, and introduce followers to one of the best urban trail systems in the southwest.
Stockton or Stockton Hill
Depending on what territorial map you reference, or what newspaper you read from that period, the town was referenced as Stockton, Stocton or Stockton Hill.
A post office established March 7, 1888 used the name Stockton. It was a short lived endeavor and it closed on July 11, 1892.
Mines were first developed in that area in the 1860s. And mining reports from that era note a “lively” camp named Stockton Hill on the east slope of the Cerbat Mountains above the Hualapai Valley.
The principal mine was the Stockton Hill. That may be a reason for some of the confusion. And that was most likely the reason some of the old timers such as Nell Clack that grew up nearby at the COD Mine referenced the town site as Stockton Hill. So, that was the name I used in the video.
Another Lost Highway Adventure
Initially ore from the Stockton Hill mines was shipped to the Beale Road that was connected to the Mohave Prescott Road, subject of the first video in this series. From there it was taken to a Colorado River Port such as Hardyville, one of the first Mohave County seats.
The boom times for the Stockton Hill mining camp was from 1888 to 1892. But there was enough mining to keep the town alive and on maps until at least 1912. It was at the dawn of that boom that a road was built from Stockton or Stockton Hill to the railroad at Kingmam.
The Lost Highway
The modern incarnation of Stockton Hill Road in Kingman, Arizona.
Stockton Hill Road was built by F.F. Brawn who was heavily invested in the Stockton Hill Mining District. In May 1889 he had purchased Canyon Station about 15 miles north of Kingman from W.H. Hardy.Hardy was an Arizona pioneer and the namesake for Hardyville.
The station was an important stop on the road over the Cerbat Mountains to Mineral Park and Cerbat from Stockton Hill. It was here that coaches and wagons were double teamed to pull the steep grade.
A Tale of Lost Treasure
Canyon Station figures prominently in a legend about lost treasure. As the story goes, in October of 1873 a man named McAllen (or McArthur, or Allen, or …) learned that a mine payroll was being shipped over this road. Near Canyon Station, where the team was slowed by the steep grade, he and an unknown partner stopped the coach, emptied the strongbox, and headed into the rugged canyons of the Cerbat Mountains near the C.O.D. mine.
A posse of miners and livery hands set out in pursuit, and soon ran down the bandits. According to one version of the legend, in the ensuing gun battle McAllen was killed. His partner was apprehended, tried, and sent to the territorial prison in Yuma,or vica versa. But the money was missing and has never been found. Or so the story goes.
The COD and Stockton Hill
Brawn had also leased the C.O.D. Mine located between Stockton Hill and Canyon Station. Between 1878 and 1892 the C.O.D. Mine produced a hefty amount of gold, silver, and lead. The mine was one of the largest producers in the Stockton Hill Mining District. In fact, during these years it was counted among the largest prodcuers in the territory.
In 1889, it was announced that F.F. Brawn was soliciting investors for the construction of a new road to Stockton and Canyon Station. An article published on December 28 noted that he had surveyed for a road through the canyon north of town. It was to intersect with the original Stockton Hill Road near J. E. Johnston’s cattle ranch.
For more than 150 years mining has been an on again, off again business at the site of Stockton Hill.
It was to be about two miles shorter than the original Stockton Hill Road. And in soliciting potential investors Brawn noted that this road would avoid the muddy portion of the valley. He estimated that the cost of the new road would be about $500. A section of this road that opened in May 1890 is now known as White Cliffs Wagon Road.
The evidence is scarce. But apparently there was another road built in these canyons. W.H. Taggart of W.H. Taggart Mercantile was a primary investor in Brawn’s road. He also had a vested interest in Stockon, and other mining camps in the Cerbat Mountains. One paragraph in a territorial newspaper that Taggart was building a road through Johnson Canyon to Cerbat, Mineral Park and Chloride. The search for that road is fodder for another lost highway adventure.
Stockton Hill Road Today
Stockton Hill Road today is another lost highway adventure. But only if you are referencing the 19th century road. A portion of that old “highway” was incorporated into Stockton Hill Road, one of the main business streets in Kingman today. And in the historic district there is a short street signed as Stockton Hill Avenue. Both of these streets are a tangible link to the nearly forgotten Stockton Hill Road.
Near Kingman sections of the old road have been incorporated into the White Cliffs urban trail system. It is also a point of interest on the narrated self guided historic district walking tour developed by Kingman Main Street.
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