Jacob Waltz 160 acre 1/4 Section

[Matthew Roberts]

Some time ago I was in the Yavapai and Maricopa County tax and property records for the time period 1868 - 1872.
The first homesteads around Phoenix were filed for in February 1868 John Larsen (Swede Larson) was the first man to settle upon and file a Salt River Valley homestead claim at the Federal land office in Florence, Arizona Territory.

On February 24, 1868 Larsen filed for 160 acres ( one 1/4 section) located at T1N. R3E. the NW quarter of section 14.

He was followed by a flood of similar filings. Jacob Waltz filed for his homestead at T1N. R3E. the NE 1/4 of section 16 in April of 1868.

For reference, a Section is 640 acres, one square mile. Sections were broken down into 4 equal quarter sections of 160 acres each.

While there I drew up a quick map of the homesteads around Phoenix from about the 1871 time period. Each square on the map is a 160 acre 1/4 section. The map shows the original town site of Phoenix. Jacob Waltz's homestead and all the homesteads held in the surrounding area which is Township 1 North, Range 3 East of the Salt and Gila River Meridian and Baseline. I also copied the location of the Salt River as it looked in 1870 along with the three crossings of the Salt in those days, The Maricopa Crossing, Gray's Crossing and Wilson's Crossing. Directly to the south of Jacob Waltz's homestead was an area known as "the mesquite". A brushy area of scrub mesquite and river willows unsuited for farming. Still, a number of Mexicans (as many as 70) worked to try and clear that land and raise a crop. They were mostly unsuccessful in the effort. Many of those Mexicans lived on the south half of Waltz's 1/4 section.

One thing to keep in mind when looking at these homesteads is they changed hands at a tremendous rate. The map of 1871 looks nothing like the original map of 1868. Most of the original farmers who filed moved on within two years. Homesteads were sold, traded, abandoned and taken up by someone else. It's an interesting oddity that Jacob Waltz's homestead was one of the few that stayed intact and right where it had always been from his filing in April 1868 through February 1891 when he was driven off his land by the great Phoenix flood. I believe the Starrar brothers, Jacob and Andrew, along with David Schultes and Jacob Waltz were together in a land scheme to hold all the land where they hoped the town of Phoenix would be designated. They were unsuccessful in that endeavor. That is just my personal opinion based on what I've learned from researching the records and other things that were passed down verbally.

Matthew

 

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Interesting

 

[austin]

Wonder what might be buried around there?

 

[FEMF]

Wonder what might be buried around there?

Mat
Tell them about Parkview Baptist Church's parking lot getting dug up on the south side of the Dutch ditch and Jacob's adobe.
FEMF

 

[Oroblanco]

Wonder what might be buried around there?

If you are thinking Jacob Waltz's gold, forget it; he had dug up all the gold he had cached on his place while he was still alive, in order to help his friends. But who knows what might turn up, if excavations were done, you know Phoenix is the site of an ancient city!

 

[FEMF]

If you are thinking Jacob Waltz's gold, forget it; he had dug up all the gold he had cached on his place while he was still alive, in order to help his friends. But who knows what might turn up, if excavations were done, you know Phoenix is the site of an ancient city!

Hello Roy
There is a post office where Jacob's adobe was, and about two thirds of that quarter section is City of Phoenix land now. Buckeye rd. to the river bottom, and 12th street to 16th street. My Grandparents had a Café (The Sun Valley Café) on 16th street across from Food City, south of the S&M Meat market.
FEMF

 

[Matthew Roberts]

Mat
Tell them about Parkview Baptist Church's parking lot getting dug up on the south side of the Dutch ditch and Jacob's adobe.
FEMF

FEMF,

Didn't think there were many around who knew about that. You go way back !

Waltz's adobe home stood at approximately where today, 14th Street and Pima intersect. Today it would be about near the back parking lot of the Rio Salado post office near the corner of Buckeye Road and 16th Street. In Waltz's day Buckeye road was known as Henshaw Road.

There was a small church just a little Southeast of Waltz's adobe home. For many years after Waltz's death, even up into the 1960's and 70's, people would come out and dig on where they thought Waltz's property was located. For some reason a story got around that Waltz had buried gold down on the church site, the thinking being Waltz thought it safe there as no one in his day would desecrate a church by digging up the grounds. The church endured years of people coming in the night and digging holes all over and in the parking lot. Next morning there would be several holes that would have to be filled in so nobody would fall in them. Before there was a formal church there (in Waltz's day) the community would meet for services in a home that stood where the church was built. It was the religious center of the community and there is evidence a small graveyard was there before the formal church as constructed on the site.

The little church eventually relocated downtown in Phoenix, I believe it was somewhere around 4th Avenue and Roosevelt in that general area. The church had been the mainstay and anchor to that community for many years. Today everything is gone. The church and houses demolished for future expansion of Sky Harbor airport.

Lots of stories about that old church and the people who went there FEMF. A historic area even if Waltz had not lived nearby. I'll bet you have some great memories.

Matthew

 

[Matthew Roberts]

Wonder what might be buried around there?

Austin,

Even today some still think Waltz may have more gold buried somewhere, either on his former homestead or at the small church that was nearby or even in one of two graveyards that are close to Waltz's former place.
What better place to bury gold than in someones grave ?

Those graveyards are still there. When the city developed the land that once was homesteads a fairly substantial graveyard sat between Waltz and Jacob Starrar's property. Mostly Mexicans were buried there but at least a dozen or so anglos.
Both Jacob and Andrew Starrar are buried in that graveyard as was James Tewksbury. Both Starrar's were on the founding charter for the city of Phoenix and when the time came to make the decision to move the bodies or develop over them, the city chose to pave and build over the remains. Two of Phoenix founding fathers lay beneath the streets and sidewalks of south Phoenix.

It's possible Waltz may have used a grave to bury some gold but not likely in my opinion. Still, nobody knows. Rhinehart Petrasch told a story in 1933 of Waltz sending him back to his adobe home after the flood of 1891 to retrieve a heavy metal can sealed with lead from underneath the hearth. Rhinehart couldn't open the metal box because it was sealed but knew it was full of gold from the weight and the way it rattled.

Matthew

 

[FEMF]

FEMF,

Didn't think there were many around who knew about that. You go way back !

Waltz's adobe home stood at approximately where today, 14th Street and Mohave intersect. Today it would be about near the back parking lot of the Rio Salado post office near the corner of Buckeye Road and 16th Street. In Waltz's day Buckeye road was known as Henshaw Road.

There was a small church just a little Southeast of Waltz's adobe home. For many years after Waltz's death, even up into the 1960's and 70's, people would come out and dig on where they thought Waltz's property was located. For some reason a story got around that Waltz had buried gold down on the church site, the thinking being Waltz thought it safe there as no one in his day would desecrate a church by digging up the grounds. The church endured years of people coming in the night and digging holes all over and in the parking lot. Next morning there would be several holes that would have to be filled in so nobody would fall in them. Before there was a formal church there (in Waltz's day) the community would meet for services in a home that stood where the church was built. It was the religious center of the community and there is evidence a small graveyard was there before the formal church as constructed on the site.

The little church eventually relocated downtown in Phoenix, I believe it was somewhere around 4th Avenue and Roosevelt in that general area. The church had been the mainstay and anchor to that community for many years. Today everything is gone. The church and houses demolished for future expansion of Sky Harbor airport.

Lots of stories about that old church and the people who went there FEMF. A historic area even if Waltz had not lived nearby. I'll bet you have some great memories.

Matthew

Hello Mat
You where close, the Church is now called The Church on Fillmore, and is on Fillmore and 5th Ave. now. We all miss Phoenix as it was, people where so much closer and friendly back then like a small town, now it's like L.A. all over again.
FEMF

 

[Azhiker]

Matt

Thanks for posting that homestead map it really helps to see where everything was in Waltz time. The river crossings I had never seen before.
I read Blairs book on the Lost Dutchman Legend years ago and saw he had a map showing Waltz home and some other stuff but had it wrong, even had the city of phoenix in the wrong place.
Keep posting that great history ! One question, didnt waltz know he was claiming school ground or was there something else to that story?

best

Azhiker

 

[austin]

Sorry guys, I was just kidding. You can dig to your heart's content. The mines of Globe would love to have their stolen gold back. There simply is no LDM. 75% of us can't be wrong. Lighten up...

 

[Oroblanco]

Sorry guys, I was just kidding. You can dig to your heart's content. The mines of Globe would love to have their stolen gold back. There simply is no LDM. 75% of us can't be wrong. Lighten up...

Yah stay home - take your detector to your local city park!

FEMF - thank you I did not know the exact location.

 

[Matthew Roberts]

Matt

Thanks for posting that homestead map it really helps to see where everything was in Waltz time. The river crossings I had never seen before.
I read Blairs book on the Lost Dutchman Legend years ago and saw he had a map showing Waltz home and some other stuff but had it wrong, even had the city of phoenix in the wrong place.
Keep posting that great history ! One question, didnt waltz know he was claiming school ground or was there something else to that story?

best

Azhiker

Azhiker,



Here is the page from Robert Blairs book Tales of the Superstitions the Origins of the Legend published 1975

Blair misplaced Jacob waltz's homestead. But you can't blame Blair for that, it's highly confusing trying to fit a legal description of a piece of property to an actual map broken down into quarter sections. Its easy to get things in the wrong place and once you go off track you compound the error with each successive piece you add to the puzzle. It's not an easy task for anyone to undertake.

The question of Waltz and why he claimed "school land" is one that could have several explanations. School land could be claimed under the Homestead laws under certain circumstances. I think Waltz did it by design, not as an accident or oversight. That is just my opinion, nothing to prove it. The County and City both assessed him property taxes which included his land (on one tax bill the assessor made an error and only assessed him for 80 acres, not the full 160). So clearly the issue of "school land" entailed more than the simple explanation. Waltz was never evicted from the land, he was allowed to live there and only the Great Flood of 1891 drove him off his quarter section. There was more going on with Waltz's land than strikes the surface.

Matthew

 

[Gregory E. Davis]

Good evening all: I would like to express an opinion/theory regarding any gold left on Waltz's property. There are many storied versions about Waltz giving Julia Thomas some gold to help her pay for her debts from the ice cream parlor. One version, and I stress "one version" states that Waltz told Rhiney to go to his property and dig around a certain fence post and bring the container he would find there to Julia's place which he did. They opened it and there was enough gold in the container to pay for her debts. Now we need to make an assumption here, that Waltz was no fool and had plenty of "old timer smarts". Do you think for one minute that after he told Rhiney about the gold buried on his property by a fence post that he would leave any other gold buried on the property? I would guess not! and it's just a guess, that he would have dug up any remaining gold and put it in one place, I.E., the hearth in his fire place where according to another version of the story, is where the rest of his gold was found after the 1891 flood. I am sure that there are a lot more scenarios that could be advanced, however it remains a fact that after Waltz died his place was dug up like a Gopher to a vegetable patch. Anyway, this is just one idea of might have happened. Personally, I would like to excavate the area for his old trash pile and the privy site. For those who do treasure hunting, you know what I mean. Cordially, Gregory E. Davis

 

[Gregory E. Davis]

Good morning Matthew: Do you know of a description of what Waltz's adobe house looked like both inside and outside? Also a description of his property such as fences, barn, chicken coop, garden, root cellar, additional structures, Etc. ? Cordially, Gregory E. Davis

 

[enigma]

something looks confusing to me on the plot map in post #1. wasn't waltz's property in the northeast quarter of section 16 not the southeast? also, wasn't the original phoenix site in the northern half of section 8?

many of the other properties seem to be shifted south by a quarter section like what had happened when james m barney compiled his "sketch map showing some of the earliest homestead entries in the salt river valley, with official dates of settlement"; compiled in 1931. can you clarify if there was an error made?

correction i mis spoke above and meant to say that the james m barney sketch had most everything shifted north one quarter of a section from that in post #1one other question

Jacob Waltz filed for his homestead at T1N. R3E. the SE 1/4 of section 16 on April 13, 1868.

matthew, would you be willing to post a copy of this filing? to date, i didn't think anyone had ever been successful in locating that specific document either in the phoenix, prescott or florence land office records. it would be a nice addition to the official records of waltz.

thank you

 

[Matthew Roberts]

something looks confusing to me on the plot map in post #1. wasn't waltz's property in the northeast quarter of section 16 not the southeast? also, wasn't the original phoenix site in the northern half of section 8?

many of the other properties seem to be shifted south by a quarter section like what had happened when james m barney compiled his "sketch map showing some of the earliest homestead entries in the salt river valley, with official dates of settlement"; compiled in 1931. can you clarify if there was an error made?

one other question



matthew, would you be willing to post a copy of this filing? to date, i didn't think anyone had ever been successful in locating that specific document either in the phoenix, prescott or florence land office records. it would be a nice addition to the official records of waltz.

thank you

enigma,

I checked in the files of B. David Russell and you may be correct. I need to check further into the file as I have made this mistake myself in the past.

At least two persons I know were successful in locating the information on Waltz's intent to homestead records. I got my copy from one of them. It is not my personal copy so I cannot post it publically without permission. Several others have been given copies also. One of the individuals who found the record has since passed on.


Matthew

 

[Matthew Roberts]

Good morning Matthew: Do you know of a description of what Waltz's adobe house looked like both inside and outside? Also a description of his property such as fences, barn, chicken coop, garden, root cellar, additional structures, Etc. ? Cordially, Gregory E. Davis

Hello Gregory,

Since there are no known photos of Waltz's house we have to go on personal descriptions and the newspaper which stated it was an adobe structure.
In the beginning 1868, every farmer lived in primitive conditions, but as the years went on they all built onto and improved their houses and homestead buildings.
A classic photo of the flood of 1891 shows what the area Waltz lived in looked like at the time. The photo was taken near 7th street and almost directly west of Waltz's home.
The area is very built up with some two story board and brick dwellings and outbuildings. I have a photo from the Slosser's which shows what Jacob Starrar's home looked like in about 1931. It was a board dwelling not an adobe.



Colorized postcard from a photo of the Great Flood of 1891 in Phoenix. taken from approx. 7th Street and Pima, just west of Waltz's home.

Matthew

 

[Matthew Roberts]

Gregory,



Here is another colorized postcard of a photo of the great Phoenix flood of 1891. Also taken around 7th to 12th street and Pima, almost directly west of Waltz's adobe structure.
It serves to show what houses and land looked like in Waltz's area at the time of the flood February 20, 1891. Many have the mistaken idea the area was still sparse adobe huts and farm fields, by 1891 things were very much changed from the beginning in 1868. The area was already becoming suburban and heavily built up. Farms were already giving way to homes.

There is an account of what Waltz's home (inside) looked like given by Grijalba a neighbor. It describes Waltz's place as being very poor, dirty and shabby.
However another account by Fred Henshaw, also a neighbor, describes Waltz's place as altogether neat and comfortable with many fine comforts of the day.
How can there be two such different accounts ?
The answer is simple. Grijalba knew Waltz in the early days when most farmers were living in crude adobes or brush huts. As time went on they improved their homes and built new ones, expanding them and building outbuildings like corrals, small barns and sheds. Fred Henshaw knew Waltz in the late 1880's almost 20 years after Grijalba. The difference in conditions is altogether understandable.

I imagine Waltz, by 1890 had a fairly nice adobe home that had been expanded more than once. Some outbuildings for his animals. Surely a large garden because he supplied all of Alex Steinegger's restaurants with produce, milk and eggs if not meat also. Large barns were not common to Phoenix except on the outer ranches but large sheds were common in South Phoenix. In my opinion, Waltz was a very middle class farmer in 1890 before the flood.

Matthew

 

[Matthew Roberts]

enigma,

I checked the file on B. David Russell which is the file I usually go by. In his file is conflicting information. In all the records are conflicting information.

However, the original town site of Phoenix had its south boundary as Jackson Street.

Waltz's north boundary of his homestead was Henshaw Road (today Buckeye). Buckeye road is one mile south of Jackson street (the south boundary of Phoenix.)

This would lead me to believe there was a tier of homesteads in between Jackson and Henshaw (Buckeye.)

The physical map of streets does not match the Meridian and Baseline map if Waltz's quarter section is in the Northern tier. The two maps should coincide with each other. (?)

Good question, this needs a closer look to explain it.

Matthew