Araz Stage Station

[pegleglooker]

​

Tucked away in the southeastern corner of California is a reminder of days gone by, man if these walls could talk. Standing near the adobe walls I could easily imagine being back in the 1800's, getting the change of horses ready, watching the passengers and listening to the stories of the drivers. This small patch of history is situated on the Quechan (pronounced Kwuh-tsan) Reservation, and there is not much left. However this is a place that is very accessible and even though there is not much there, I really enjoyed it.



Not much is known of this spot, it is thought that it was a " changing " station for horses on the Butterfield stage route. The building is rather small and there is not much left and of course there is the obligatory graffiti, but at least it's on the back wall. If you're headed to the Yuma area it is worth a side trip. Simply take the 186 exit north and it is on the left side about 3 and 1/2 miles up.

Enjoy
PLL

 

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[Tom_in_CA]

Doesn't look too in-accessible to me (looks like you can drive right up to it, based on the car in the background of your pix )

So did you hunt it or not? How'd you do?

 

[pegleglooker]

Hi Tom,
I'm quoting myself here " However this is a place that is very accessible and even though there is not much there, I really enjoyed it. " I guess, maybe you were a little confused. I also did not hunt the place for 2 reasons, one it was late, and two its on Indian land and I wasn't quite sure about the laws. the fallen adobe walls were pretty thick on the ground, and might make it a bit hard...

Thx
PLL

 

[AzHal]

It is easily accessible and is part of the old Butterfield stage route. But you don't want to hunt on it since it is on a Indian reservation. And they do not have a good since of humor.

 

[Tom_in_CA]

oh sorry, I saw the "tucked away....." and didn't catch the easily accesible part

There is no doubt in my mind, that it's been hit many many times. Since the 1960s, southern Californians, packing detectors in their RVs, have made sport of wandering the desert ghost towns, hiking the entire route of the Butterfield stage route, etc... The entire stage route has been mapped out, and is no secret. Even if a place is supposedly off-limits (federal or state supposed rules, indian land, private land, etc...) believe me: they've all been hit. Even if it meant "hitting them at night", they'll have been worked. Even if someone on site says "no one's ever metal detected here", trust me: when it's this close to the road, beckoning passer-bys, someone will have worked the snot out of it, whether or not a current on-site person knows or thinks

Sometimes the best places to hit (ruins like that) are places that are not in any history books (thus an easy researched spot for anyone and everyone to drive right up to). Or if found in a book, a out-of-place citation, or old out-of-print book, etc .....

For example: a friend and I got ready to tour the entire desert southwest, from CA to New Mexico, planning to work all sort of old sites. Naturally we did the gut-instinct thing, and reached for the obvious Sunset Home and Garden type "Ghost towns" books. You know, the glossy books you get at tourist shops, or from Borders bookstore, etc.... But we began to see that without exception, every stop we came to was invariably a tourist-trap type done-up place. Or to the extent that some were just remote ruins and foundations, invariably they were hunted to death, with all sorts of 4-wheeler cr*p (bullet shells, party trash, etc...) and bottle digger holes all over the place. We began to see that everyone and their brother picks up these books, and rushes out to the easy "ghost town" sites, simply because ... duh... they're ghost towns

So we began to scout the back-roads looking for sites of our own: like foundations out in the desert, old cross-routes near water sources that would've made ideal camp spots, old-town urban demolition, etc... We purposefully steared clear of any "lead" that was in easy to access books. When we stopped and researched for old fort sites, etc... in little town libraries we came to, we would only follow after a lead, if it was simply only in hard to get /find sources, and not listed or talked about in the glossy coffee table type books.

Or for stage stops, if they had an exact location given, we would stear clear. But if the citation was vague, and no exact spot pinpointed, THEN we would pursue it. The idea then was, that others would give up, if there wasn't an exact "x-marks the spot" and signs leading you to an obvious ruin right off the road.

 

[1491]

Tom,

That was well-stated regarding the coffee table book sites. Everyone and his brother has hit those high-profile sites. You really have to study "micro-history" by joining local historical societies, driving back roads, reading microfiche, talking to locals, etc. to find the gems. There are still a lot of goodies out there waiting to be found. Knowing that keeps me going in this hobby. - Jim

 

[Tank69]

I'm going to add my 2 cents an thats all it is a`bit of knowing an a bit of opinion.........I have been to this site an it does make you stand there catching yourself trying to hear the past,but as said it is on the reservation an the road is patroled alot by both CHP an Tribal ,it would be a night mare to detect due to all the trash that has been left ,ALOT of broken bottles ,bottle tops ,just junk,beer cans beer tabs....its sad but it is how it is ,to me its sad to see such a good piece of history just left to rott.

 

[Gork]

​

Tucked away in the southeastern corner of California is a reminder of days gone by, man if these walls could talk. Standing near the adobe walls I could easily imagine being back in the 1800's, getting the change of horses ready, watching the passengers and listening to the stories of the drivers. This small patch of history is situated on the Quechan (pronounced Kwuh-tsan) Reservation, and there is not much left. However this is a place that is very accessible and even though there is not much there, I really enjoyed it.




Not much is known of this spot, it is thought that it was a " changing " station for horses on the Butterfield stage route. The building is rather small and there is not much left and of course there is the obligatory graffiti, but at least it's on the back wall. If you're headed to the Yuma area it is worth a side trip. Simply take the 186 exit north and it is on the left side about 3 and 1/2 miles up.

Enjoy
PLL

This adobe structure has been sited over-and-over as a Butterfield Overland Stage Company stage station. It definitely was not. Nor has there been any proof given that it was even a later stage station. In Southern California and all across Arizona there are many structures sited as Butterfield stations. None exist even in ruins in Arizona except one and that is of Dragoon Springs Stage Station in Eastern Arizona. The official Butterfield Stage Station was not far from the so-called Araz structure and was one mile from Fort Yuma right on the bank of Colorado River. It was owned by longtime California pioneer Louis John Frederick Jaeger. If you wish first hand accounts from Butterfield's time for this area here are two:

Article titled: LETTER FROM THE COLORADO FERRY, Daily Alta California, July 27, 1859.
Article titled: LETTER FROM MR. WALLACE, The Trip Overland, Daily Alta California, June 1, 1860.

It is best to remember that only first hand accounts are from September 1858 to March 1861 because that was the time of the Butterfield Overland Mail Companies service. Also, no locals can give any viable info to the location of the Butterfield Trail or stations without doing extensive historical research. It cannot be based on an old structure. As was stated above, none have survived in Arizona except the ruins of the one mentioned. When Butterfield abandoned the line in March 1861 several incidents happened that destroyed many of the crude adobe structures. First, it was abandoned because the Confederates were about to enter Arizona and the line was abandoned and most of the "Americans" left this part of Arizona. The Apaches thought they had won and burned or knocked down some of the stations. In the winter of 1861-1862 there was one of the largest floods the Gila River has ever seen. This destroyed most of the stations in the western half of Arizona. In early 1862 the Confederates entered Arizona from the east over what was the Butterfield Trail. They destroyed a few of the stations. Stage lines did not return to Arizona until very late in the 1860s. In some places new stations were built on top of the old Butterfield ruins. Some have mistakenly represented photos of these later stations as Butterfield's.
The amount of misinformation in Arizona about the Butterfield Overland Mail Company in Arizona (and elsewhere) is astounding when there is clear archival government information defining the trail and station sites. At best, these sites and the trail location need a little tweeking, but it is known.
It is especially laughable that during the tourist season, Tombstone brings out a Concord Stagecoach and represents it as a Butterfield Overland Mail Company stagecoach used in Tombstone. The line didn't even exist in Tombstone's day or did Butterfield use these style of stagecoaches in Arizona. The used exclusively the Celerity Stagecoach and they were all ordered to be moved to the central line going thorough Colorado, Utah, Nevada, etc. when they were ordered to shut down in March of 1861.
Also, all the twenty-six sites for the Butterfield Overland Mail Company sites are protected or are on private property in Arizona.
Also you will note that no Butterfield stagecoach was robbed in Arizona, because on the entire line (including California) they were not allowed to carry any valuables. It was strictly a mail and passenger carrying line. The passengers weren't allowed to carry any real valuables. Outlaws had little reason to hold up the Butterfield Overland Mail Company stages.

 

[Gork]

I'm going to add my 2 cents an thats all it is a`bit of knowing an a bit of opinion.........I have been to this site an it does make you stand there catching yourself trying to hear the past,but as said it is on the reservation an the road is patroled alot by both CHP an Tribal ,it would be a night mare to detect due to all the trash that has been left ,ALOT of broken bottles ,bottle tops ,just junk,beer cans beer tabs....its sad but it is how it is ,to me its sad to see such a good piece of history just left to rott.

See my comments above to pegleglooker