Hdden water north of the river , whats the story?

[EDN]

I like nasty cougars...

Sounds like my kind of place...I definitely want to get up in there...have never gone much past cottonwoood camp...unless I was going over the peaks, we had a home on Tonto Creek for awhile, and family out there in Gisela...used to love gem hunting around there...but most of my time was spent between the Aqua Fria and Verde...very, very cool things to be seen in there...kind of a "forgotten area"...

33°37'43.63"N,111°22'38.09"W Mine
33°37'33.81"N, 111°22'23.77"W Mine
33°37'33.59"N, 111°22'24.55"W Mine
33°37'38.16"N, 111°20'45.48"W Water Trough
33°36'36.53"N,111°19'9.66"W Old Mine Closed by Forest Service
33°36'47.31"N, 111°20'9.69"W Stone Corral
33°36'47.69"N, 111°20'11.45"W Crabtree Family Trapping Cabin

 

Amazon Forum Fav 👍

A History of Mining on the Kenai Peninsula, Alaska - Grab it through Amazon!

[EDN]

33°36'16.08"N, 111°20'14.85"W Fire Pit

 

[EDN]

33°36'48.23"N, 111°20'11.95"W Water

 

[Holyground]

Very nice pictures. I was there a long time ago. Back in '92 I believe. Wish I had kept a diary. Thanks for posting these.

 

[PotBelly Jim]

Ditto of what HG said, thanks EDN for posting the pics and coordinates...the pics of the Crabtree cabin and the chimney how it looks now was really cool, and whoever built the fire-ring and seat was obviously an experienced desert rat...I like the Fred Flintstone style cupholder...thanks again, hopefully some day I can get in there to see some of that stuff.

 

[Hinterlander]

Does anyone know the history of the stone house south of Cottonwood Camp before Agua Escondido? Guessing that it was a line shack, but...

 

[Matthew Roberts]

Does anyone know the history of the stone house south of Cottonwood Camp before Agua Escondido? Guessing that it was a line shack, but...
View attachment 1675148

Hinterlander,

This would have been the Jones Ranch headquarters although it looks as if someone has re-stacked the stone walls as it was just about completely down many years ago.
Walker Wilson Jones, W.W. Jones better known as Doc Jones started a horse and cattle ranch in Cottonwood canyon in the 1870's and his son Johnny Jones ran the ranch and lived there.
Later Jones brother-in law Poncho Monroy helped Jones with the ranch then started his own ranch on the south side of the Salt River at Jones ford crossing.
Agua Escondido (hidden water) was on the Jones ranch just south of today's Cottonwood camp.
Hidden water is about a quarter mile up today's Cane Spring canyon. In Doc Jones day Cane Spring canyon was known as Horse Creek.
Doc Jones established a tuburculosis sanitarium at Blue Point near the Monroy ranch in the mid-1870's.

The famous author Dane Coolidge wrote about Doc Jones ranch in his books Arizona Cowboys and Hidden Water and many references to the Jones.
Both Doc and Johnny Jones are written about in Coolidges papers at the Bancroft library at University of California Berkeley.
Coolidge also relates several stories about Jacob Waltz and his Lost Dutchman mine and the finding of Waltz nephew's skull at hidden water in his books and papers.

Matthew

 

[cactusjumper]

Hinterlander,

This would have been the Jones Ranch headquarters although it looks as if someone has re-stacked the stone walls as it was just about completely down many years ago.
Walker Wilson Jones, W.W. Jones better known as Doc Jones started a horse and cattle ranch in Cottonwood canyon in the 1870's and his son Johnny Jones ran the ranch and lived there.
Later Jones brother-in law Poncho Monroy helped Jones with the ranch then started his own ranch on the south side of the Salt River at Jones ford crossing.
Agua Escondido (hidden water) was on the Jones ranch just south of today's Cottonwood camp.
Hidden water is about a quarter mile up today's Cane Spring canyon. In Doc Jones day Cane Spring canyon was known as Horse Creek.
Doc Jones established a tuburculosis sanitarium at Blue Point near the Monroy ranch in the mid-1870's.

The famous author Dane Coolidge wrote about Doc Jones ranch in his books Arizona Cowboys and Hidden Water and many references to the Jones.
Both Doc and Johnny Jones are written about in Coolidges papers at the Bancroft library at University of California Berkeley.
Coolidge also relates several stories about Jacob Waltz and his Lost Dutchman mine and the finding of Waltz nephew's skull at hidden water in his books and papers.

Matthew

Matthew,

Great book. Some good copies, soft cover & hard cover, can be found here:

https://www.abebooks.com/servlet/Bo...=coolidge+dane&cm_sp=snippet-_-srp1-_-title10

Good luck,

Joe

 

[Gregory E. Davis]

Hello Matthew: Jack, Steve, Dick and myself passed that site on our way to Hidden Water in November of 2015. It took us an hour to clear out the brush and overgrowth so that we could take a picture of it. Tom Kollenborn told me that it was also at one time used as a Basque Goat Ranch. He had no date as to when it was used for that purpose. Cordially, Gregory E. Davis

 

[Matthew Roberts]

Hello Matthew: Jack, Steve, Dick and myself passed that site on our way to Hidden Water in November of 2015. It took us an hour to clear out the brush and overgrowth so that we could take a picture of it. Tom Kollenborn told me that it was also at one time used as a Basque Goat Ranch. He had no date as to when it was used for that purpose. Cordially, Gregory E. Davis

Hello Greg,

Pancho Monroy had a large goat herd in the area of both Jones Ranch and Monroy's Ranch on the south side of the Salt River at Jones ford.
Jones ford crossing was the main crossing for sheep and goat herds coming from the Flagstaff area into the Superstitions and on to the Tonto Basin and Pleasant valley.
Twice a year thousands of sheep went through that country. I can fully believe Monroy used that site as a headquarters and that is Tom Kollenborn's source for the story.

Best,

Matthew

 

[Doc4261]

I've been to the old mine site there. Someone told me he got mostly copper? Yes, there was a lot of Spanish activity in that area. That's why I have spent so much time in there. If you look at the old Hunter's place, in between Lomg and Alder Canyon, you will find a round corral. I believe the Spanish built it first in 1600s, and those cowboys rebuilt it and used it. The Spanish had a base camp there from where they prospected all of the surrounding mountains. May have had something to do with the Superstions also. I have located a very old trail heading south out of there, crossing the river and around the cliffs. Only by boat for this one. I have explored all of those mountains below Four Peaks. There are some seriously amazing secrets up in there, no doubt. I will share someday. I have been down many dirt roads but I can honestly say that the dirt road to Cottonwood Ranch is the worst of them all. There is one spot where a sheet of rock, on a 45 degree angle is the road bed. I once ended up on two wheels and looking over the end of the world for about 6 seconds till God decided to give me more time. I know that road intimatly!

Holyground , One day I'd love to hear those stories. As it fits in with my Jesuit research. Ive always wondered how much had been found already, and how much is still a mystery.