In Search of Lost Highway Adventures
On the latest episode of In Search of Lost Highways, it is an adventure on the Beale Road. ©Jim Hinckley’s America
In search of lost highway adventures. That might be a more apt descriptor for the In Search of Lost Highways series of videos being developed for the Jim Hinckley’s America YouTube channel.
In episode four of the series I share the adventure that is exploration of a desert oasis in Arizona. This little corner of paradise is linked to legendary American frontier era explorers, territorial and Hualapai tribal history, and lost highways. It’s a story of camels, a clash of cultures, mysteries without answers, and changing times. It is another road trip inspiring adventure.
In Search of Lost Highway Adventures
In retrospect it seems as though much of my life has been consumed with adventures on lost highways. So, as sharing America’s story, and inspiring road trips by telling people where to go, is the foundation for Jim Hinckley’s America, a video series was long overdue.
Episode four was exploration of Beale Springs, near Kingman Arizona. Located less than two miles from the historic heart of this desert crossroads, the springs could easily be added to a Route 66 travelers itinerary. It is a part of the expansive Cerbat Foothills Recreation Area trail system.
As a bonus the trail to the springs from the parking lot is smooth and short. In fact, it is almost wheelchair accesible.
A Tale of Two Histories
At the entrance to the historic site that is Beale Springs stand two monuments. One tells the tale of “Manifest Destiny.” That is a story about the importance of the springs in the development of northwest Arizona.
The second monument is a memorial. For the Hualapai people manifest destiny and all that it represented was genocide.
Beale Springs, and Coyote Pass, figures prominently in both stories. So, I appreciate the two monuments. Together they present a complete picture.
I have been greatly troubled by the trend of whitewashing history. That is akin to tossing the blue pieces from a jigsaw puzzle because that color is offensive. You can’t use history as an educational tool, or as a guide to move forward, without a full picture. That is more applicable if the history is uncomfortable.
Crossroads of History
Atlantic Springs on the Beale Road. ©Jim Hinckley’s America
Stating the obvious, water is more precious than gold in the desert. Beale Springs and nearby Atlantic Springs were the difference between life and death for the Cerbat clan of the Hualapai people. Likewise for travelers on a trade route that connected tribes on the coast of California with villages in northern Arizona. And that trail was linked to a rich turquoise mine in the Cerbat Mountains.
That trail would be followed by the expedition of Father Garces in 1776. And it would be used by the Sitgreaves Expeditions in the early 1850s, as well as the 1857, an expedition led by Lt. Edward Fitzgerald Beale.
Beale, namesake for the springs, was commissioned to survey a wagon road along the 35th parallel. Eventually that road would be extended to Fort Smith, Arkansas. When connected the Mojave Road at the Colorado River, it allowed the traveler to journey all the way to the village of Los Angeles.
Beale had a secondary task. That was testing the viability of camels for use in military transport in the southwest. As an historic footnote, this endeavor was authorized by Secretary of War Jefferson Davis. Davis would become the first and only president of the Confederate States of America in the early 1860s.
Dawn of A New Era
In the 1860s and 1870s a road was built connecting Colorado River ports, and a military outpost, with a fort and the territorial capitol at Prescott. The importance of that road, and development of mines and ranches in northwest Arizona, led to the Hualapai War. And that led to establishment of a military outpost at Beale Springs.
And that resulted in the springs being used as an internment camp for the Hualapai people. That was before the tribe experienced their Trail of Tears episode when they were marched to reservation on the Colorado River.
After the military outpost was abandoned, a ranch was built at the springs. And then a hotel. When Kingman began the transition from railroad construction camp to town, the springs was tapped for a water supply.
In about 1913 a new road was built through Coyote Pass. It was built for automobiles and connected Kingman with Chloride. And the springs figured prominently in that chapter as well.
Episode Four
In episode one of the In Search of Lost Highways series I shared the adventure that was exploring the historic roads at the top of Coyote Pass. So, in episode four I continued the story with exploration of Beal Springs.
But this is not the end of the story. In future episodes we will explore other remnants of this lost highways. So, stay tuned. Become a subscriber. And come along for the ride.