Henry Wickenburg
History of Arizona,  Thomas Edwin Farish, Vol. 2 1915, pg. 211

Henry Wickenburg was a native of Austria, born in that empire 
in 1820.  In 1847 he came to New York. He went to San Francisco 
in 1853 and came to Arizona in 1862, remaining at Fort Yuma for 
a time then traveling up the river to La Paz.  At La Paz he 
learned that a party of explorers had left there a few days 
before to go through the country to Tucson.  Henry took their 
trail and overtook them at what is now known as Peeples' Valley, 
having traveled nearly two hundred miles alone through the 
Apache country.  After leaving Peeples' Valley the party 
traveled east to what is now Walnut Grove then on to Turkey 
Creek and Black Canyon.  Near turkey Creek one of the party 
found some white quartz which had coarse gold in it.  His 
name was Goss.  He said nothing of his find to the balance 
of the party, but the next year he came back and in company 
with Timothy Lambertson worked some on the mine and packed 
the ore to Walnut Grove.  From Black Canyon the exploring 
company made their way to Tucson.  There Henry went to work 
driving a team for the United States Government.  

We next find him on a piece of land in Peeples' Valley in 1863 
where he learned through King S. Woolsey of the finding of rich 
ore in the Harquahala Mountains.  Henry got Van Bibber, a man 
named Green and some others and started for the place Woolsey 
had described.  They went down to the Hassayampa River and 
there made a start for the long stretch across the desert 
for the place indicated by Woolsey.  They were not sure of 
any water after leaving the river until they reached the pass 
in the Harquahala where the gold was said to be, which meant 
a trip of fifty miles and back with what water the could 
carry with them.  Following the low foothills, the party 
came in sight of the great white cropping of the Vulture 
Mine. Wickenburg wished to stop and examine it but the 
other members of the party refused.  After the party 
returned from their hunt, Wickenberg went back to the 
big white cropping and discovered the Vulture Mine.  
When Van Bibber learned of the great strike made by 
Wickenburg, he at once claimed an interest, which, of 
course, Henry refused.  Then commenced a long struggle 
in the courts, Coles Bashford handling the Wickenburg 
side of the case, which was finally settled in Tucson.  
Wickenburg remained at the mine where he lived until the 
spring or summer of 184 when he managed to get a ton of 
Vulture ore packed to a camp he had established at the 
present town of Wickenburg, a very poor excuse for an 
arrastra being built there by July 4 of that year.  At 
that time, C.B. Genung came to Wickenburg's camp with 
another man, having been driven in from a prospecting 
trip by Apaches.  Genung having had experience in 
working ore by the arrastra process, undertook to show 
Wickenburg what he could about the method and remodeled 
the arrastra and assisted in the grinding of the ore that 
was on the ground.  From this ore they took seventeen 
ounces of gold.

During the years 1865 and 1866 there were four mills built 
within one mile of the present town of Wickenburg--one five 
stamp mill by Charley Tyson, another one of equal size by 
Jack Swilling, and two others, one a ten stamp mill and the 
other a twenty stamp mill.

James Cusenberry built the twenty stamp mill and also added 
the twenty new stamps then turned the management over to a 
man named Sexton who stole everything he could during the 
four years that he kept it running and was over $100,000 
in debt to Arizona when he had to close it down.

The ten stamp mill owned by William Smith, Fritz Brill and 
others was moved from Wickenburg to a point about thirteen 
miles lower down the Hassayampa in order to get wood.  The 
mill was run until 1878 or 1879 when Smith and Company sold 
out the claims to James Seymour of New York.  Seymour employed 
James Cusenberry to superintend the working of the properties.

Henry Wickenburg, after parting with all his interest in the 
mine, settled at the town which bore his name, having a ranch 
there up to the time of his death in May 1905.  He was a fine 
character, honest, straight-forward and industrious, a typical
Westerner, quiet, unobtrusive, bold and fearless.  He was 
not possessed of much property at the time of his death.


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