The approximate location of the Walnut Grove Dam, which failed in 1890.

Work on the Walnut Grove dam began in 1886 and was completed in late 1887. It was to serve two purposes: to provide the water need for placer mining and to irrigate over 500 acres of farmland below the dam.

The Walnut Grove dam was a loose rock dam. It consisted of a mass of loose rock placed together with some degree of care. When properly constructed it should be as substantial as one made of masonry. Its destruction was not a result of poor design, but of carelessness in some of the details of its construction. They did not take enough care when placing the loose rocks together. Smaller stones should have been used to fill the interstices between the larger ones so that settlement could be the least possible. An emergency spillway of adequate proportions is very necessary. This would be used to release water to keep water from flowing over the top of the dam when the reservoir received a substantial increase in water. Water flowing over the top of the dam would result in the dam settling and if this would happen, the dam would fail. The original plans called for a spillway 55 feet wide and 12 feet deep. As a cost saving measure, the spillway completed was 15 feet wide and 8 feet deep.

On February 18, 1890 there was strong precipitation in the Bradshaw Mountains that persisted for three days. The warm rain on top of the larger than normal snow pack, resulted in a huge runoff. On the third day the water behind the dam was rising at the rate of 18 inches per hour. The amount of water entering the lake behind the dam was so large that the too small spillway discharge was not sufficient to keep the level of the lake from rising. Moreover, the spillway was soon blocked with trees and rubbish. Attempts to free the spillway with dynamite were not successful. Soon water began flowing over the top of the dam and it was clear that disaster was eminent.

When the Superintendent of the dam realized that the dam could not be saved, he initiated a last minute emergency plan. He turned to Dan Burke, who had been hired as the company’s blacksmith, and he asked Dan to ride down the Hassayampa and warn people of the imminent disaster. Since Dan was a long time resident of the area and knew the area well he seemed like the right choice for this mission. Dan was to ride 4 miles downstream to the diversionary dam that was under construction, to warn the workers of the imminent disaster. Unfortunately Dan had a real fondness for alcohol and he only got as far as Brow’s Saloon, where he got so drunk that he never carried out his assignment.

When the dam failed at 2:00 AM on February 21, 1890, it released one of the largest volumes of water ever released from a dam failure in the United States. When the water rushed down the steep and narrow Box Canyon it was 80 feet tall. Fish were found in canyon walls 80 feet above the Hassayampa. When it reached Wickenburg, a distance of 30 miles, in two hours, the wall of water was 40 feet tall.

There were between 70 and 100 deaths. It appears that either all, or nearly all, of the fatalities occurred upstream from Wickenburg. The dam was never rebuilt.

The town of Wickenburg, originally called Pumpkin Patch, is located on the Hassayampa River flood plain. It was originally called Pumpkin Patch because the Indians used it extensively for the growing of crops. This flood plain provided fertile soil for farming and ranching. After Henry Wickenburg divested himself of the Vulture Mine, he planted a large orchard on this flood plain. His orchard was destroyed in the flood. One of the biggest losses Wickenburg suffered because of the flood was the tremendous amount of fertile soil that was washed away.

Several lawsuits were filed against the owners of the dam, but not a single dime was ever collected. One of the suits filed was by Henry Wickenburg. Henry was financially ruined by the Walnut Grove dam disaster. He committed suicide on May 14, 1905, an old and broken man.

There was an old man at the camp. We sat around and talked. He related the following story to me.

His granddaddy, Reed, started the camp we were in and he was the one who planted the ocotillo fence. One spring just weeks before the lambing season he hired a young man named Mac, who was a sprinter for Yale University, to be a sheep herder. Reed warned him not to lose any of the sheep.

The sheep and Mac soon disappeared into the scrub and nothing more was thought of him until supper time came and there was no sign of Mac or the sheep. Reed commenced to worry about the sheep and about 7 o’clock was about to start out to look for them when Mac at last came driving them through the brush into the corral. After shutting them in, he came to the grub tent, streaked with dust and perspiration and from all appearances plumb tuckered out.

Before Reed could say anything, Mac burst out.  ”Boss,” he said, “I’m through. They thought back east that I was a foot racer, but I’m not. Almost any sheep herder that can herd that band for a week and not loose those lambs can beat all of the world’s records for running. I didn’t lose any today and I ran every one of those damn lambs back into the band every time they tried to get away, but one day is enough for me. I’m all in but they are all there. Go and count them up and give me my time. I’m done.”

Reed, knowing that there no lambs in the band and that none of the ewes should have lambed yet, went to the corral to investigate. Off in one corner, huddled up by themselves, he counted 38 jackrabbits and 17 cottontails.

I have scheduled the trip for Saturday, December 9, 2006. If there is any interest, I will post the details later.

You would need an all terrain vehicle or a four wheel drive, high clearance vehicle to go on the ride. The terrain we will go over is not dangerous, just very rough. A two wheel vehicle would have a tough time traversing the trails.

A camera would be a must.

I look forward to you joining me on this ride to relive a part of the past so that it might be carried on for future generations.

Please post in the Comments if you are interested in participating.

November 27 Update: Tom Riggs will be joining us on the 12/9 ride. He has forgotten more of the history of the area than I will ever know. Start time will be 10:00 AM from the rodeo grounds. With Tom along, the ride that will be absolutely fascinating!

Garcia Cemetery

Around 1895 Don Garcia again donated land, this time for the town’s first school house. The first school house on the site was a temporary wooden building that was brought in from a local mine. It served for ten years and then in 1905 the town raised money and built the brick structure that still stands. It was originally known as the “Wickenburg Grammar School”. It wasn’t until years later that it became known as “Garcia School.” This school served the community for about twenty years. A new school was built alongside Garcia School. This school was in use until 1978 when it burned to the ground.

Garcia School House

Cochineal Scale

Crushed Cochineal Scale

Cochineal Scale scale remained the preferred source of red dye until the 1850’s when the first synthetic (aniline) dyes became available. Cochineal is still produced in South America and India. It is still used to color drinks, artists oil paints, food , and cosmetics. It is also used in the medical field as a biological stain and an indicator in acid base titrations. Cochineal scale is not listed on the ingredients in foods and cosmetics, they use the terms “carmine” or “carminic acid.” It is widely used in lipstick, rouge, sausage and some candies. Kosher foods do not use cochineal scale for coloring as it is prohibited to use insects or parts of insects in Jewish food.