Henry Wickenburg Pioneer Cemetery – Wickenburg, Arizona
Nestled on a hill between Two houses in a quiet neighborhood, the Henry Wickenburg Pioneer Cemetery seems almost as forgotten as its famous namesake. Entering the cemetery feels like trespassing, although there is signage and a clearly marked path.
Henry Wickenburg is best remembered for discovering the Vulture Mine and as the founder of Wickenburg, Arizona. Few know that he was instrumental in creating a dusty little agricultural town called Phoenix, which is now the fifth largest city in the United States.
Born Johannes Henricus Wickenburg in Essen, Germany on November 21, 1819, Henry arrived in the port of New York in 1847 and followed the 1852 gold rush to San Francisco. By 1863, Henry had left California to travel to the rugged desert of newly formed Arizona territory and set up camp near Hassayampa Creek. In October 1863, he discovered the Vulture Mine, which was the most productive gold mine in Arizona and had produced an estimated $ 70 million worth of gold during its operation from 1863 to 1942.
The boomtowns of Vulture City and Wickenburg that sprung up around the mine were harsh mining camps known for the lawlessness associated with the American Wild West. The surrounding desert was unsuitable for agriculture, which made it difficult to provide sufficient food for the miners. The businessman Jack Swilling from Wickenburg suggested clearing the centuries-old Hohokam canals in the Salt River Valley to create an agricultural community. Henry provided much of the funding for Jack Swilling’s Ditch, the forerunner of the Salt River Project. The clearing of these ancient canals brought the large-scale irrigation necessary to create an agricultural community large enough to feed the vulture mine and surrounding towns. Settled in 1867, Phoenix was thriving as an agricultural center, with products flowing into the mine and wealth from the mine flowing back into Phoenix. Henry’s funding of the canal project was arguably his most sustainable and impactful accomplishment.
Henry died on May 14, 1905 of a gunshot wound to the head. At the time, his death was classified as a suicide, although the circumstances were suspicious and many people believed he had been murdered. He is buried with five of his friends Henry Cowell, Lydia Cowell, James C. Todd, James Chase and William Wise in the Henry Wickenburg Pioneer Cemetery. This private cemetery was on a hill owned by Henry Wickenburg overlooking the Hassayampa Valley, the town of Wickenburg, and the Wickenburg House. In use from 1902 to 1928 before the municipal cemetery was created in 1931, it incorporates a style of construction known as a “bed frame” that is not common in cemeteries in the southwestern United States. The cemetery was added to the National Register of Historic Places on April 4, 2011.
