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Mohave I – Colorado River Steamships
Mohave I (often simply called Mohave) was a stern-wheel steamboat that operated on the Colorado River from 1864 to 1875. It was the first vessel of that name on the river and an important workhorse in the mid-19th-century Colorado River trade, carrying freight, supplies, and passengers to support mining, military posts, and settlements in the Arizona Territory and beyond.
Description and Specifications
Mohave I was a wooden-hulled stern-wheeler built for the shallow, shifting, sandbar-filled waters of the lower Colorado River. Key dimensions and characteristics included:
- Tonnage: 193 tons.
- Length: 135 feet.
- Beam: 28–29 feet.
- Hull depth: Approximately 4 feet.
- Draft: Relatively shallow for its size, allowing it to navigate low-water conditions better than deeper-draft vessels (though exact loaded/light drafts vary slightly in sources).
- Propulsion: Stern-wheel paddle, powered by steam engines (specific horsepower not consistently recorded in primary summaries, but the vessel demonstrated strong power for the era).
- Cargo capacity: Up to about 225 tons when running alone; it commonly towed one or two barges and could handle combined loads in the range of 100+ tons of cargo on barges in addition to its own capacity.
It was constructed in sections by the noted San Francisco shipbuilder John G. North at his shipyard. The sections were transported south and assembled/launched in the Colorado River estuary (near the mouth of the river in what is now the Sonora/Baja California border area of Mexico) in late May 1864. Ownership was under George A. Johnson & Company (later reorganized as the Colorado Steam Navigation Company around 1869).
Like other Colorado River stern-wheelers of the period, it was a utilitarian working boat rather than a luxurious passenger steamer. It featured a basic superstructure suited to freight and limited passenger service in a harsh desert environment, with wood-fired boilers that required frequent refueling at wood-yards along the river (often staffed by Cocopah laborers cutting cottonwood and mesquite). The river’s extreme tides near the mouth, tidal bore, strong seasonal currents (especially during spring rise), sandbars, and low-water periods made navigation demanding; boats typically did not run at night.
History of Construction and Usage
George A. Johnson & Company had dominated Colorado River steamboating since the early 1850s, supplying Fort Yuma and later expanding upriver as mining booms developed. By late 1863, however, a surge in mining activity (gold and silver districts) created a freight backlog. High rates, shortages, and limited capacity led to discontent among upriver miners and merchants. This prompted competition from an “opposition line,” including the arrival of the stern-wheeler Esmerelda (Union Line) in 1864.
Johnson responded by ordering Mohave I. After launch in May 1864, it quickly entered service hauling freight from the Gulf of California/estuary area northward. From 1865 onward it regularly towed barges. A standout demonstration of its power and capacity occurred on a May 27–June 6, 1866 voyage under Captain Isaac Polhamus: it covered approximately 365 miles upriver from Yuma to El Dorado Canyon in a record 10 days and 2 hours while carrying 225 tons of cargo. Strong spring currents slowed progress for four of those days (only 41 miles covered in that stretch), forcing Polhamus to transfer cargo from the two barges it was towing onto the steamer itself and leave the barges behind temporarily.
Throughout its career Mohave I supported:
- Military logistics (supplying posts such as Fort Yuma and Fort Mohave).
- Mining operations (delivering machinery, provisions, and supplies; returning with ore).
- General commerce and settlement growth along the river corridor during the post-Civil War expansion of the Southwest.
It required periodic maintenance (hull work, caulking, etc.) at facilities in Yuma and Port Isabel. By the mid-1870s the boat was worn out. Railroads were beginning to compete effectively with river transport. In 1875 Mohave I was hauled out at Port Isabel, dismantled, and its machinery shipped to San Francisco to equip the Sacramento River stern-wheeler Onward (launched 1877; operated until 1909). It was succeeded on the Colorado by the larger Mohave II (launched 1876), the only double-smokestack steamboat on the river.
Ports of Call and Routes
Mohave I operated primarily on the lower Colorado River route, roughly 150–500+ miles depending on water levels and destination, from the river mouth/estuary northward. Cargo typically arrived by ocean-going schooners or steamships at the Gulf of California and was transshipped at or near Port Isabel (or earlier anchorages such as Robinson’s Landing) onto river steamers to avoid or manage Mexican customs issues and tidal hazards.
Principal ports and landings (approximate river miles above the mouth or relative to key points; distances varied with the shifting channel):
- Port Isabel (Sonora, Mexico) and nearby estuary landings/anchorages (Robinson’s Landing, etc.): Southern terminus, shipyard, and transshipment point. Active as a key facility especially from the mid-1860s.
- Fort Yuma / Arizona City (later Yuma), Arizona Territory / California: Major hub roughly 150 miles upriver. Military post, commercial center, and frequent stop.
- Intermediate wood-yards and landings below and above Yuma (examples include Port Famine, Gridiron, Ogden’s Landing, Pedrick’s, and later sites such as Castle Dome Landing).
- La Paz / Ehrenberg area (around 125–130+ miles above Yuma): Important mining and commercial points during the 1860s La Paz boom; freight rates for supplies and returning ore were significant.
- Aubrey City / Bill Williams River area.
- Fort Mohave / Hardyville / Mohave City area (roughly 300–310 miles from the mouth; Hardyville often served as low-water head of navigation for a period): Military post and transfer point for northern traffic.
- El Dorado Canyon (southern Nevada area, ~365 miles from Yuma in the noted 1866 run): Mining district destination for freight and supplies.
- Higher points such as Callville (Mormon settlement) were reached by Mohave I and other boats in high water periods in the mid-1860s, though not always regularly.
Wood-yards spaced roughly a day’s travel apart allowed overnight refueling. Downstream trips were much faster than upstream ones due to the current. The overall corridor stretched roughly 500 miles from the Gulf to upper mining camps when conditions permitted.
Mohave I helped open and sustain commerce in a remote desert region before railroads (notably the Southern Pacific reaching Yuma in 1877) gradually displaced river steamers as the primary freight mode. Its career illustrates both the ingenuity required to navigate the Colorado and the economic importance of steamboating to the early development of the Arizona Territory and adjacent areas.
Gold Basin, Arizona – Mohave County Ghost Town
Gold Basin, Arizona (Mohave County) is a historic gold mining district and geographic basin in northwestern Arizona, located in the southern White Hills west of Hualapai Wash (also spelled Wallapai), south of Lake Mead and west of the Grand Wash Cliffs. It lies roughly 50–60 miles north of Kingman and about 70 miles southeast of Las Vegas, Nevada. The area is part of the Basin and Range province and is closely associated with the adjacent Lost Basin mining district to the northeast across Hualapai Valley.
Early Discovery and Lode Mining (1870s–1900s)
Gold-bearing quartz veins were first discovered in the early 1870s. Development was slow due to extreme remoteness, scarce water and fuel, and limited transportation. Before 1900 the district produced an estimated $50,000–$100,000 in gold (period values), most of it from the Eldorado (or El Dorado) Mine, the earliest significant producer.
A small boom occurred around 1880. By 1881 two stamp mills were operating; one was a cooperative five-stamp mill at Grass Springs (near the later Diamond Bar Ranch headquarters), and another was built near Red Willow Spring. Most of the important early mines—Eldorado, Excelsior, Golden Rule, Jim Blaine, Never-Get-Left, O.K., and Cyclopic—had been located and developed by 1883. These produced free-milling gold-quartz ores averaging 0.5–3.0 ounces of gold per ton.
Around 1886 a third stamp mill was built along Hualapai Wash and became the nucleus of a small settlement called Gold Basin (later also known simply as Basin). Gold-bearing veins in the neighboring Lost Basin district were discovered about the same time. The Gold Basin mill (also called the O.K. or Burnt Mill) became the region’s central processing facility. Water had to be piped roughly 10 km from tunnels at Patterson’s Well because local wells hit only dry alluvium. The mill burned in 1893, was rebuilt in 1896 with 10 stamps plus a cyanide plant, and burned again in 1906; it was not rebuilt after the second fire.
A post office operated at Gold Basin from September 20, 1890, to January 4, 1894. It reopened under the name Basin on March 17, 1904, and closed permanently on June 15, 1907, after which postal service shifted to the Cyclopic Mine (which had its own post office until 1917). The settlement consisted of shanties and tents for miners and mill workers and never grew into a substantial town because of the harsh conditions and distance from supply lines.
Production and Later Lode Activity
Recorded production from the Gold Basin and Lost Basin districts combined (1901–1942) totaled about 13,508 ounces of gold and 6,857 ounces of silver (plus minor copper and lead), valued at roughly $359,000 (98% from gold). Most lode production is credited to Gold Basin mines. Minimum total historic gold production for the Gold Basin district alone is estimated at about 15,000 ounces, predominantly from lode sources.
Activity continued on a small scale into the 1910s–1920s, then largely paused until the early 1930s. A few mines reopened between 1932 and 1942 before wartime restrictions and later dormancy set in. Ore occurs in veins within Precambrian granite and schist; gold is associated with lead or copper minerals (pyrite, chalcopyrite, galena, molybdenite, wolframite) and, in oxidized zones, limonite, malachite, and other secondary minerals. Mineralization is linked to Late Cretaceous two-mica magmatism and structural features, including a regional low-angle detachment surface.
Key historic mines included the Eldorado, O.K., Cyclopic (which became a population center after 1905 with its own cyanide mill), Excelsior, and others. Modern exploration (including work by companies such as Gold Basin Resources) has focused on oxide gold potential at deposits such as Cyclopic and Stealth, with historical drilling and permitting for open-pit heap-leach concepts that were not advanced due to gold prices at the time.
Placer Mining Boom (1930s onward)
Placer gold was noted as early as 1909, but systematic placer mining did not begin until 1931–1932, roughly 60 years after the lode discoveries. In May 1932 W.E. Dunlop located significant placers; by August about 100 men were working the area with dry washers. Numbers dropped to around 43 by mid-1933. The richest and most active placers were on the east flank of the Lost Basin Range (especially the King Tut placers and nearby claims such as Queen Tut, Golden Nugget, and Lone Jack) and on the detrital fan in Gold Basin itself (including the Searles placer).
Gold ranges from fine dust to coarse nuggets (up to several ounces; a 4-ounce nugget valued at $140 was recovered near King Tut in 1941). Gravels are typically thin (1–3 feet or less) and rest on caliche-cemented material. Most work has been small-scale with portable dry washers; a few operations used power equipment and dry-concentrating plants. Activity has continued intermittently at a small scale into modern times, making the district popular with recreational prospectors using metal detectors and dry washers.
Geology and Landscape
The district lies in rugged desert terrain of rocky hills, dry washes, and alluvial fans. Lode gold occurs in quartz veins (and some episyenitic pipes) hosted by Proterozoic rocks, with emplacement ages primarily Late Cretaceous (and some older resetting). Placer gold is derived from erosion of these veins. The area is arid, with limited water historically a major constraint on development.
Meteorite Strewn Field
In addition to gold, Gold Basin is the site of one of the largest and best-documented meteorite strewn fields in North America. Discovered in 1995 by retired University of Arizona geology professor Jim Kriegh while metal-detecting for gold, the field has yielded thousands of specimens (over 4,450 reported with a total mass exceeding 168 kg in early studies) of an L4 ordinary chondrite (Gold Basin meteorite) across an area of roughly 130–225 km². The terrestrial age is approximately 15,000 ± 600 years (Late Pleistocene). Additional meteorites of other types have also been found in the area. The arid climate has preserved the material well, and fragments are still occasionally recovered by prospectors.
Legacy and Present Day
Gold Basin never became a major boomtown. Its isolation, water scarcity, and relatively modest overall production limited growth. Remains include the ruins of the Burnt Mill (O.K./Gold Basin Mill), stone foundations and concrete slabs of the old mining camp, and a small abandoned cemetery (Gold Basin/Basin/Burnt Mill Ranch Cemetery) with a few wooden markers. The area is primarily public (BLM) land with active mining claims; recreational gold prospecting and meteorite hunting continue. Access is via dirt roads off Pierce Ferry Road (from U.S. Highway 93 north of Kingman). The district remains of interest for both historic mining heritage and modern small-scale exploration and recreation.
Primary sources for this history include U.S. Geological Survey reports (especially Professional Paper 1361 and Bulletin 1355 on placer deposits), Western Mining History compilations of USGS data, and local historical accounts of the settlement, mill, and cemetery.
Franconia, Arizona – Mohave County Ghost Town
Franconia is a former railroad siding and unincorporated populated place in Mohave County, northwestern Arizona. It sits at approximately 34°44′22″N 114°16′06″W, at an elevation of about 1,102 feet (336 m) above sea level, in the Mojave Desert near the California border. It is located along the historic route of the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway (originally the Atlantic and Pacific Railroad), near present-day Interstate 40 at Exit 13. Nearby communities include Yucca (northeast), Powell and Topock (west), and Lake Havasu City (about 18 miles south). Today it is essentially a ghost town/siding with minimal or no permanent structures remaining, known mainly for its railroad past and a major meteorite recovery area.
Indigenous and Early Regional Context
The broader Mohave County area was traditionally inhabited by the Mojave (Mohave) people and other Indigenous groups along the Colorado River and surrounding desert. Spanish exploration reached the region in the early 1600s (Juan de Oñate in 1604). American exploration, military presence (Fort Mojave established 1859), mining, and settlement intensified after the U.S. acquired the territory (Mexican Cession 1848 and Gadsden Purchase 1854). Mohave County was created in 1864 as one of Arizona Territory’s original four counties.
Railroad Origins and Naming (1880s)
Franconia’s existence is tied entirely to the railroad. The Atlantic and Pacific Railroad (A&P), chartered by Congress in 1866 with substantial land grants, built westward across northern Arizona along roughly the 35th parallel under Santa Fe influence via the 1879–1880 Tripartite Agreement. Construction reached the Needles, California area by 1883, completing a key transcontinental link.
Franconia developed as a flag station/siding and section house stop on this line (later operated by the Santa Fe Pacific and then the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe). It was named by F.W. Smith, a railroad general superintendent born in 1857 in California, for his son Frank. By May 1887 the railroad had two small wooden houses there (valued at $100 each); the company contested Mohave County tax assessments on these and similar buildings, citing federal exemptions for railroad operating improvements.
Section houses were typical two-room structures housing a foreman and crew responsible for maintaining a 10–30 mile stretch of track. Workers sometimes lived in converted railroad cars parked on sidings. Earliest published mentions of Franconia appear around 1895. Concrete pads, foundation remnants, rusted cans, glass, and debris north of the tracks mark the former site.
Early 20th-Century Life and Population
The 1900 U.S. Census listed only three residents at Franconia: section foreman J.R. Carroll (age 26, English-born, naturalized after 13 years in the U.S.) and two Japanese railroad laborers, Inni (age 25) and Ymoanoto (age 19). All were single, literate, and English-speaking. A letter on file at the Mohave Museum of History and Arts notes a birth at Franconia on October 3, 1908, to the family of a section foreman, indicating occasional family presence. The settlement remained tiny and transient, focused solely on track maintenance.
Major Incidents
1901 Head-On Collision (November 20, 1901)
At approximately 5:12 a.m., about 1–2 miles west of Franconia on a sharp curve of the then single-track line, Santa Fe westbound Flyer No. 3 and eastbound Flyer No. 4 collided head-on at high speed (estimates of 40–70 mph). The eastbound train was pulled by two oil-burning locomotives; one exploded, spraying burning oil and igniting wreckage. Three engines, both dining cars, one Pullman, and two composite cars were destroyed.
Casualties included multiple train crew members (engineers, firemen, a baggage master/barber, conductors, waiters, and others) killed or fatally injured, plus some unidentified tramps/hobos whose remains were found later. Three passengers and about 14 trainmen were injured. Bodies and survivors were taken to Needles, California. The crash was attributed to dispatcher error and a timing discrepancy of roughly six minutes involving train orders at Franconia and Yucca. One surviving engineer, L. Holmes, later successfully sued the railroad (Santa Fe Pacific R. Co. v. Holmes, U.S. Supreme Court 1906) and was awarded $9,000. Contemporary accounts described it as one of the worst wrecks in Santa Fe history to that point.
1903 Accident
In June 1903, Santa Fe engineer George Payne was crushed and killed while oiling his engine on a side track at Franconia when it unexpectedly moved. He left a wife and two children.
1945 Side Collision (August 21, 1945)
A westbound passenger train (Second 23) was leaving the Franconia siding onto the main track when it was struck by a following westbound train (Third 53) traveling about 65 mph. Visibility was limited by a curve and embankment. The Interstate Commerce Commission investigated; the accident injured 49 passengers, 5 Pullman employees, and 3 train-service employees. No fatalities were reported in the official summary.
Later History and Decline
Section houses were still in use into the mid-20th century; some were given away for removal around 1935. As railroad operations modernized (double-tracking, mechanized maintenance, dieselization), the need for remote section crews diminished. Franconia faded into a derelict siding. Ghost town guides note that little or nothing remains of the original buildings. The area lies near remnants of the National Old Trails Road (a precursor route to U.S. 66).
Modern Significance: Franconia Meteorite Strewn Field
Since 2002 the surrounding desert has become one of Earth’s most productive dense collection areas for meteorites, often called the “Franconia strewn field” (roughly elliptical, about 5 × 16 km). Hundreds of specimens (at least 380 by some counts) have been recovered. Scientific study shows multiple distinct falls over roughly 0–20 thousand years rather than a single event, including H5 chondrites (the type specimen named Franconia, found by John Wolfe on October 31, 2002), other H-chondrites and breccias, and L6 chondrites. The dry desert climate and sparse vegetation aid recovery and preservation.
A soil series is also named Franconia (very deep, somewhat excessively drained soils on floodplains and alluvial fans in northwestern Arizona).
Cemetery and Legacy
A small historic cemetery/grave area is associated with Franconia and has been documented by the American Pioneer & Cemetery Research Project. It reflects the transient, hazardous lives of railroad workers and others in the remote desert.
Franconia never developed into a substantial town. Its history is that of a classic Western railroad section stop—briefly inhabited by maintenance crews (including immigrant laborers), marked by industrial accidents, and ultimately abandoned as technology changed—leaving behind only place-name, scattered ruins, railroad infrastructure, and an unexpectedly rich scientific legacy in meteorite research. It remains accessible via dirt roads off I-40 for those interested in railroad history, desert exploration, or meteorite hunting (with appropriate safety precautions for remote desert conditions, unmarked mines, and extreme heat).
Cochan – Colorado River Steamship
The Cochan was the last stern-wheel steamboat operated by the Colorado Steam Navigation Company (CSNC) on the Colorado River, running from late 1899/1900 until about 1909–1910. Named for the Quechan (Yuma) people, it marked the end of commercial steam navigation on the lower Colorado after nearly six decades of steamboat activity that began in 1852.
Origins and Construction
By 1899, CSNC owners Isaac Polhamus and Jack Mellon faced aging vessels and renewed competition from newer boats (including the St. Vallier). Their remaining steamers, the Mohave II (about 23 years old) and the Gila (launched 1873 and already more than 25 years in service), had worn hulls requiring heavy maintenance. The Gila was selected because it retained better engines.
In late 1899, the Gila’s machinery was refurbished and installed in a rebuilt (or heavily reconstructed) hull at the shipyard in Yuma, Arizona, at a cost of roughly $25,000 (some accounts cite about $27,000). The vessel was launched on November 8, 1899, and renamed Cochan. It was two tons lighter and 14 feet shorter than the Gila.
Key specifications:
- Displacement: 234 tons
- Length: 135 feet
- Beam: 31 feet
- Draft: 11 inches unloaded; less than 2 feet (about 22 inches) when loaded with cargo
- Cargo capacity: up to 125 tons of freight
- Propulsion: stern paddlewheel driven by the refurbished steam engines from the Gila
The Cochan was a classic Western-river sternwheeler optimized for the Colorado’s difficult conditions—shifting sandbars, snags, swift currents, seasonal low water, and abrasive sand. Design priorities emphasized extreme shallow draft, a relatively flat or lightly built wooden hull reinforced against grounding and impacts, and reliable (rather than high-speed) power for towing barges. Sternwheel configuration aided maneuverability in confined or shallow channels and allowed techniques such as using the wheel to help dig through bars. These principles continued the adaptations that Colorado River boats had developed since the 1850s, prioritizing flotation and cargo-carrying ability in minimal water over ocean-style seaworthiness or deep-draft efficiency.
In 1900 the company also built a new barge, the Silas J. Lewis (about 150 feet long and 32 feet in beam), for the Cochan to tow, while scrapping older barges.
Operations and Role in Trade
The Cochan entered service in January 1900, carrying freight to mining districts such as the Quartette and Searchlight mines in Nevada and competing directly with the St. Vallier (and later the Searchlight). It operated primarily on the lower Colorado between Yuma, Arizona, and points upstream toward Needles, California, and mining areas, supporting the final phase of the region’s mining boom with supplies, equipment, ore, and passengers.
Steamboats like the Cochan remained important for expanding and sustaining trade along the Colorado long after the Southern Pacific Railroad reached Yuma in 1877. They provided the most economical means of moving bulk goods across the desert Southwest until rail lines fully displaced them. The Cochan and its contemporaries hauled freight for mines, helped supply irrigation and reclamation projects (including work related to the Imperial Valley and the temporary diversion that formed the Salton Sea), and maintained local commerce on stretches of the river still poorly served by rail. By the early 1900s, however, additional rail bridges (including the Arizona and California Railroad at Parker in 1905) and the completion of Laguna Dam in 1909 (about 14 miles above Yuma) progressively eliminated upstream navigation. By the end of 1905 most boats, including the Cochan, had been withdrawn to the Yuma area.
End of Service
Just before Laguna Dam closed the river to steam navigation, the CSNC sold its remaining boats, including the Cochan, to the U.S. Reclamation Service in 1909. The Service had no need for the vessel, and it was dismantled in the spring of 1910 at Yuma. This marked the practical end of the steamboat era on the lower Colorado, which had facilitated thousands of tons of annual commerce since the 1850s.
Historical Significance
The Cochan embodied the final refinement of shallow-draft sternwheeler design for one of North America’s most challenging rivers. By recycling proven engines into a lighter, shorter hull with exceptional draft performance, its builders extended the economic life of river transport during a period of intensifying competition from railroads and dams. It supported late mining activity, early 20th-century reclamation efforts, and residual trade until infrastructure changes rendered steamboats obsolete. As the last major sternwheeler of the Colorado Steam Navigation Company, the Cochan closes a chapter in the transportation history of the American Southwest that had opened the desert interior to sustained commercial development.
La Laguna, Arizona – Yuma County Ghost Town
La Laguna, Arizona was a short-lived gold mining camp and steamboat landing on the Colorado River in what is now Yuma County. It existed primarily from 1860 to 1862 (with some residual activity afterward) in the New Mexico Territory and served as an early supply point for placer miners before declining rapidly with the larger La Paz gold rush. Its site now lies submerged beneath Mittry Lake.
Location and Founding
La Laguna stood on the Arizona (east) bank of the Colorado River roughly 20 miles upstream from Yuma (then near Fort Yuma/Colorado City). Coordinates place it near 32°49′N 114°29′W. Gold placers were reported in the vicinity by the late 1850s or 1860, drawing prospectors—many Mexican and local—to the area across from the earlier Potholes diggings on the California side. The settlement developed as a modest river landing with a few merchants, basic services, and a ferry that carried miners and supplies across the river.
José María Redondo (1830–1878), a Sonoran-born entrepreneur who had prospected in California and southern Arizona, played a central role. Around 1859 he settled in the area, operated a store and bakery, ran a ferry (with partner William Werninger by about 1861), and established ranching and early irrigation efforts. He later became known as a pioneer of irrigation in the Yuma area (“Father of Irrigation in Yuma”), a territorial legislator, and mayor of Yuma. Redondo was among the first to mine gold at the richer La Paz diggings.
Role with Colorado River Steamboats
Steamboats began regular service on the lower Colorado River in the early 1850s, primarily to supply Fort Yuma more cheaply than overland freight from California. Shallow-draft stern-wheelers (and some side-wheelers) of the Colorado Steam Navigation Company and predecessors carried freight, passengers, military supplies, and mining equipment from the Gulf of California upstream. La Laguna appears in historical lists of landings as active roughly 1860–1863, about 20 miles above Yuma and just upstream of Potholes (California).
The landing’s river access was its main advantage in the desert. Steamboats delivered goods that would otherwise have required expensive mule or wagon transport, supporting the small population of merchants and the surrounding placer miners who needed tools, provisions, and a way to move ore or gold dust. The ferry complemented this by linking the Arizona and California sides. River traffic overall grew with the early 1860s mining boom, making companies such as George A. Johnson’s highly profitable before railroads later undercut them.
Supplying the Surrounding Areas and the Mining Economy
La Laguna functioned as a local supply hub for placer miners working nearby gulches and river gravels. Merchants provided food, mining equipment, and other necessities; the ferry facilitated movement of people and goods. The camp supported early gold recovery in the broader Laguna area (including later-noted placers in the Laguna Mountains/Las Flores and McPhaul districts), though production there was modest compared with later strikes.
In January 1862, Captain Pauline Weaver and others discovered rich placers at what became La Paz (Laguna de la Paz), farther upstream. José Redondo was in the party that confirmed the find; one early pan yielded a sizable nugget. News spread rapidly. Miners and suppliers abandoned or scaled back at La Laguna for the richer La Paz diggings (and soon other districts). A party of about 40 reportedly returned from the discovery to La Laguna for supplies before the rush fully developed. La Paz quickly grew into a major boomtown and steamboat destination; La Laguna declined.
By the mid-1860s it was largely replaced as a significant landing by Castle Dome Landing (about 15 miles farther north), which served the Castle Dome Mountains silver and gold discoveries. La Laguna lingered briefly as the site of Redondo’s store and ranch. Redondo himself moved on to larger ranching, irrigation (including the San Ysidro Ranch), mercantile businesses in the Yuma area, and public office.
Decline, Later Context, and Legacy
The combination of the La Paz rush, shifting river channels, and the rise of other landings ended La Laguna’s brief prominence. Steamboat navigation on the lower Colorado continued for decades (supporting forts, mines, and settlements up to the Virgin River area) until the Laguna Diversion Dam (built 1905–1909, the first dam fully across the Colorado) blocked upstream travel and marked the practical end of the commercial steamboat era. The old La Laguna site was later inundated by Mittry Lake.
Today La Laguna is remembered as a minor but illustrative ghost town of the early Colorado River mining and transportation frontier—one of the first Arizona-side landings tied to the steamboat network that opened the lower river valley to settlement and extraction before railroads and dams transformed the region. Its story is closely linked to Redondo’s career and to the sequence of gold rushes that briefly made the lower Colorado a busy corridor of paddle-wheelers, ferries, and boom camps.