Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
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The visitor center is open Monday through Friday from 9am to 4:30pm, Saturday and
Sunday from 10am to 2pm.
EXPLORING THE AREA
A Walk Around Town
While Wickenburg's main attractions remain the guest ranches outside of town, a walk
around downtown also provides a glimpse of the Old West. Most of the buildings here
were built between 1890 and the 1920s (although a few are older), and although not all
of them look their age, there is just enough Western character to make a stroll worthwhile
(if it's not too hot).
The old
Santa Fe train station,
on Frontier Street, is now the Wickenburg Chamber
of Commerce, where you can pick up a map that tells a bit about the history of the town's
buildings. The brick
post office,
almost across the street from the train station, once had
a ride-up window providing service to people on horseback. Frontier Street is preserved
as it looked in the early 1900s. The covered sidewalks and false fronts are characteristic
of frontier architecture; the false fronts often disguised older adobe buildings that were
considered “uncivilized” by settlers from back east. The oldest building in town is the
Etter General Store,
adjacent to the Homestead Restaurant. The adobe-walled store was
built in 1864 and has long since been disguised with a false wooden front.
Two of the town's most unusual attractions aren't buildings at all. The
Jail Tree,
behind the convenience store at the corner of Wickenburg Way and Tegner Street, is an
old mesquite tree that served as the local hoosegow. Outlaws were simply chained to the
tree. Their families would often come to visit and have a picnic in the shade of the tree.
The second, equally curious, town attraction is the
Wishing Well,
which stands beside
the bridge over the Hassayampa. Legend has it that anyone who drinks from the Has-
sayampa River will never tell the truth again. How the well adjacent to the river became
a wishing well is unclear.
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Museums & Mines
Desert Caballeros Western Museum
Wickenburg thrives on its Western
heritage, and inside this museum you'll find an outstanding collection of Western art
depicting life on the range, including works by Albert Bierstadt, Thomas Moran, Charles
Russell, Frederick Remington, Maynard Dixon, and other members of the Cowboy Art-
ists of America. The Hays “Spirit of the Cowboy” collection is an impressive display of
historical cowboy gear that alone makes this museum worth a stop.
21 N. Frontier St.
&
928/684-2272.
www.westernmuseum.org. Admission $7.50 adults, $6 seniors, free
for children 16 and under. Mon-Sat 10am-5pm; Sun noon-4pm. Closed Mon May-Aug, New Year's Day,
Easter, July 4th, Thanksgiving, and Christmas.
The Vulture Mine
Kids
Lying at the base of Vulture Peak (the most visible landmark
in the Wickenburg area), the Vulture Mine was first staked by Henry Wickenburg in
1863, fueling the small gold rush that helped populate this section of the Arizona desert.
Today, the Vulture Mine has the feel of a ghost town, and though you can't go down into
the old mine itself, you can wander around the aboveground shacks and mine structures
on a self-guided tour. It's all mildly interesting for those who appreciate old mines, and
it's fun for kids.
Vulture Mine Rd.
&
602/859-2743.
Admission $10, free for children 11 and under. Late Dec to mid-May
daily 8am-4pm; mid-May to late Dec Fri-Sun 8am-4pm. Take U.S. 60 W. out of town, turn left on Vulture
Mine Rd., and drive 12 miles south.
