A Town Rich in Mining History

Whitecliff Wagon Trail

Oatman Shops

Oatman is a curious display of souvenirs, western clothing and all sorts. Oatman is a 45 minute drive (28 miles, 46 km) west of Kingman on Historic Route 66.

Mohave Museum of History & Arts

Exhibits in the Mohave Museum of History & Arts include mining, ranching, railroads, native people and an Andy Devine room. Admission to this Museum include entrance to the Bonelli House and the Powerhouse Route 66 Museum.

Colbaugh Processing

Colbaugh Processing mines, processes and sales Kingman Turquoise. From rough to strands to green to purple rock, they have it all! Colbaugh Processing is located about 5 miles (8 km) north of Kingman on Hwy 93.

Cerbat Mine

Prospecting in Cerbat began in the 1860's and it became a bustling mining community in the Cerbat Mountains. In the early 1900's it died out. Now, just a few grizzlies (like the one pictured here), stone walls and remnants of cabins remain. To get to Cerbat, take Hwy 93 north for 9 miles to a historic marker around MP 62, turn right on the dirt road at the marker, continue .7 miles, then right for .6 miles, then right for almost 2 miles. Some of the last leg will be foot travel.

Cerbat Mine Area

To get to Cerbat, take Hwy 93 north for 9 miles to a historic marker around MP 62, turn right on the dirt road at the marker, continue .7 miles, then right for .6 miles, then right for almost 2 miles. Some of the last leg will be foot travel.

Powerhouse Today & ca 1930

The Kingman Powerhouse provided power to area mines and the Kingman community. It was built between 1907 & 1909, first 'juicing' the lines in July 1909. It also provided power for the construction of Hoover Damn, the cheap hydroelectric power of which rendered expensive diesel generated power obsolete, resulting in the discountenance of electrical production at the Powerhouse. Image courtesy of the Mohave Museum of History & Arts.

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Ranching and Railroads are chapters to the Kingman story, but the mines and miners wrote the book.

The railroad opened the doors the west, making ranches possible early on. This brought military encampments to keep the peace along newly developed reservations. Out of boredom, soldiers turned to prospecting to pass the time. Soon prospecting produced results and the mining boom was on!

Ores were rich, particularly in the Cerbat Mountain Range. The silver and gold ore from these mines was hauled by wagon to the Colorado River, steamed to Yuma then railed to San Francisco to be smelted. Some of the best ore was sailed still further to the British Isles for processing. These hills still produce copper and Kingman turquoise, but mostly what remains are ghost towns like Cerbat or the living ghost town of Chloride.

In 1902, a gold rush hit Oatman in the Black Mountains so hard that the flat and easy Old Trails wagon road in Western Arizona would be yanked up and rerouted through the snaky, rocky backcountry foothills. All because everyone wanted a stake in the gold. A few of the mining exhibit in the Mohave Museum of History & Art shows a view point from up high in the hills overlooks dozens of little mines and stakes throughout this small range. Some stakes were literally on top of one another. One can take this fabled road to Oatman and see remints of Gold Road, a former mining town now overrun by one of the last remaining current gold mining operations.

The Kingman Powerhouse is a testament to the power of Mining in Early Arizona. Electric power was still a new commodity and not particularly available in small rural towns. But Kingman, situated conveniently with railroad access, was a perfectly positioned to run juice to nearby mining towns. Built in stages between 1907 and 1911, the Powerhouse was followed in newspapers as far away as the Los Angeles Times. The Powerhouse opened in 1909 “prepared to furnish motive power to mines and mills within a radius of forty-five miles from Kingman. ” The Historic Powerhouse now houses the Kingman Visitor Center and Route 66 Museum.

The Mohave Museum of History & Arts opened a mining display with artifacts and images covering the local scene such as Chloride, Oatman. Another testament to mining which can be seen in the Mohave Museum is an 1873 Winchetster embedded in a tree trunk. It was the World’s most famous tree when discovered along the Sante Fe RR in the mid 1950’s with a the Winchester (the gun that won the West) inside. It is speculated that prospector likely booby trapped the spot to protect his claim, as they did on those days, and never retrieved it.

One only needs to look to the hills at the scars and abandoned zigzagging trails to see the effects mining had on the landscape. But you can get a boots on the ground perspective at White Cliffs Wagon Trail. The wagon road was once used to bring ore from the Mines to the railroad in the 1800’s. Parts of the ore route have cut deep into the stone, with depressions along both sides of the roadbed where stubbing posts were employed to keep the heavy wagons from going downhill out of control.

A recent attraction that fits well into the story is Desert Diamond Distillery. Walking thrgouh the front doors fills your nose with the sweet smells of molasses - railed in as it would have been 100 years ago - ferminting into rums and vodkas. The family owned distillery has concocted a dark rum with a hint of desert agave. Their single barrel rums rival a fine bourbon and have won awards up against the big boys in the distilling indistry. Tastings take place at a bar once catering to the likes of the rat pack in Vegas’s heyday. It is a modern twist, and welcome answer to the old miner’s watering hole.