Yuma Arizona and beyond
Old Yuma, located along Main Street, was doomed from the start as flooding from the Colorado River turned the back of the building into the mud from which they were made. Today, most of Main Street consists of buildings dating from the 1920s. However, during the city’s early days in 1849, more than 60,000 people used this route to cross the Colorado River on the ferry. rope prospecting for gold in California. Today, visitors will find a wide variety of shops, entertainment, and restaurants along Main Street, as well as the Yuma Historic Theater built in 1911, now the centerpiece of the Yuma Center for the Arts and the home and gardens of E. F Sanguinetti, one of the pioneers of Yuma business.
Colorado River State Historic Park in Yuma maintains important history from our early military days. Beginning in 1864, the Yuma quartermaster depot served as a lifeline for the southwestern military forts, where a six-month supply of ammunition, clothing, food, and other goods was stored. Merchandise arrived upriver from the Gulf of California by steamboat and was shipped overland by mule team or shipped upriver. In 1877 with the arrival of the railway, the fate of the deposits vanished. However, when the army closed the reservoir, engineering pioneers used the site to tame the river by building dams to generate power and a vital water supply for the survival of the community. Today, five of the original buildings still stand and are among the oldest and best preserved in the state of Arizona. Right next to the park is the Yuma Siphon built in 1912, a massive tunnel under the Colorado River used to bring irrigation water to the Yuma Valley, which is still in operation.
Forced ventilation, electricity, sanitation including tubs and showers, even a library were more conveniences than most Yuma homes and was called “The Country Club on the Colorado” by residents. On the other hand, the unbearable heat made this place feel like hell where a lair of inhuman snakes was carved into the granite walls and ball and chain were the routine punishment made this place impossible to stand and be. surrounded by rivers, quicksand and desert made it impossible to escape. The prisoners feared and hated this place and called it a pure “Hell Hole”. Yuma Territorial Prison only lasted 33 years, but during this time, it built a fearsome reputation in Old West history. From 1876 when it opened to 1907 when it closed its doors, the prison housed over 3,000 inmates where most of the cell blocks were carved out of granite by their own hands. Although no executions took place at the prison, 111 inmates died while serving their sentences and are buried on the prison grounds.
No trip to Yuma is complete without visiting the town of Los Algodones in nearby Mexico, which is a friendly community located in Baja California on the Arizona-California border. Recognized by the American Government as a safe community for tourists, crossing the border is easy, driving or walking. Walking is by far the best option, this way there is no need to worry about finding a parking space. Just across the border within four blocks is where all the businesses are located. The community offers a great selection of dentists, pharmacies, and optical dispensaries that snowbirds and seniors take advantage of at great cost savings. In addition, the streets are lined with curio shops and sidewalk cafes.
About 40 miles northeast of Yuma, with the last seven miles down an unpaved road, is the Castle Domes Mine Museum, and with over fifty weather-beaten buildings, it leaves one with the impression of finding a lost City. The museum contains three different sections where the largest part is where all the buildings were moved to a central location. A short walk across the desert is a couple of 1970s-era buildings. A half-mile walk leads to mine shafts and buildings located on their original construction site. In 1878, Castle Dome was larger than Yuma and little has changed since 1800, other than that all remains still and silent. Details on most of the buildings remain intact, allowing you to experience what the Wild West was really like in the 19th century. With the departure of the last miners from Castle Dome around 1979, this location became the oldest mine in the state of Arizona.