Dragoon Wash, a

stream A stream is a continuous body of water, body of surface water Current (stream), flowing within the stream bed, bed and bank (geography), banks of a channel (geography), channel. Depending on its location or certain characteristics, a stream ...

tributary to the San Pedro River, in

Cochise County, Arizona Cochise County () is a county in the southeastern corner of the U.S. state of Arizona. It is named after the Native American chief Cochise. The population was 125,447 at the 2020 census. The county seat is Bisbee and the most populous city is ...

. It has its source just southwest of the town of

Dragoon Dragoons were originally a class of mounted infantry, who used horses for mobility, but dismounted to fight on foot. From the early 17th century onward, dragoons were increasingly also employed as conventional cavalry and trained for combat w ...

. It runs southwesterly to meet the San Pedro River.

History

Dragoon Wash originally appeared on an 1855 Railroad Survey map, with the name ''Quercus Canyon'', named for the oaks that appear along its course. Its valley and stream bed provided the route shortest route between Dragoon Springs and the San Pedro River, through the

Dragoon Pass Dragoon Pass is a gap between the Dragoon Mountains and Little Dragoon Mountains The Little Dragoon Mountains, are included in the Douglas Ranger District of Coronado National Forest, in Cochise County, Arizona. The summit of the range is the c ...

between the

Dragoon Mountains The Dragoon Mountains are a range of mountains located in Cochise County, Arizona. The range is about 25 mi (40 km) long, running on an axis extending south-south east through Willcox. The name originates from the 3rd U.S. Cavalry Drag ...

and

Little Dragoon Mountains The Little Dragoon Mountains, are included in the Douglas Ranger District of Coronado National Forest, in Cochise County, Arizona. The summit of the range is the center peak of the three Mae West Peaks, 6 miles northwest of Dragoon, Arizona. The ...

. From the mouth of Dragoon Wash the San Pedro River Crossing was 5 or 6 miles northward on the east bank of the San Pedro River. This route was used by the San Antonio-San Diego Mail Line,

Butterfield Overland Mail Butterfield Overland Mail (officially the Overland Mail Company)Waterman L. Ormsby, edited by Lyle H. Wright and Josephine M. Bynum, "The Butterfield Overland Mail", The Huntington Library, San Marino, California, 1991. was a stagecoach service i ...

, and subsequent stage lines. The

List of Stations from New York Times, October 14 1858, Itinerary of the Route
/ref>

References

{{Rivers and streams of Arizona Rivers of Cochise County, Arizona Washes of Arizona