Gillett, Arizona, (the name is frequently misspelled as "Gillette" on maps and documents) is a
ghost town
Ghost Town(s) or Ghosttown may refer to:
* Ghost town, a town that has been abandoned
Film and television
* ''Ghost Town'' (1936 film), an American Western film by Harry L. Fraser
* ''Ghost Town'' (1956 film), an American Western film by All ...
in
Yavapai County
Yavapai County is near the center of the U.S. state of Arizona. As of the 2020 census, its population was 236,209, making it the fourth-most populous county in Arizona. The county seat is Prescott.
Yavapai County comprises the Prescott, AZ M ...
,
Arizona
Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...
, United States. It has an estimated elevation of above sea level.
Historically, it was a
stagecoach station, and then a settlement formed around an ore mill serving the Tip Top Mine, on the
Agua Fria River
The Agua Fria River (Spanish for "cold water") is a long intermittent stream which flows generally south from east-northeast of Prescott in the U.S. state of Arizona. Prescott draws much of its municipal water supply from the upper Agua Fria w ...
in Yavapai County in what was then
Arizona Territory.
It was named for the mining developer of the Tip Top Mine, Dan B. Gillett and is spelled incorrectly as Gillette on U. S. Topographic Maps and elsewhere.
[John and Lillian Theobald, Arizona Territory Post Offices & Postmasters, The Arizona Historical Foundation, Phoenix, 1961]
History
Gillett was founded by the superintendent of the Tip Top Mine, where he located the mill to process the ore from
Tip Top, nine miles away.
[Gillett, Arizona, Arizona Pioneer & Cemetery Research Project]
from apcrp.org website accessed February 28, 2015] Its post office opened October 15, 1878.
At its height in 1878 Gillett, had six streets and aside from its mill and post office, a bank, assay office, hotel, real estate office, livery stable, lumberyard, meat market, truck farm, dairy, warehouse, two blacksmiths, two stagecoach stations, four stores and nine saloons/gambling houses.
Jack Swilling
Jack Swilling
John W. "Jack" Swilling (April 1, 1830 – August 12, 1878) was an early pioneer in the Arizona Territory. He is commonly credited as one of the original founders of the city of Phoenix, Arizona. Swilling also played an important role in the ...
, the founder of Phoenix, and his wife
Trinidad
Trinidad is the larger and more populous of the two major islands of Trinidad and Tobago. The island lies off the northeastern coast of Venezuela and sits on the continental shelf of South America. It is often referred to as the southernmos ...
had various business interests in Gillett. The Swillings owned "Gillett Real Estate", where they sold lots ranging from $100 to $250 depending on the location, a cattle and horse ranch and a vegetable farm in partnership with L.A. Stephens.
[Gillett, Arizona](_blank)
/ref>
In the spring of 1878, word reached the Swillings that Colonel Jacob Snively
Jacob Snively (1809–1871) was a surveying, surveyor, civil engineer, Officer (armed forces), officer of the Texian Army and the Army of the Republic of Texas, California Gold Rush#Forty-niners, California 49er, miner, and Arizona :wikt:pioneer, ...
, a family friend, had been killed by the Apaches in the Wickenburg Mountains
Wickenburg Mountains is a mountain range located in Maricopa and Yavapai Counties in Arizona
Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most po ...
near the peak called White Picacho. Mrs. Swilling suggested that Mr. Swilling and two companions, which included Andrew Kirby and George Monroe, founder of Castle Hot Springs, go on a trip to recover and rebury the remains of their old friend.
On April 17, Mr. Swilling and his two companions went on their Snively exhumation trip. Mr. Swilling and his companions returned to Gillett after exhuming Col. Snively's remains at White Picacho Mountains on April 23. He was seen walking the streets of Gillett with a bag or sack containing the remains of Col. Snively. Mr. Swilling buried the bones of Col. Snively on his property next to his house.
Three hooded men, one tall, one medium-size, and one short, robbed a stagecoach near Wickenburg
Wickenburg is a town in Maricopa and Yavapai counties, Arizona, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population of the town was 7,474, up from 6,363 in 2010.
History
The Wickenburg area, along with much of the Southwest, became part of ...
. Six men, including the driver, were shot and killed. Among them was Frederick Wadsworth Loring
Frederick Wadsworth Loring (December 12, 1848 – November 5, 1871) was an American journalist, novelist and poet.
Loring was born on December 12, 1848, in Boston, Massachusetts, to David and Mary Hall Stodder Loring.Charles Henry PopeLoring Gen ...
, a young writer from Boston
Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...
who had been sent as a correspondent for Appleton's Journal. The incident became known as the Wickenburg Massacre
The Wickenburg Massacre was the November 5, 1871, murder of six stagecoach passengers en route westbound from Wickenburg, Arizona Territory, headed for San Bernardino, California, on the La Paz road.
Massacre
Around mid-morning, about six ...
. On one occasion Mr. Swilling and his friends were in a saloon in Gillett discussing the incident and the description of the murderers, Mr. Swilling jokingly mentioned that he and his friends matched the description. Thus, Mr. Swilling and his companions became suspects in the robbery.
Pima County Sheriff Wiley W. Standefer arrested Mr. Swilling and Andrew Kirby. They were eventually turned over to Deputy U.S. Marshal Joseph W. Evans so that the state could charge them in the federal courts. Evans escorted them to the federal jail in Yuma. Prior to his arrest Mr. Swilling had developed a habit of using a combination of narcotics and liquor to relieve the pain caused by old injuries, thus he was not very healthy. The sanitary conditions inside the prison at Yuma were terrible and combined with the August heat, aggravated Mr. Swilling's chronic ill health. He died in his cell on August 12 while awaiting a hearing. The real culprits of the massacre were caught, proving his innocence too late. Mr. Swilling was buried in an unmarked grave on the grounds of the federal prison cemetery before his family could be notified.
Gillett treasure
Among the tales of lawlessness in Gillett is that of Henry Seymour. Seymour was the town's blacksmith who engaged in robbing the Wells Fargo
Wells Fargo & Company is an American multinational financial services company with corporate headquarters in San Francisco, California; operational headquarters in Manhattan; and managerial offices throughout the United States and intern ...
stage coach before it reached the town. In 1882, alone he held up three coaches and no one suspected Seymour because he would already be in his shop before the arrival of the stage coach. The robber, whose total amount in the three robberies added up to $68,000, became known as the "Ghost Bandit".[The Ghost Bandit]
/ref>
Normally, Seymour hid his loot after a robbery, however suspicions as to his activities as an outlaw came about when in one occasion he used some of the money from a robbery in a local saloon's poker game.
Maricopa County Sheriff Lindley Orme sent deputy Henry Garfias
Henry Garfias (born Enrique Garfias; 1851–1896) was the first city marshal of Phoenix, Arizona. He was also a gunfighter who became the highest elected Mexican American official in the valley during the 19th century.
Early years
Garfias was bo ...
to investigate the situation. During his investigation Garfias was told by witnesses that on the day of the last robbery they spotted Henry Seymour, the blacksmith, with a rifle under his arm along with several gunny sacks. Garfias suspected that Seymour was the Ghost Bandit and decided to set a trap.
As soon as he found out that the next stagecoach was about to arrive in Gillett, Garfias hid close to the Agua Fria crossing and waited. As soon as he spotted Seymour, who was armed with a rifle, Garfias arrested him.
Thus, Seymour, the "Ghost Bandit", was finally caught when he attempted to rob his fourth stage coach that year. He was tried in Maricopa County
Maricopa County is in the south-central part of the U.S. state of Arizona. As of the 2020 census, the population was 4,420,568, making it the state's most populous county, and the fourth-most populous in the United States. It contains about ...
and sent to prison. Seymour never told anyone where he hid his treasure and when he was released from prison he never returned to Gillett. Henry Garfias later become the first marshal of Phoenix.
The decline of Gillett
After the mill was closed in 1880, and moved to Tip Top in 1884, the town was soon abandoned. Its post office had postmasters appointed up to October 1883, but it was discontinued in August 1887. What remained was a store and a stagecoach station and a population of two.[
The stagecoach station was within the Black Canyon wagon road and stage route. The portion of the trail around Gillett and south of Prescott was surrounded by boulders and scrub. This portion made it easy for stagecoach robbers to hide and ambush stagecoaches, making the trail a dangerous one to travel on. This resulted in the Wells Fargo Express Company halt of shipments over the route. The stagecoach station remained opened until 1912 when it also was abandoned.][ The Burfind Hotel was the largest structure in Gillett and ruins of it and a neglected cemetery remain.][
Currently, it is still designated as a populated place as per the ]U.S. Geological Survey
The United States Geological Survey (USGS), formerly simply known as the Geological Survey, is a scientific agency of the United States government. The scientists of the USGS study the landscape of the United States, its natural resources, and ...
and the U.S. Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of the ...
. Tourist and locals in Arizona can visit Gillett by taking Interstate 17 (I-17) North and exiting at Table Mesa Road. Take West Table Mesa Road, cross the shadow Agua Fria River and continue to drive for approximately 0.3 miles to Gillett. The exact coordinates are: N 34* 01' 07.5" W 112* 09' 49.3". Permission of the owner of the now private property is required."Directions to Gillett and Tip Top"; Information compiled by: Neal Du Shane
/ref>
Gallery – the Burfind Hotel and other scenes
References
Further reading
*
External links
from ghosttowns.com
{{Yavapai County, Arizona
Ghost towns in Arizona
Cemeteries in Arizona
Populated places established in 1878
Former populated places in Yavapai County, Arizona