Kentucky Camp 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 ...

and former mining camp along the

Arizona Trail The Arizona National Scenic Trail is a National Scenic Trail from Mexico to Utah that traverses the whole north–south length of the U.S. state of Arizona. The trail begins at the Coronado National Memorial near the US–Mexico border and moves ...

Pima County Pima County ( ) is a county in the south central region of the U.S. state of Arizona. As of the 2020 census, the population was 1,043,433, making it Arizona's second-most populous county. The county seat is Tucson, where most of the populati ...

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 ...

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, near the community of Sonoita. The Kentucky Camp Historic District is listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...

and has been since 1995. As it is located within

Coronado National Forest The Coronado National Forest is a United States National Forest that includes an area of about 1.78 million acres (7,200 km2) spread throughout mountain ranges in southeastern Arizona and southwestern New Mexico. It is located in parts of ...

, the United States Forest Service is responsible for the upkeep of the remaining buildings within the Kentucky Camp Historic District.

History

A freak accident that killed a mining engineer allowed Kentucky Camp to persist as it is today, a scenic canyon dotted with

mesquite Mesquite is a common name for several plants in the genus '' Prosopis'', which contains over 40 species of small leguminous trees. They are native to dry areas in the Americas. They have extremely long roots to seek water from very far under gr ...

oak An oak is a tree or shrub in the genus ''Quercus'' (; Latin "oak tree") of the beech family, Fagaceae. There are approximately 500 extant species of oaks. The common name "oak" also appears in the names of species in related genera, notably ''L ...

s, tall grasses and cacti. The plans for the Kentucky Camp area in the realm of gold mining were ambitious but never really came to fruition.

Early days

In 1874 gold was discovered on the eastern slope of the

Santa Rita Mountains The Santa Rita Mountains ( O'odham: To:wa Kuswo Doʼag), located about 65 km (40 mi) southeast of Tucson, Arizona, extend 42 km (26 mi) from north to south, then trending southeast. They merge again southeastwards into the Pat ...

. The area became known as the Greaterville mining district and proved to be one of the richest

placer deposit In geology, a placer deposit or placer is an accumulation of valuable minerals formed by gravity separation from a specific source rock during sedimentary processes. The name is from the Spanish word ''placer'', meaning "alluvial sand". Placer mi ...

s in southern Arizona. Placer deposits consist of a mixture of gold, sand and gravel; to separate the substances, water is required. Generally, water is readily available to wash the mixture of sand, gravel, and gold. However, the arroyos of the Santa Rita Mountains are dry. Miners were required to haul the sacks of dirt to the few running streams in the area. Sometimes they would carry packed water, in canvas and goatskin bags, on the backs of burros to their claims. By 1886, much of the rich deposits that were worth such an effort were worked out and many miners gave up and moved on.Kentucky Camp History
U.S. Forest Service, Coronado National Forest. In 1902 a California mining engineer, James Stetson, had an idea to solve the water problem. His scheme involved channeling seasonal runoff from the mountain streams into a reservoir that would hold enough water to last ten months allowing him to keep a mine in operation. Stetson was able to convince a wealthy Californian, George McAneny (not to be confused with New Yorker George McAneny), to invest in his plan and with other investors from

Tucson , "(at the) base of the black ill , nicknames = "The Old Pueblo", "Optics Valley", "America's biggest small town" , image_map = , mapsize = 260px , map_caption = Interactive map ...

they formed the Santa Rita Water and Mining Company. The pair prospected the area of Greaterville and finally settled on a mining site in Boston Gulch. The headquarters was set up at nearby Kentucky Gulch and from 1902 until 1906, the buildings at Kentucky Camp served as the offices and residences for the mine employees. By mid-1904, the company's water system was complete and they were doing hydraulic mining at Kentucky Camp.

The fall of a camp and engineer

One day before a meeting with stockholders in 1905 tragedy befell Stetson. He was killed in a fall from a window at the Santa Rita Hotel in Tucson. His partner's finances and health deteriorated and despite the effort of the other partners to keep the operation going, Kentucky Camp was abandoned by 1912.

The town after 1912

The buildings and land were purchased by an attorney for the McAneny family and until the 1960s the lands were used as a cattle ranch. During the 1960s the land was sold to ANAMAX Mining. The Forest Service acquired the land in 1989 and added it to the

. The Forest Service is currently working with volunteers and others to preserve and interpret Kentucky Camp as a historic site related to mining in the American west.

Kentucky Camp today

The town was acquired by the U.S. Forest Service in 1989 through a land exchange. Since that time, it has been part of the Coronado National Forest and is being preserved and interpreted for a look at mining camp life.

Buildings

Today there are five adobe buildings at the town site. They were constructed circa 1904 and the largest building was probably the headquarters for the Santa Rita Water and Mining Company. Later, that same large building became the main ranch house as the land was used for cattle ranching. The small building behind the headquarters building was used to process gold samples, evidenced by liners that came from an assay furnace. Opposite a small house where Stetson may have lived are the remains of a ruined barn and another small adobe house remains at the far end of the site.

Preservation

Historic preservation has been underway at Kentucky Camp since 1991. The Forest Service has worked to stabilize the remaining buildings, including repairing roofs and walls in hopes of preventing further deterioration. Much of the work has been done by volunteers under the auspices of the Forest Service's Passport In Time program and the Friends of Kentucky Camp. When the USFS acquired the property the buildings were in bad shape. The roofs had to be repaired first to keep water run off from contacting the crumbling adobe walls. The project was made possible by a $10,000 donation from the producers of the 1989-1992 TV show ''

The Young Riders ''The Young Riders'' is an American western television series created by Ed Spielman that presents a fictionalized account of a group of young Pony Express riders (some of whom are young versions of legendary figures in Old West history) based at ...

'', which happened to be shooting in the area.Ghost Town
Tucson Weekly, July 6, 2006. As of 2005 the Forest Service planned to restore the buildings to their original appearance during the mining era.

Gallery

Mcaneny.jpg, This sketch of George McAneny is from a 1905 San Jose newspaper. He lost more than $150,000 investing in Kentucky Camp. Hotel & Office Building Kentucky Camp Arizona 2014.jpeg, The front of the hotel/office building. Hotel & Office Interior Kentucky Camp Arizona 2014.jpeg, Inside the hotel/office building. Assay Office Kentucky Camp Arizona 2014.jpeg, The assay office, where gold ore was processed. Adobe House Kentucky Camp Arizona 2014.jpeg, The adobe house believed to have been occupied by James Stetson. Adobe House 2 Kentucky Camp Arizona 2014.jpeg, The other adobe house. Remains Of Barn & Early Automobile Kentucky Camp Arizona 2014.jpeg, The remains of an adobe barn and an early automobile.

Notes

External links

Friends of Kentucky Camp

– Ghost Town of the Month at azghosttowns.com {{authority control Ghost towns in Arizona Former populated places in Pima County, Arizona History of Pima County, Arizona Buildings and structures in Pima County, Arizona National Register of Historic Places in Pima County, Arizona Tourist attractions in Pima County, Arizona Historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Arizona Coronado National Forest Populated places on the National Register of Historic Places in Arizona 1902 establishments in Arizona Territory Populated places established in 1902