Dragoon Springs

Dragoon Springs is a stop along the Butter field Stage Route.  The thing that makes this stop unique is that there are four confederate soldiers buried right next to it. 

This is the building you have to turn at to get to the site.  

You keep going down the road, through gates, until you get to this sign.

Then you keep going down the road until you reach this sign, you will need a high clearance vehicle, and four wheel drive if it has been raining, you go through another gate.

You go over the little path, over the culvert, then you keep going until you reach a gate, then you keep going some more, you will see the building first, then to the left, you will see the graves.

The first view of the stage stop.

The sign at the stage stop.

A close up of the distances between the stops.

A close up of the map.

This was taken in the ruins.

The sign at the grave site.

Confederate States of American.

A close up of one of the crosses.

The graves.

A view from the ridge.

There are lots of ocotillos along the way and around the site...

This is a site that we have been looking for many years, ever since an article ran in the local paper, finally thanks to Facebook I found someone who had directions and here are the results. 

Sierra Vista Historical Plauques part 1

Here are the photos for the Historical Plaques in Sierra Vista, I know, not ghost towns, but some of these have been around for a while.  The reason it is part one is twofold, first I did not find all of the plaques, second, I want to go back and take photos of the handful of original buildings, the boys were not cooperating as much as I would have liked which is why I do not have those photos yet!  Anyways, enjoy this step back in time...

Add caption

This is the chicken coop/shed, all that is left of the original Fry homestead.

Fry Cemetery

Yuma Territorial Prison

So the Yuma Territorial Prison is a State Park in Yuma Arizona, It is a prison that was literally built by the prisoners who were housed there. 

These are the dunes that are in and around Yuma.

This is the guard tower and water tower of the prison.

The Prison was built on a bluff overlooking the Colorado River.

This Mission is right across the river from the prison.

This is the original entrance to the prison.

The back of the prison.

This building is not original to the site, though it does have a long history, it sits on site of the mess hall among other things and now houses the museum.

This is a model of the prison grounds, sadly most of these buildings are no longer there.

Entering the cell block

Through the cells out the other side.

The metal bunks that were built to replace the old wooden ones because of a bed bug infestation.

A closer look at the metal doors.

The back gate out of the cell block.

The prison annex built to try and help the overcrowded that would eventually cause the prison to close.

Wooden bunks in this cell...

The dark cell, also known as solitary confinement.

An old barber chair.

The front of the cell block.

Foundations of the five cells that were used to house the trouble makers...

Part of the outer wall.

The prison operated from 1876 and closed 33 years later.  The buildings were then used by the local high school, as a hospital, a VFW, and by homeless families and squatters during the Great Depression. 

The railroads demolished part of the prison to expand their tracks a build a new bridge, however it is to be noted that the citizens have Yuma fought for preservation of the prison for many years, finally achieving it for certain when it became a state park in 1961, and that they again stepped up to the plate when the state was looking at closing it down in 2010 due to budget issues. 

Other Blogs

Just thought I would stop in and share a blog that I found about abandoned places in New Jersey, it is what I had wanted for this blog, and what I hope to someday make my blog into, it has now and then photos and the history of the places, it is very very awesome, so here is the link.

rustytagliareni.blogspot.com