[Source: Peter Aleshire, Payson Roundup] – Bouyed by a 12-percent rise in visitation, the Tonto Natural Bridge State Park has returned to a seven-day-a-week schedule as rangers and volunteers brace for a busy holiday weekend.
Managers of the world’s largest natural arch and its historic buildings hope that word will spread among visitors still confused by fire-based forest closures and lingering questions about state parks budget cuts. “I think we’ll be very busy on the Fourth, but I don’t think we’ll be overloaded,” said Ranger Steve Jakublowski, the park manager. “There’s a lot of misconceptions still going on, especially with the fires. People are calling quite a bit wondering whether we’re open.” [to read the full story click here].
[Source: TriValleyCentral.com] – Since 1982, the Arizona Preservation Foundation and the Arizona State Historic Preservation Office/Arizona State Parks have collaborated to present the Governor’s Heritage Preservation Honor Awards. Through a very competitive process, each year 10 projects recognizing people, organizations, and projects that represent outstanding achievements in preserving Arizona’s prehistoric and historic resources are presented at the annual Historic Preservation Conference.
Florence was one of the 2011 recipients for the Florence Townsite Historic District Preservation Design Guidelines. The awards were the highlight of the recent 9th Annual Arizona Historic Preservation Conference held in Tucson on June 22-24, 2011. State Historic Preservation Officer Jim Garrison said, “The awards make the conference more than a venue to learn, debate and network, but also a celebration of outstanding historic preservation efforts and achievements.” He continued, “As we prepare to celebrate our state’s 100th birthday in 2012, it is imperative that we join together to protect those resources that reflect our diverse heritage, and create new partnerships that will nurture these resources far into the future.”
The Florence Townsite Historic District Preservation Design Guidelines were developed through a collaborative effort led by Town Planner Gilbert Olgin. With assistance from Robert Longaker with the WLB Group in Tucson, the Town’s Historic District Preservation Commission, a Technical Advisory Committee, and the State Historic Preservation Officer, many hours were spent preparing and reviewing the guidelines.
The guidelines are a critical planning tool used to encourage owners of properties in the Historic District to maintain their historic properties and to ensure any improvements and new development are compatible with the existing development.
This document is not only vital to the survival of the historic district, but has helped the passion to grow for historic preservation inFlorence. It is more than a set of guidelines, but a cornerstone effort in preserving historic downtownFlorence and enhancing economic development opportunities in the delicate core of the town.
[Source: Loni Nannini Special To The Arizona Daily Star ]– One evening a year, the Silver & Turquoise Board of Hostesses brings back the good old days with a gala that benefits one of the Southwest’s most significant historic treasures: Mission San Xavier del Bac.
“There are no speakers, raffles or silent auctions,” said Chris Wangensteen-Eklund, chairwoman of the 61st Annual Silver & Turquoise Ball April 30. “It is just an evening to relax on the beautiful grounds of the Arizona Inn, enjoy drinks and an amazing dinner and dance to two live bands, then end the night in the fabulous Audubon Bar for a cabaret show.
“There is no pressure of bidding or buying raffle tickets or ‘Did I win?’ – it’s just this fabulous party to give back to what we call the ‘White Dove of the Desert’ or the ‘Sistine Chapel of North America’: Our beloved Mission San Xavier.” Wangensteen-Eklund said she is gratified to be coordinating one of the most historic black-tie events in the state and possibly the Southwest, second only to the Board of Visitors Charity Ball in Phoenix [to read the ful article click here].
Dave Rodgers often journeys from his home in Surprise to explore remnants of the Vulture Mine: a tree where those who stole gold were hanged, machinery that crushed ore to remove gold, and even clothes and shoes that miners wore.
Taking self-guided tours, he and others can examine stone walls of what was the home of Henry Wickenburg, who discovered gold here in 1863; towering wood rigging used to lift ore from the shaft; and other relics from an operation that yielded $200 million worth of gold before closing in 1942.
“Everything is just there like it was the day they shut down the mine,” Rodgers said. “They just left their stuff and walked off.”
Up to 5,000 people once lived in Vulture City, the community that sprang up around the mine. Stories of spirits roaming the ghost town continue to draw visitors.
But years of weathering and neglect have taken a toll. The 11 buildings that still stand, including two schoolhouses and the assay office, have crumbling walls of stone and adobe. Wood roofs and walls are in even worse shape, and nails and pieces of metal pose hazards for visitors.
Marty Hagan, a Wickenburg resident volunteering on a recent weekday, said preserving this site would not only safeguard an irreplaceable piece of Arizona’s gold-mining past, but also benefit the community.
“We have a legacy in our own backyard, and they don’t realize that,” he said.
The nonprofit Vulture Mine Preservation and Restoration Association, of which Hagan is vice president, launched in 2009 to protect the history that survives here. The group would like to restore the buildings, offer guided tours, showcase artifacts and add shops and restaurants.
But it may not get the chance.
The owners of the 274 acres that include the mine and its surroundings want to sell, but the association can’t afford the $3.5 million asking price, which has dropped from more than $6 million over the past few years.
Members of the group have tried unsuccessfully to assemble enough in donations and grants to purchase the property. Now they’re hoping that a buyer steps forward to help them. “We want someone that’s willing to work with us to save it so that we don’t lose its history,” he said.
The mine could have qualified for money from the Heritage Fund, which draws on lottery proceeds to fund grants administered by Arizona State Parks. But the $10 million grant money was swept up by the Legislature to help balance the state budget.
James Garrison, state historic-preservation officer for Arizona State Parks, said the Vulture Mine is worth preserving. “The mine itself has simply played an important part in the development of Arizona,” he said.
In the late 1800s, the mine was one of the biggest attractions for pioneers who came to Arizona. The U.S. government used its gold to help finance the Civil War and later used it to help finance the Salt River Project.
Garrison is working with the Wickenburg Historical Preservation Society to add the mine to the National Register of Historic Places. That would make possible U.S. preservation grants, though the current federal budget has frozen those funds. Adding the Vulture Mine to the register also would make it eligible for grants from the Save America’s Treasures and Preserve America, two national groups that work to uphold properties of national significance.
Cindy Thrasher, president of the Wickenburg Historical Preservation Society, said the remaining artifacts reveal history that can’t be found anywhere else in Arizona.
IF YOU GO
Wickenburg is about 170 miles northwest of Tucson. The Vulture Mine site is open to the public daily from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
