Alamo Crossing, Arizona facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Alamo Crossing, Arizona
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Alamo Crossing
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 Alamo Crossing, Arizona
Location in Arizona
Alamo Crossing, Arizona
Location in the United States
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| Country | United States |
| State | Arizona |
| County | Mohave |
| Founded | 1899 |
| Officially abandoned | 1918 |
| Founded by | Tom Rodgers |
| Elevation | 1,237 ft (377 m) |
| Time zone | UTC-7 (MST (no DST)) |
Alamo Crossing is a ghost town located in Mohave County, Arizona. It was first settled in the late 1890s. The town served as a base for people looking for valuable minerals, especially manganese, in the nearby Artillery Mountains.
Alamo Crossing was the only town in that area. Its post office closed for good in 1918. However, the town was not always completely empty. Its founders often stayed there until at least the mid-1950s. In 1968, the town was purposely flooded to create Alamo Lake. More recently, in 2020, the area around Alamo Crossing became active again. This time, people started looking for gold on the surface.
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History of Alamo Crossing
Alamo Crossing was founded by Tom Rodgers in the late 1890s. It was never a very large town. It was located near the small Artillery Mountains, which had many mineral deposits. The town was set up as a temporary camp for miners. These miners usually camped out while they worked.
Life in the Mining Camp
During its busiest time, Alamo Crossing had a five-stamp mill, which was used to crush ore, and a few stores. The town's post office first opened on November 23, 1899. It closed on December 15, 1900, but then reopened on March 30, 1911, under the name Alamo. It finally closed permanently on December 31, 1918.
The town was sometimes empty and sometimes had people living in it throughout the 1900s. In 1949, it was reported that only a few miners and ranchers lived in the Artillery Mountains area. Alamo was the only settlement, and even it was sometimes abandoned.
There's a local story that Native Americans attacked the town. The story says they raided a store and poisoned the storekeeper. It also claims the postmaster left because he was bored and stole money from the post office. However, it is more likely that the mines simply ran out of valuable minerals.
Mining Booms and Decline
In the early 1950s, there was a high demand for manganese. This brought new interest to the camp. Alamo Crossing became an important place for crossing the river during this time. But it was soon abandoned again after the boom ended.
The Rodgers brothers, who founded the town, were still living in Alamo in 1928. Al Rodgers said that the first manganese from the area was shipped out around that time. They were also still there in 1949. They owned many mining claims nearby. One mine, called Oversight, produced over 1,000 tons of ore between 1952 and 1954. Another claim, Mesa Manganese, was leased by Tom Rodgers and John M. Neal in 1953. It also produced hundreds of tons of ore before closing in 1954.
The weather in Alamo often caused floods for a few weeks during the rainy season. By the 1960 census, Alamo Crossing had a population of 18 people. In 1968, a dam was built on the Bill Williams River. This caused the town to be submerged under water, creating Alamo Lake. Some parts of the old town are now 80 feet (24 meters) deep.
After the Flooding
In 2020, new mining activity began around Alamo. A British company called Power Metal Resources (POW) started digging for gold nuggets. They visited the area and found three small gold nuggets with a metal detector. This discovery caused the company's share price to go up. POW continued to explore the site through April 2020.
What Remains Today
Today, the town of Alamo Crossing is at the bottom of Alamo Lake. The small town of Alamo Lake, Arizona is located nearby. The remains of Alamo Crossing are still mostly intact underwater. Before it was flooded, it was considered one of the best-preserved ghost towns in Arizona. The old town road still exists, leading right into the water.
The Rodgers Family
The Rodgers family played a big part in the history of Alamo Crossing.
- Thomas Jefferson Rodgers was born in California in 1885. He died in Wickenburg, Arizona, in 1962. He was buried in Kingman.
- Robert Rodgers was born in Visalia, California, in 1892. He was also a miner. He moved to Wickenburg in 1957 and died there in 1962.
- Other family members like May Kline (née Rodgers), Sherman Rodgers, R. S. Rodgers, E. S. Rodgers, J. E. Rodgers, John Rogers, and Art Rodgers were also connected to the area's mining history.
