The Great Adventures of the Yamaha Viking VI
28-Nov-21
28-Nov-21
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Made our way to the historical Culling's Well from the north. It was known as the lighthouse of the desert. Read the 1941 article:
Light house of the desert. For a complete history of the well and the surrounding area, you can read the book: Lighthouse in the Desert by Carlos L. Hernandez We drove north out of the Eagle Roost Airpark across highway 60 to the county road junction. Then west past the Loma Linda ranch to the area where you briefly turn north around a corral. As you come around the corral take the road going south. It winds on down through brush and wash outs until you finally come to an open area. There is no road to mark the way, but go due west and you'll end up at the old well sight. We got side tracked thinking the white tall water tank was the location but we needed to turn west way before it across the open wash. |
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| A ride down this wide expanse of Centennial Wash and you will arrive at Culling's Well from the northeast. | Sad as this is the only thing left to indicate a thriving stage station. As you can see from the historic pictures above, at this site there were buildings and corrals, now all reclaimed by the harsh desert weather. |
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| The plaque reads: Culling's Well Culling's Well was established in about 1868 by Charles C. Culling.
Culling hand dug two hundred and forty feet deep (wells) thereby obtaining an inexhaustible
supply of soft water. Culling's well is the only permanent water source within thirty miles in any direction thus becoming an important stage stop between Ehrenberg and Prescott.The Lighthouse of the Desert After Culling's death in 1878, Joe Drew took over and was responsible for maintaining the station. Many people died within a few miles of the station. A man, having seen a lamp in the window staggered into camp and his life was saved. After this, Drew decided to establish his lighthouse of the desert by suspending a lamp on a cottonwood pole every night. In doing so he offered a life saving beacon to all lost travelers. Corrections: He dug 2, the first was two hundred feet deep and the second two hundred and forty foot deep. The first one he dug, 5 miles to the south, was dry. (We travel to that well site next week.) |
This is all that is left of the old well. |
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| Watering Trough. | All that is left of the concrete foundations. Hard to believe this was an area thriving with activity. |
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| Going about 100 yards west of the monument can be found 5 grave sites. I wonder who these folks were and how they ended up here. |
Looking East. |
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| The plaque reads: Cullings Well Cemetary
Here lies travelers whose lives were lost due to Indians, bandits, thirst and weather conditions during the approximate 38 years of stage operation.
Among those buried here is the founder of the stage station and the well, Charles C. Culling.
Restoration by Gidean Wagner as an Eagle Project 2007 |
Most of the crosses are laying down. Be interesting to use a metal detector or ground reading radar to see exactly where the graves are located. |
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| Charles Culling is also buried here but the grave marker is no longer visible. He died suddenly of paralysis at the age of 54. In today's terms it could have been a stroke. | Christian Berry's grave stone erected by the War Department. If you read the book using the link above, you will find out that Christian Berry worked at the well for many years helping the Culling's maintain the station, and he loved it so much he said he would never leave. Now he is buried beneath the place he loved so much. |