Vulture Gold Mine
In 1863 Austrian Henry Wickenburg discovered gold, legend has it, while retrieving a vulture he had shot. The vulture mine went on to become one of Arizona's richest gold mines and sparked the development of Arizona and the city of Phoenix. In the 1880s and 1890s Vulture City's population grew to almost 5000 people and featured a large stone Assay Office, miners dormitories, houses for company officials, a mess hall, a school, a post office, and an 80-stamp mill. It is estimated that the vulture mine produced more than 200 million dollars worth of gold and silver. The exact amount is unknown due to theft or "highgrading" for which some 18 men were hanged. President Roosevelt's executive order 208 during World War II closed the mine in 1942.
Marker can be reached from Vulture Mine Road 12 miles south of Grand Avenue (Route 60).
Courtesy hmdb.org
