Vulture Mine

Maricopa County Arizona is home to the town of Wickenburg, the Vulture Mine, and all the ghosts that live therien.

The Vulture Mine was the most productive gold mine in Arizona history, and ran from 1863 to 1942, producing 340,000 ounces of gold and 250,000 ounces of silver during its life.  People flocked to the area after learning of the mines striking gold, and at its peak, the town was home to about 5,000 residents. They were all looking to strike gold and make it rich during the great American Gold Rush.

The mine’s wealth allowed the camp to grow into a self-contained town by 1880. At that time, it was called Vulture City, and it boasted six boarding houses, a cookhouse and mess hall, a blacksmith shop, several buildings associated with the mine, stores, offices, saloons, and even a school.

When it comes to mining gold, there is always greed or the attitude of ‘each man for himself.’ There were numerous reports of miners or workers attempting to steal the gold for themselves. The ones who tried to steal the gold from the mine, and were caught, faced the wrath of the hangman’s noose.

Theft wasn’t the only problem either. Rape, murder and other heinous acts were also committed on a regular basis. “Back then, Wickenburg was a vigilante town,” says Gloria Henkel, who owns Wickenburg Legends and Ghost Tours with her son, Scott Taylor. “We didn’t have a lawman for years. We actually had two hanging trees, one in town and another out by the mine. It wasn’t a very nice hanging, either, with drop doors. This was much more gruesome. They would put the condemned man on a rock or a mule and kick them out from under him. It could take two minutes or two hours (to die).”

It is those criminals, who are said to haunt the area. Voices, spirit orbs and other paranormal activity has been reported around the Vulture Mine ghost town.

One of the ghosts is James Davis, known as Jimmy by those who knew him. He was a 20 year old young man, who worked in the mine. In May, 1916, he discovered a malfunction in the system and had to replace a belt. He climbed the wooden ladder and when he moved too near the large center-shaft, his colleagues never gave him warning. The belt was thrown over the central shaft, and Jimmy had one arm inside the loop. He tugged downward on the belt to place it onto the pulley. But the belt tightened on the shaft and swung him around in the air.

Jimmy’s body hit several pieces of heavy equipment before falling down from the shaft. His fall broke every bone in his body, but no one noticed until he screamed for help. His final words were, “Someone help me, for God’s sake.” He managed to live another 5 hours before finally succumbing to his injuries.

His body was put to rest at Wickenburg Cemetery.

Jimmy’s ghost is often recognized as the sound of pulley belts whipping around and the sound of a man bellowing in the distance.

There are other spirits haunting the mines, those of thieves who had been caught and hung on the spot. Many were buried there, and a few at the local cemetery. Those thieves can be heard lurking around, trying to protect their gold. Visitors have reported rocks being thrown at them through the mine windows, and the sounds of footprints shuffling about. Voices can be heard in the distance, and sometimes they even call your name.