Sunflower, Arizona
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Sunflower is a region of Maricopa County,
Arizona Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...
, United States adjacent to the Mazatzal Wilderness, west of Tonto National Forest and northwest of Roosevelt Reservoir. Formerly a mercury-mining district, Sunflower is now a destination for hikers, campers and off-road vehicle tours. Sunflower is located near
Arizona State Route 87 State Route 87 (SR 87) is a north–south highway that travels from I-10 near Picacho northward to State Route 264 near Second Mesa. Route description SR 87 begins to the north of I-10 at a junction with an unsigned orphan segment of SR 84 ...
, northeast of
Fountain Hills Fountain Hills is a town in Maricopa County, Arizona, United States. Known for its impressive fountain, once the tallest in the world, it borders the Fort McDowell Yavapai Nation, Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community, and Scottsdale. The ...
. Route 87 near Sunflower is called the Beeline Highway.


History

The place name derives from Sunflower Camp, Sunflower Cinnabar Mining Co. and Sunflower Mining District, all established after E. H. Bowman of Phoenix found
quicksilver Quicksilver may refer to: * Quicksilver (metal), the chemical element mercury Arts and entertainment Music * Quicksilver, a bluegrass band fronted by Doyle Lawson * "Quicksilver" (song), a 1950 hit for Bing Crosby * ''Quicksilver'' (sound ...
deposits in the area in October 1911 while prospecting for gold. These, in turn, draw their names from the pre-existing Sunflower ranch. The mercury deposits of the Mazatzal mountains—especially Sunflower, Pine Mountain and Rattlesnake mines—were the source of 95 percent of all mercury extracted from Arizona. Circa 1915, visitors to the Tonto National Forest were advised that park rangers could be found at Sunflower. The location was a raw campsite until the 1930s, when Captain Harold Booth led Civilian Conservation Corp cohorts to the area. The Sunflower Ranch CCC camp was site F-25-A. Sunflower Ranger Station was built by the CCC in 1933 and was added to the
National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...
in 1993. with Prior to the establishment of the Sunflower post office in 1945, the post office location was sometimes called Diamond Ranch. Bushnell Tank near Sunflower was a watering stop built by the Forest Service and sheepmen along the Heber–Reno Sheep Driveway; the water in tank was piped in from a mountain spring and was located three days from the previous watering station. The location saw flooding during when the remnants of Tropical Storm Norma hit the area in 1970. This flood destroyed Sycamore Bridge between Sunflower and Payson, washing away a state highway patrol car and killing the patrolman. The mine was abandoned in the 1980s but the site, accessible via the "often rough and boulder-strewn Sunflower Mine trail" remained an attraction for hikers. Circa 1987, Sunflower was to be a rest stop on the planned Trans-Arizona Trail but the Sunflower store had burned down so another provision site would have to be established. Sunflower is the junction point between sections 21 and 22 of the
Arizona National Scenic Trail The Arizona National Scenic Trail is a National Scenic Trail from Mexico to Utah that traverses the whole north–south length of the U.S. state of Arizona. The trail begins at the Coronado National Memorial near the US–Mexico border and moves ...
. According to video evidence presented at trial, the Viper Militia practiced using explosives at Sunflower, reportedly eventually blowing up a bridge over the west fork of Sycamore Creek. In 1997, when the refining equipment necessary to extract mercury from cinnabar remained standing at the site above the Sycamore Creek, the ''Arizona Republic'' said the Sunflower trails offer "a look at the harshness of mining life and the ingenuity that was needed to erect mining facilities in rough terrain." Prior to road improvements in 1998, the road between the "hamlets" of Sunflower and Sycamore Creek was described as a "white-knuckle crapshoot fsteep, twisting curves hugging the side of a mountain." The community was evacuated in 2005 due to the threat of a nearby fire. In 2012, the Sunflower Fire burned ; the fire was started by an incendiary shotgun shell fired at a bachelor-party camping trip.


References


External links


Map of Arizona mining districts (1961)

The Sunflower Mines December 26-27, 2006


* ttps://www.ghosttowns.com/states/az/sunflower.html Sunflower– ghosttowns.com {{authority control Ghost towns in Arizona Unincorporated communities in Maricopa County, Arizona Unincorporated communities in Arizona