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Things to do in Yuma
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Tumco Historic Mining Town
Tumco, a whisper in the wind, was a
small town just over the border from Yuma, Arizona, into
California, which once was a thriving, gold mining town. Now,
decades later, and with not much left of the buildings or other
signs of life that was part of the wild times that were had
here, it is dead. You can find it easily enough, on the east
corner of Imperial County and close to Yuma, but most of the
original buildings and mining equipment has gone with the wind.
It is terribly hot in the summer months here, so the best time
to visit is in the fall or winter. The town's name Tumco, is
just an acronym for the Union Mining Company which took over the
mining process from the Golden Cross Mill and Mining Company in
1910. At one time, at its height, the town had a population of
3200, with murders, saloons and a red light district. It wasn't
the best place to live, or die, but it was jumping in its
heyday. The cemetery is still there with its old and
occasionally new grave markers, as is the rusted vats of where
the cyanide was kept to help separate the gold from the ore.
There were many buildings in the town, with the grocery store
run by Charly Sam, a Chinese immigrant, and the Stingaree Saloon
owned and operated by the local constable Billy Horan; as well
as a fire department, dance hall, and the saloons and other
establishments that helped take the workers pay. The remains of
the mill can be seen by its foundation and beer bottles and cans
that litter the area. An old antique dealer came there in 2008,
and found a bottle from 1920. The gold was found in 1853, and
some think that the Spanish were mining the area before that.
But the established mine in the mysterious Cargo Muchacho
Mountains is steeped in legend and not much recorded history.
The tall tales of great treasures still are heard in various
areas, but only whispers and jokes about the usual tales that
come from an area that is gone and lost. One was the story about
a railroad worker named Pete Walters who had found some mica
schist full of gold and prospectors started coming here in the
1880s. The town started as a tent city in 1884, called Gold Rock
Camp, and by the 1890s had become Hedges after the VP of the
Golden Cross Mill and Mining Company. It went bankrupt and then
Tumco took it over. There are other sights out here, that will
pique your curiosity, including the California Registered
Historical Landmark 182, placed on a stone obelisk and old
wooden crosses spread throughout the area. It is some 25 miles
north of Yuma, just over the state line. Water for the town was
piped in from the Colorado River, but the heat just beat the
workers down, and anyone else that was crazy enough to come here
in the summer. A hotel was never built, since most people that
lived here had a shack or shanty made of wood or stone; and if
you didn't come here to work, then you probably shouldn't have
come. Another version of this story is that when Hedges had made
enough money he sold the mine to the condensed milk king,
Borden, who created the United Mining Company and the town's new
name. The mine finally ran out in 1909, and everyone started
drifting away since the only reason the town existed was the
mine and work in related businesses. It started its quick decay
after that, with every grave in the cemetery marked, but not
with any names or information, just that a grave was located
there. Another story has it that the area was being mined over
300 years before it became known as Tumco or Hedges, with many
times that the mine was flush, then busted. The Spaniards
started moving north from Sonora, and one night, two young boys
entered their camp with shirts full of gold ore. The "loaded
boys" were called muchachos cargadas in Spanish and thus the
name of the nearby mountains were born. Soon there were many
small mines run by the Mexicans. In 1877, the Southern Pacific
Railroad finished a line from Yuma to Los Angeles as part of its
transcontinental route, and since it passed through the
mountains workers heard of the mines and soon people were coming
here in hopes of getting rich. Once the first claims were
placed, the bigger mining companies came in and bought them out,
and further developed the mines. It is said that the wooden
pipes bringing in water from the Colorado were pumping up to
100,000 gallons of water every day. The railroad brought in the
wood timbers to shore up the walls and ceilings of the mines,
and homes for the workers. Over 200,000 ounces of gold was mined
and it was great while it lasted. Now it seems that in 1995,
another company called the American Girl Mining Joint Venture
has restarted operations there since the value of gold has
continued to rise. It isn't surprising that many of these old
mines that were thought to have been played out are now being
reconsidered because of the tremendous value that gold has
attained.
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Yuma River Tours
The Yuma River Tours company
offers some of the most exciting and colorful trips along the
Colorado River, either in complete comfort of the sternwheeler
or the many other water crafts that are available. They have jet
boat tours that go to historical sights, canoe or kayak trips up
and down the river, field trips, bird and photography trips or
you can create your own special tour with whatever is available.
There is a lunch or dinner cruise on the Colorado King
sternwheeler, with cruises to the Imperial Dam, Imperial
Wildlife Refuge, historical miner's cabin, Norton's Landing, the
Native American petroglyphs or the Picacho State Park. Some can
be relaxing and just enjoying the serenity of the region with
its magnificent birds and other wild critters running around or
just getting a drink of water. The jet boat tours can be very
exciting as they fly along the water under the bright blue sky
and beautiful southwest desert. The group of experienced pilots
and captains can help with film production or locations, salvage
operations or explorations and other customized charters that
you are interested in.
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Cibola National Wildlife Refuge
The refuge is on the
floodplain of the lower Colorado River and is encompassed by
magnificent desert ridges and washes that has created a mecca
for all creatures that need the water to live. The historic
Colorado River channel is included in the refuge, as well as the
channels that were built in the late 1960s. There are numerous
backwater areas that have become a home to all the animals,
birds, reptiles and other creatures that live here; although the
temperatures can reach 120 degrees in the summer months with
only two inches of rain each year. There is great fishing here
for the anglers among you with carp, sunfish, smallmouth bass,
tilapia, striped bass, crappie, catfish both channel and
flathead. You must get a Colorado River fishing stamp to fish
the area though. Hunting is allowed in certain areas, with great
opportunities to get cottontail rabbits, Canadian geese, mule
deer, snow geese, mourning and whitewinged doves, ducks, coots,
Gambel's quail and gallinules. The refuge has a great vehicle
tour that will give you plenty of chances to photograph the
wildlife mentioned above, as well as beautiful panoramic scenes
that are prevalent only in the southwestern parts of the United
States. It is a birdwatchers paradise and there are many places
that will afford you perfect views of the birds that come here
and live here.
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