24.05.01 Camp Verde Walking Tour and Fort Verde

 

Camp Verde Historic District Walking Tour

 Camp Verde Grammar School-1914 (Now the Camp Verde Historical Society and Visitor Center. 

This is where we met Gerry. She is a super sweet 85 year old lady who loves history and talking! She told us that she knew Kurt Cobain since  he was a young kid. She used to call him Kurty Wurty. She worked with his mother in Washington. She went to her 67^th class reunion and stayed with some of her old friends and it was like they’d always been together. They had so much fun! Natalie Wood was in her class. We mentioned the Elvis Church in Apache Junction and Gerry told us that she know a girl who was in movies with Elvis. Delores Hicks changed her name to Delores Hart. She was in a few movies with Elvis and then became a nun. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dolores_Hart

Back to the school-This is a three room building with original ceiling and floors. It was the first school building in town.

Camp Verde Grammar School (now a museum and visitor center)

Original Floors and ceilings!

RED STAR SALOON-1900

Built as a hotel and now known as the Montezuma Inn, the original structure was one story with glass entry doors. This building has served as a hotel, café, and saloon. It was also the bus depot and housed the town’s first pay phone.

BOLER’S BAR-1933

Built of 1” x 12” exterior boards over a foundation of limestone taken from Fort Verde’s abandoned structures, the original building had no supporting studs and was thrown up by a couple of young men in three days.

CAMP VERDE HIGH SCHOOL-1918

What you see today slowly evolved from “the old green building,” an abandoned military structure built of wood with to rooms and a basement, where the school’s first students found soldiers letters from the 1870’s The first addition was funded by 17 votes on a $6000 bond to add three classrooms, an office, a cafeteria and a gym. Six more classrooms were added later. The school is still in session on this very spot today.

JAIL-1933

Constructed by a Civil Works Administration crew of 10 men, the 20x28’ building appears to be made of stone but was actually formed with poured concrete and dressed with Verde River cobble. Among its noted residents was a pig, name unknown, busted for vagrancy. The sheriff said the two boys who shared his cell, and had to clean up after him that night, learned their lesson and never came to visit again. The building was restored in 2010 with over 2000 volunteer hours spent on the project.

Lunch at Thanks a Latte Cafe

We shared a tuna melt and an iced coffee at Thanks A Latte Café in Camp Verde. It was VERY pricey! They even charged to split the sandwich onto two plates! But that dessert just may have been worth it!

Fort Verde State Historic Park

The fort was a base for General Crook’s US. Army scouts and soldiers in the 1870s and 1880s. From 1865-1891, Camp Verde was home to officers, doctors, families, enlisted men, and scouts.

Fort Verde State Historic Park

The fort was a base for General Crook’s US. Army scouts and soldiers in the 1870s and 1880s. From 1865-1891, Camp Verde was home to officers, doctors, families, enlisted men, and scouts. There were originally 22 buildings; four remain today. 

The Fort Verde Flagpole

 is 60 feet tall. It is designed like a ship's mast which allows for the use of shorter logs. On the frontier often a single tree was snot easily available, was not tall enough, and was not easily hauled by mule team.

The Surgeon's Quarters

The fort's surgeon was allowed spacious quarters because patients were treated and surgery performed here.

Bachelor Officer's Quarters

Batchelor Officers lived a spartan lifestyle as a result of low pay, slow promotion, frequent moves, and the amount of time in the field. Doubling up was common. The communal kitchen in the rear also served as quarters for the officer's striker. The striker was an enlisted man who helped out with the cooking and household chores. The parlor was used by all unless it was needed as a bedroom. Army regulations authorized one room and a kitchen for a lieutenant, two rooms and a kitchen for a captain, and so on up the ranks, but...these standards were largely ignored by the frontier army.

Commanding Officer's Quarters

There are fewer than a dozen buildings of this style and era surviving west of the Mississippi. It was on this very front porch that Tonto Apache Chief, Chalipun, and 300 of his followers surrendered to General George Crook in 1873.

   
The Commanding Officer's wife also employed an enlisted man to help with cooking and household chores. The striker also earned an extra $5, bringing his monthly pay to $18.

HANCE HOUSE-1917

Built by George Hance for his second wife who shortly later tried to kill him when he didn’t die soon enough for her. He lived to tell about it, but the divorce cost him $5000. Hance was among Verde’s first settlers and prominent in politics for some 50 years. He once shot a man during an argument on election day. He was the post master, justice of the peace, notary republic, school board secretary, road supervisor, majordomo, tax assessor, and first secretary of Arizona’s Republican Party.

A 1920 Power Shovel that was used in the Salt Mines. 

Yup. You know what this is. Al had to have a picture of it. A multi-seater!

Adjutant Headquarters/Administration Building

This building had an artifact and informational museum about the Fort that took up most of the building, as well as a small gift shop.

My Camp Verde and Fort Verde Video

Of course I made a video! Please click the photo to watch my short video of our walking tour in the town and in Fort Verde. Are my videos getting better? Suggestions re welcome!

Al and I will be here in Camp Verde for the month of May. We have a stack of brochures and a list of things and places to explore! Next up is Sedona...