Gold road and Oatman, Arizona

November 25, 2007 10:09 PM EST (Updated: November 25, 2007 10:15 PM EST)

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Earlier this year, my sister in law & I took a road trip from San Diego, to Scottsdale, Az to Kingman, Az and back to San Diego, Ca. This was only a few of our favorite spots.

My mother took us to see Oatman, Az.(28 miles SW of Kingman)
Below you'll find a photo from the famous Oatman Hotel. (A honeymoon spot of Clark Gable & Carole Lombard. As well as a favorite Gold Rush era favorite) It's a cute cowboy town with cowboy street shootouts daily.Wild burros roam the town in the daylight hours.

A brief history and background of Gold Road and Oatman, Az.

Two prospectors founded the Gold Road Mine in 1900. They were searching for their wandering burro when they stumbled across a quartz rock that contained gold. By 1907 the mine had produced $2,250,000 in gold. The mine operated on and off until 1998. The once small tented camp grew into the town of Oatman.In it's heyday Oatman had 12,000+ residents, seven hotels, 20 saloons and even a stock exchange. After the mines closed, the town survived as a stop on old Route 66.( until the highway was re-routed in 1952)

Oatman was founded due to the discovery of gold. It is said that over 50 mines operated at one time near Oatman. The city once thrived being located near the richest gold mine in the state. (The mine mainly operated 1904 through 1931.) The town was named after the Oatman family who were attacked and killed by Apache Indians in 1851. The Oatman parents were killed, a son escaped and the daughters kept as slaves, later one daughter died of starvation. Olive Oatman, the surviving daughter was later sold by the Apache to the Mojave Indians. Eventually, Olive was rescued and reunited with her brother after five years with the Native Americans.Oatman is a cool place to visit, a relic of an old mining town left over from the glory days. On weekends you might catch a cowboy show, or see a free gunfight. The burros steal the show and are all over the place. They have the run of the town in the daylight hours. The burros will eat from your hand, so don't forget to bring a few carrots. Its been said the burros are direct decendants from the Gold Miners.( who had brought them to the area as pack animals.) Then, with the coming of World War Two the gold mines surrounding Oatman and Gold Road, Arizona was shut down the burros were set free to roam the hills.

The Oatman Hotel has seen its share of history as well. In 1939, Clark Gable and Carol Lombard spent their honeymoon there. Their room remains and looks almost in the orginal condition. The old hotel is said to be haunted, and a few rooms are available to rent for the night. I can really see where this hotel would be a little scary come night time.

The main street of Oatman itself is well preserved.There are extensive mining ruins on the approaches of the town. Goldroad also has mining operations that operate today.

Above: Inside the historic Oatman Hotel. Miners left dollars, so the place would never go broke after the gold rush.

My sister in law Christine & I

having fun in Oatman.

Wild burros in Oatman, Arizona. These were two babies.

They stay roaming in the small town until just before dusk daily.

Leaving Oatman, heading out on Gold Road we saw awarning of the many burros you get to see in the hills & beyond.

Gold road leaving Oatman, Az (where you'll see many old cars over the side of the seriously winding narrow road)

Here is what is left of an old rock house on gold road. There are many cool sites if you are ever in this area of Arizona/Nevada.
There are many hikes, easy and otherwise and lots of history to see.
It is a beautiful area.