American Pioneer & Cemetery Research Project

Internet Presentation

Version 111707

 

THREE RIVERS RANCH CEMETERY

 

 

In the winter/spring of 2007 good friend Diane Bain told me her husband Bill and two friends, Bill Snider and Ralph Goodall, rode ATV’s in the Alamo Lake area of Arizona. Diane asked if APCRP knew anything about an abandoned Pioneer Cemetery approximately 4 miles up Santa Maria River from Lake Alamo.

Single Headstone out of 18 graves at Three Rivers Cemetery.

Photo by: Neal Du Shane c. 2007

 

Having not been in this area previously I asked Diane if she would connect me with the three guys and ask them to show me the site. We connected and the guys took me to the Cemetery and it is posted on the APCRP website and is known as “CAMPAS CEMERTER”.

 

After exploring the concrete trailer pads which comprised the former Three Rivers Ranch we mounted up to explore the cemetery. As we were exiting the old ranch site I noticed what looked like a single grave on the left side of the road. After researching the rocks we discovered it was in fact an adult male’s grave.

 

We are trying to work with BLM in hopes they have some historical records of this site and cemetery. At this point nothing has turned up other that what Ralph and the Bill’s have been able to document from local historians. 

 

18 graves at Three Rivers Ranch Cemetery c. 2007

Photo by: Neal Du Shane

 

As the picture above indicates, these 18 graves were not very deep as the rocks are piled on the surface of the ground about 18” high. There are wooden posts with numbering from 1 through 18 at the head of each grave. It is obvious someone was recording the names of those interred. But who has these records? If you know of anyone that can provide historical information on this site please have them contact me.

 

11/4/07 Ralph Goodall submitted:

 

We recently learned from Carl, the former longtime owner of the Wayside Inn on old Alamo Rd that the concrete pads were indeed mainly for trailers (as you thought), and was the site of a ranch called Three Rivers Ranch.  Carl was familiar with this ranch and the others around there, such as Palmerita Ranch and Date Creek Ranch.  He told us he had lived there all his life (and I am not sure how old he is, but probably at least in his mid-70's), and had cleared land and worked these ranches and farms all his younger life. 
 
Carl sold Wayside Inn this past spring and does not reside there anymore, but apparently he still comes back to visit regularly.  The new owners who purchased in the spring had a major setback a few weeks ago--the entire Wayside Inn building burned to the ground.  They are planning to rebuild, and are actively looking for another pre-fab building.  There are still many full and part-time RV residents living at this park.

 

 

L-R Bill Snider, Bill Bain, Ralph Goodall – 2007

Photo by: Neal Du Shane

 

11/16/07 Ralph Goodall submitted:

 

While we were up at Alamo lake last month, we made an attempt to locate the cemetery that you showed me from an old topographical quad map, indicating the probable location of the cemetery associated with the old town of Alamo (now under the lake somewhere).  We pretty much zeroed in on the GPS coordinates and could recognize we were in about the right place based on the topographical contours, but could not find anything.  Bill did try dowsing around the area on another day after I left, but said he could not find any indications of bodies.  I know the lake has raised up over this area several times in past years during major flood inflows from the river, which has surely made any cemetery indications very difficult to find.

 

View of Santa Maria River Valley, from former Three Rivers Ranch 2007,

Photo by: Neal Du Shane

 

American Pioneer & Cemetery Research Project

Internet Presentation

Version 111707

 

WebMaster: Neal Du Shane

 

n.j.dushane@apcrp.org

 

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