Presentation
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$20.00 Donation to APCRP Is Appreciated
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083007
Presentation
Version 083007
$20.00 Donation to APCRP Is Appreciated
Version
083007
Table of
Contents
Guy Scott, Henry Cordes, Newt White
Cordes Store began in 1883; Hank 3rd Cordes
Cordes Store a treasure trove of Cordes family history
Guy Scott, Henry Cordes, Newt White
From:
Arizona Ghost Towns and Mining Camps, By: Philip Varney
Cordes is 8 miles
southeast of Mayer. John Henry Cordes came to
In 1883, Cordes, his wife "Lizzie," and year-old son Charles moved north to Antelope Station, where for $769.43 he purchased a small adobe stage stop along the route of the California and Arizona Stage Company. When Cordes applied for a post office as Antelope Station, he was turned down because of possible confusion with another Antelope Station. As an alternate, Cordes chose his family name and served as the first postmaster.
The Cordes stage stop soon took on other functions. When mines opened in the area, the outpost became a supply depot and bank for the miners. It later became a stop for sheep drives en route to winter or summer ranges. John Cordes built pens, a shearing corral, and sheep-dipping troughs. Eventually Murphy's Impossible Railroad built a siding called Cordes Station, 3 miles to the west at Cedar Canyon.
Over the years at Cordes, Lizzie bore six more children. This hard-working family did have moments of enjoyment. After the Bradshaw Mountain Railroad established Cordes Station, the Cordes family would celebrate the Fourth of July by picking up a 100-pound block of ice in a gunnysack dropped at the railroad siding. By the time they returned home the ice weighed only 75 pounds. Family members took turns working the hand cranked freezer, relishing their once-a-year ice cream treat.
Cordes' eldest son,
Charles, took over his father's business
in 1908 after attending
The Cordes post office closed in 1944, but the town lived on until the 1950s, when it was bypassed by the Black Canyon Freeway. A new stopping place, Cordes Junction, was established. The Cordes family got in on the ground floor there, too. In anticipation of the new route, three Cordes brothers filed homestead claims. A gas station and restaurant at the junction today were built by Henry Cordes.
Still standing at the original town site is a gas station that closed in 1973, the family home, and a barn constructed in 1912. The Cordes family continues to live at the site, a testament to the pioneer tradition of putting down roots, doing hard, enterprising work, and adapting to the changing times.
Cordes Station - 2006
Originally known as Antelope Station, taken from the stream that runs nearby, the first keeper for this station appears to have been William Powell, as we learn from an article in the Miner dated April 12, 1878. Later on, this location was renamed Cordes after the family that owned it beginning in 1882.
Letter From Antelope
We are camped for the night at the hospitable station of Wm. Powell,
which by the way, is a credit to this section of what was once the stronghold
of the Apaches. One mile west from this place the noble, brave Townsend was
murdered by these fiends. Were all the Indian lives in the Territory sacrificed
as a retribution for that of Townsend, the scout and frontiersman, it would
fall short of accomplishing that end. From Spaulding station on
the
The Miner of June 25, 1878 reported that Alfred LeValley, of the Prescott and Gillett Stage Company (factually, Caldwell and LeValley Stage Company) had rented the station at Antelope and had moved his family to that location. LeValley told everyone that his reason for doing so was to lower his cost of boarding horses for the stage line. Later, circumstances convinced many that he was really setting the stage for a quick escape from creditors.
By February of 1879, Jack McAlister was the new keeper at Antelope Station. In November of that year, McAlister sold out to Otto Bolin and possibly his brother for $1,500.
The story of Otto Bolin and his murder at Antelope station is typical
of many unnecessary deaths on the
The scene was Otto Bolin's house at Antelope Station. Present inside the house, were John Grasse, a traveler who had stopped I for a while due to muddy roads in the area, Otto Bolin, station proprietor, and Wesley Clanton. a stockman from Big Bug. Outside, just a few yards away, was hired hand, Adam Mannsmann, chopping wood. It was a cold winter day, January 21, 1882.
Bolin was serving whisky to Grasse, who, by later
accounts, was already very drunk.
Both men went outside where
Bolin and Grasse made numerous threats to each other and
then Bolin pushed him down again, only this time
Soon Bolin was being chased by Grasse who had a knife
in his hand. Bolin suddenly stopped and grabbed
Bolin also passed by Clanton who, by then, was
outside looking for his horse so that he could leave the premises. Bolin told
Clanton, "He has stabbed me right through the heart I am going to
die." After Bolin went inside,
Clanton entered the house and found Bolin stabbed in the left breast. He asked Bolin he wanted a doctor but Bolin said it was no use he could not get there in time. Bolin was then asked by Clanton if he wanted his brother at Tip Top notified. Again, Bolin exclaimed it would be of no use. Bolin asked Clanton to sew up his wound which Clanton obligingly did.
Clanton then left the house and went to Bumblebee to send word to Bolin’s brother and notify the authorities. By evening Clanton returned to Bolin's side and advised him that his brother had been called for whereupon Bolin asked if he was told to come "quickly”. Clanton said he had done that.
Bolin asked Clanton if he thought he might survive the wound. Clanton judiciously told Bolin that he was not too familiar with wounds of that type but thought he might live. Bolin died at 3 a.m. the next day.
Nearly a year later, on January 25, 1883, John Henry Cordes purchased the station from Otto Bolin's brother, Augustus, for $769.43. Cordes had come to Antelope from Gillett where he had labored at the Tip Top mill for a couple of years. There he worked two shifts a day, night shift at the mill, and day shift tending bar at a local saloon, saving money to buy the station.
John Henry brought his wife, Lizzie, to Antelope with him and
together they raised a large family. In 1886, Cordes applied for a post office
using the name Antelope. Because of the confusion with
CORDES SIDING
1902-1939
From: Ghost Railroads of Central Arizona
by; John W. Sayre
The community of Cordes, a quarter-of-a century
older than the Bradshaw Mountain Railway,
owed its early existence to the Black Canyon Stage Route.
The little settlement was founded in 1875 as a stagecoach stop and change point
for horses on the road between
Mountains in 1875 and worked several years at the.
Tip Top Mine before entering the stage business at
Antelope. Prior to the completion of the
The economy and population of
The
Like Joe Mayer's community, Cordes was on
the sheep trail between
Prior to the arrival of the Bradshaw Mountain Railway in 1902, mining supplies into that range were shipped over the few good wagon roads that existed. Many mines received their supplies and equipment from Prescott via Cordes. With the exception of a few worthless prospect holes, there was no mining activity in the immediate vicinity of Cordes. However, the Richinbar Mine and numerous other mines a few miles away received supply shipments through the small community.
Wagon roads and direct freight routes were eventually built that served the mines and communities to the west of Cordes, but despite the fact that it was bypassed, the settlement managed to survive.
The community even displayed many of the signs of "permanence." Along with the post office, saloon, and store, the community supported a local school district. In 1897, the one-room schoolhouse was filled with fourteen students. The full-time population of Cordes was twenty-five at the turn of the century. Several of the local residents served as election officers for the general elections; they traveled to the general store at Turkey Creek where they cast their ballots and assumed their civic responsibilities. A shallow well provided plenty of water for the residents, and the deputy sheriff in Mayer provided any law enforcement that was necessary. The saloon and general merchandise store did especially well during the sheep drives and during the construction of the B.M. Ry. (Bradshaw Mountain Railway)
The rail of the B.M. Ry.
passed four miles to the west of Cordes. The difficult terrain of
The Greek and Italian stonemasons on the railroad construction crews spent as much time as possible in Cordes. The men enjoyed playfully teasing the children and bought a great deal of wine and liquor. They drank, danced, and sang until early morning to forget the hazards, hardships, and loneliness of their work. These workers constructed hundreds of retaining walls and drainage boxes without the use of mortar. The craftsmanship of these skilled workers was exceptional and made their talents much sought after.
In 1902, a short siding
was laid just north of
The completion of the
railroad to Crown King brought to a virtual end the shipments of
mining supplies from Cordes to the inner canyons of the
The early powerlines into the area were installed at great expense and served only the large mines. Cordes was not near any of those mines or their powerlines. The community did not have power from a public utility until long after most other towns had grown accustomed to the luxury.
A new chapter was written in the history of the little town in 1910. The elder Cordes retired and turned the businesses over to his son. Charles H. Cordes, heir to the community, constructed a new building for the store and saloon. The new structure, like the one it replaced, did not have electricity. The convenience was added circa 1918 when a generator was obtained and the building was wired for lights; powerlines finally reached the community in 1941. With the completion of the new store, the old building was used exclusively by the family as a residence. A fine grand opening celebration was held on the Fourth of July, 1910; people from the surrounding area and friends from as far away as Prescott were on hand to help christen the "modern" building. The "old fashioned" festivities were enjoyed by everyone present and were the talk of the countryside.
Other construction
projects soon took shape in Cordes; a barn was built in 1912, and a gas station was opened in 1915. The gas station was one of the first in the area and was built
to service the automobiles that were using the
Recreation in the community was similar to that in other Bradshaw Mountain towns of the period. The ever-popular reading, singing, dancing, card playing, hunting, and athletic competitions were enjoyed in Cordes. Though isolated in some respects, it was a "one-horse" town with a unique cosmopolitan flavor. Although the community was somewhat isolated in that it received electricity and phone service long after neighboring communities, it was not nearly as remote as might be thought. Travelers on the Black Canyon Road, first in stagecoaches and later in automobiles, kept the residents of Cordes informed of the latest news. People, attitudes, and styles of all kinds went through Cordes and exposed the townspeople to concepts and ideas from throughout the world.
John H. and Lizzie
Cordes, the founders of
The increase in vehicle traffic, though renewing life to Cordes, signaled the beginning of the end for Cordes Siding. The siding received minimal use after 1908, being used almost exclusively for sheep and cattle shipments. As trucks became more durable and dependable in the" late teens, they replaced the railroad as the prime shipper of livestock from the area. The removal of the rail from Cordes Siding back to Blue Bell Siding in December 1939 did not have much of an impact on the community.
The little community of Cordes continued to do well into the forties. The population was about twenty in 1942. The saloon was replaced by a drug counter in the general store, but it was the settlement's gas station that kept the town alive. The post office was discontinued in November 1944. The community was bypassed again when the new Black Canyon Highway was constructed two miles east of town.
The Cordes General Store constructed in 1910 burned to the ground in the 1940’s, but much of the original stage station still exists, incorporated within the walls of the old house. The gas station, which closed in 1971, and the weathered barn still watch over the road they served for sixty years. Henry Cordes, grandson of John Henry Cordes, resides in the family house. At the railroad siding, a small corral, sun-bleached concrete foundations, and the railroad grade are all that are visible.
by
Robert B. Bechtel and
Mynne Cordes Jarman
To THE MODERN INTERSTATE HIGHWAY TRAVELER, Cordes junction is a blur of gas stations and restaurants on 1-17, fifty seven miles north of Phoenix, where Route 69 splits off from the freeway and winds northwest to Prescott. There are three gas stations, two restaurants, a row of rural mail boxes, and the dust and commotion of the interstate exits spilling their cars onto dirt roads. One of the dirt roads leads south to Cordes Lakes Development, a collection of new tract houses; the other leads north to Arcosanti, City of the Future. Although Cordes Junction is neither city nor development, merely a stop along the way, it has a claim to history that goes back to pioneer territorial days. In many ways Cordes junction is the direct descendant of the stage stop that began at Cordes, three miles west of 1-17 on the Crown King Road.
As one turns west on the road to Crown King, the rolling hills and the dips and curves make clear that rural Arizona is taking over from the interstate. After roller coasting a few arroyos, the shiny iron roofs of Cordes come into view, with the small house trailers of the caretaker's compound, the bare wooden barn, and the weather-beaten boards of the house and its few crumbling satellite buildings. A metal skeleton of a roof offers meager shelter to the gas station, and nearby stands the blank cement-block face of the closed store. The place looks deserted in contrast to the activity at the junction, as though it had been built and left behind a long time ago. Yet the modern pick-up trucks and a new trailer home to the north speak of current life, and one is struck by this incongruity of past and present. But the past speaks more clearly here, and one can only wonder how this place could grow so far from the highway and why it now looks abandoned. The story is longer than one might guess from the age of the wood on the barn and house. It goes back over 100 years to the time when the road that goes through Cordes was the only route north from Phoenix to Flagstaff.
Long before the interstate was built, the first passage north through the Bradshaw Mountains was called Black Canyon Road. The Bradshaw Toll Company had been founded to build the road on June 8, 1871, (1) but so hazardous was transportation in those days that a long succession of companies followed and went into bankruptcy when they attempted to provide passenger, freight, and mail service across the Bradshaw’s. The California and Arizona Stage Company, with main offices in San Diego, finally pioneered the route in 1875 with service to Prescott, Wickenburg, Phoenix, Florence, and Ehrenberg.
The first building at what is now Cordes was erected by a man named Powell in 1875 in conjunction with the operation of that stage service. The location was called Antelope Station after the nearby creek. The original building was adobe, and although homesteaders had tried to prove up on the land before Powell, none had succeeded in putting up a building. The first recorded land sale was from M. J. McAlister to the Bolin Brothers (2) on November 24, 1879, for $1,500. (3) On January 25, 1883, John H. Cordes, a stocky, dark-haired, sharp-eyed German, purchased the station from Augustus Bolin for $769.43. (4) From that time on, the history of the area became that of the Cordes family. (5)
John Henry Cordes was born in or near Bremen, Germany, on June 2, 1850. He spoke little about his life in Germany but it seems clear from remarks to his children that he left Germany to avoid military service. He emigrated to New York in 1869 and worked in a sugar refinery. He told tales of transferring 300-pound barrels from one level of the warehouse to another. He worked at several jobs including one in a candy factory.
One story says that he met his wife
while working as a storekeeper. In any
case, it is certain that he met Elise Schrimpf, another hard-working German
immigrant with ash-blonde hair, while they were working in New York. Elise was
born in Minten, Westphalia, Germany,
on March 8, 1853. She remembered digging potatoes with her family as a girl.
They "fed the small ones to the pigs
and stored the big ones." She also remembered going up to the second floor of the house in order to
avoid floods from the river. She emigrated at age eighteen to the U.S. with her
sister Johanna and found employment in New York as a maid
with a wealthy Jewish family. Elise and John Henry met and romance blossomed, but John Henry, following the tradition of
seeking fortune before marriage, journeyed west in 1875.
His ship landed at Panama, where he took a train across the Isthmus and then boarded another ship for San Francisco. Another series of jobs followed until he had enough money to leave for Los Angeles. While in Los Angeles he noticed land for sale at Eighth and Hill Streets for ten dollars an acre. It was not worth it, he felt, because is was nothing but sand dunes.
In Los Angeles he earned enough money to take a ship around Baja California, up the Gulf of California to the Colorado River and Yuma, and then a paddle-wheeler to Ehrenberg. One story says that he helped pole his way to Ehrenberg. From there he took the stage through the Vulture Mine area to Wickenburg. He finally reached Prescott