The Saginaw and Manistee Lumber Company and Williams Arizona

  Saginaw and Manistee: Hard y Hill Trestle With the recent warm weather, and a pleasant fall in Arizona, I took the liberty to return to the Hardy Hill Area. This area hasn't been visited for some time, so I was due for a reconnection with one of my favorite areas. Prior posts on this blog regarding this remarkable site can be located by using the search feature.  While out and about, I met one of the locals.  One thing I will say about the local inhabitants; show respect and a willingness to converse in a friendly manner, and you will learn more than what you can tell. It's their land, don't forget that. From our long conversation, I learned a great deal about the history of this area.  Seems the structures and other remnants of past habitation were built after the Saginaw had left. The area is dotted with old homesteads, now hidden from the curious by the effects of nature. This particular area was once an orchard, which today you would be hard pressed to find. Th...

  SAGINAW AND MANISTEE: A PREQUEL TO THE WILLIAMS OPERATION  The following comments are meant to be a prelude to the history of the Saginaw and Manistee Lumber Company in Williams, Arizona. Comments and references are based on the book "Indians, Jacks and Pines," by Stuart Gross (1962.)                                                                                                          ..... The Michigan forests that surrounded the town of Saginaw were considered to be so dense that it would take "a hundred years to cut." This comment was often spoken, and then repeated, from the New England forests to the magnificent stands of mature trees in the Pacific Northwes...

 SAGINAW SOUTHERN Part I: NORTH OF PERKINSVILLE AREA We all have those fixations in life that tend to constantly draw our attention, such as a hobby, a building project, or the perfect lawn. One of those vexing problems for me is to find the exact point where the Saginaw Southern ended. It isn't located at a nice sign post placed on a gravel turn-out, along with an appropriate monument. After all, this was incorporated as a class one railroad that ran south from Williams. Maybe someday national leaders will come to lay a golden spike or other appropriate offering at the end of the rail line. Or this just may be my obsession getting the better of me.  Nevertheless, this research project has revealed a number of hidden historical treasures.  Courtesy of Google Maps. Thank you, Google! The map identifies a vast region to the south of Williams, Arizona. it is bordered on the west by FR186, to the South includes FR 44, To the East includes Perkinsville Road, and to the North t...

  SAGINAW SOUTHERN PART II; LOGGING OPERATIONS AT THE END OF THE LINE The Saginaw Southern laid rails in 1898, and very quickly reached into this region. So quick in fact that the survey proved challenging and was placed in the most difficult of terrain. Part of the route, as documented in earlier posts on the Saginaw Southern, used the old military road from Flagstaff to Prescott.  I decided to have a look-see to the west of Perkinsville Road, possibly uncovering additional traces of the rail line.  Map courtesy Google Maps.  One day, I decided to hike into the area referenced on the map  marked 35.094270, -112200100. I parked in a safe area off of Perkinsville road and began my journey. I carefully walked down into the ravine. Often the gentlest slope can result in a tumble, as it is assumed to be safe. Care should always be taken when hiking in the forest. As can be seen in the following images, there were a number of stumps and logs lying about the forest fl...