SAGINAW SOUTHERN PART IV: SOLVING THE MYSTERY OF THE WAGON ROAD
In Part III, I left you to ponder the mysteries of the wagon road that was found in the remote ravines and canyons south of Williams, Arizona.
I returned again to this region, hoping to find additional answers, and to confirm my coordinates. I ended up removing some locations and adjusting some of my ideas. It is frustrating to try and find additional information by field research, when you are trying to gather the facts after the passage of 130 years.
I traveled FR44 once again, revisiting several sites. I did stop at Sheep Tank, which at the time I thought not worthy of using digital film to record. The tank was of simple construction, with one part of the stream bed entering the structure. A very basic site, using the natural flow to refill the tank. Most tanks have been enlarged and widened to almost lake-sized water basins by the Forest Service. This one seemed to have been left in its original condition, abandoned for what seemed to be an unknown reason.
Map Courtesy Google Maps
As I left the region, I felt frustrated. A great deal of time and effort to find an old road. However, history isn't about one specific event, but a series of events that can often seem unrelated, and then converge at a point to become part of each timeline. Sheep Tank: what does this draw to mind? An old military road, where did it traverse the landscape?
It started to make sense. I consulted Google Maps and could see at the northern point a faint trace connecting to the road leading to Davenport Tank. The canyon and ravine system to the south pointed to, and apparently emptied into, the area of Sheep Tank. The pieces, at least in my mind, now fit together.
Map Courtesy of Google Maps
Yellow with dotted lines is a projected route; solid yellow is actual road; double yellow is as seen on satellite image. Blue is Perkinsville Road. Happy sheep is Sheep Tank. Red is estimated end of Saginaw Southern.
This road was later used by the migration of tens of thousands of sheep from the lowlands during summer, to the cooler elevations of the High Country. In a northerly direction, Sheep Tank led to the area of Buzzard Tank, then up to the vicinity of Trap Tank. From there, the road led to Davenport Tank and Stewart Spring, and then the steep grade until reaching Summit Tank. From there it was an easy path to the green grasses of the Ponderosa Forest lands. There were additional tanks along the way that remained unnamed.
The military road was used for many years, and its location was not unknown to the railroad surveyors. This region was harvested by logging carts, with little or no indication of railroad spurs. The old road would have been used to bring logs to the railhead.
This is my theory; maybe my conclusions need further validating. You should not dismiss my conclusions solely because I am an amateur historian and researcher. After all, some of the greatest findings in history were based on amateur research...
Stay safe in the forest
THE WONDERS OF NATURE HAVE A PROCLIVITY TO PUNISH THE VANE ACTIONS OF MAN
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