The 2023 to Yuma

For most people, Yuma is a stop by the Colorado River at the California border on Interstate 8 for gas and fast food, or for retirement in one of the hottest cities in the United States, to be enveloped in agriculture that moved down from the Salt River Valley without the rich, alluvial soil of American Eden.

But Yuma is much more: Rich in history, it's the place along with Tucson where American settlement began. Where boats could come up the Colorado delta unhindered by dams upstream. Now, with a population of nearly 96,000, it's worth our time.

Gallery (click on photo for a larger image):

Fort Yuma in 1875.

Horse-drawn water in the 1890s (Library of Congress).

The first locomotive in Arizona, Yuma 1877. The Southern Pacific built east across the state.

Yuma's handsome Southern Pacific depot.

A Pullman porter and conductor await passengers on the SP early in the 20th century (City of Yuma).

A street-level view of the SP depot, since demolished.

The 1881 Southern Pacific bridge across the Colorado River toward Yuma.

A closeup of the bridge.

Workers boiling cotton before it’s allowed into California, circa 1937 (Dorothea Lange/Library of Congress).

Drought refugees facing agricultural inspection at the California border during the Great Depression (Dorothea Lange/Library of Congress).

Yuma was a popular wedding destination for Californians. Unlike the Golden State, Arizona didn't require a three-day waiting period.

The Yuma Territorial Prison (Ken Lund photo).

Southern Pacific's bridge across the Colorado River built in 1923. Today it's used by the Union Pacific (Ken Lund).

The Union Pacific's East Yard in Yuma (former SP). The Sunset Route is double-track through most of southern  Arizona now.

Downtown circa 1960.

Fourth Avenue in the 1950s, set off by Susie's Eats.

The Hotel San Carlos downtown, built in 1930. Badly dilapidated, it’s been restored by Chelsea Investments as apartments.

The Ocean-to-Ocean Highway Bridge across the Colorado, built in 1915. A plank road ran into California for years before US 80 was paved.

An overhead view of the railroad and highway bridges in 1943 (Library of Congress).

The military has been a big part of Yuma since World War II. Here's an overhead shot of the Yuma Army Airfield in 1943 (Library of Congress).

It continues today with the Army’s Yuma Proving Ground...

...And F-35B Joint Strike Fighters at Marine Corps Air Station Yuma.

The Gowan Co. building downtown in the old Post Office.

The old Yuma City Hall.

The Yuma County Courthouse.

The Fourth Avenue Junior High School, built in 1920.

Another view of the school with cooling grass and shade trees (Ken Lund photo).

The 1926 Kress Building restored as a restaurant.

Hotel del Sol, built as the Hotel del Ming in 1926. Various plans have been floated to restore it, including as a transit hub.

The old Yuma Methodist Church, built in 1905.

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My book, A Brief History of Phoenix, is available to buy or order at your local independent bookstore, or from Amazon.

Read more Phoenix history in Rogue's Phoenix 101 archive.

 

 

 

Comments

[Cal Lash]

Well done.

[Mariam Cheshire]

Well, we always stopped at Yuma for gas and a sandwich and I kinda remember looking at the front of the prison with no desire to go inside. So it was great to see the history of Yuma. Thanks for putting this together so well. Mariam

[100 Octane]

A place long on my "to visit" list, along with many others. Thanks.

[W.C. Fields]

Spent a week there one afternoon,

[Cal Lash]

Understandable if Helen was with you.

[Ruben]

Spending the day conducting business in Yuma then taking the "scenic" drive back to Phoenix, passing through the "garden spot" of Gila Bend, makes you feel for the folks who crossed that desert back in the old days.

[Cal Lash]

That would likely be some Seri folks. Then some Spaniards.
I have driven phoenix to Yuma many times. I like the part between the Town of Maricopa and the area of Tacna.
Better yet a turn on 85 south will get you to beautiful downtown Ajo and then the wonderful Organ Pipe National Park and in to a great spot for an RV. Why Arizona!
Straight ahead for Puerto Penasco or left to cross the Tohono nation and onto Tucson

[toughterry]

We've crawled around that part of AZ many times; it's full of history and ghosts. Anza came thru there twice on his treks to California - it was the only place to cross the river somewhat safely. The local indians were well built & tall and did not wear clothing - they knew a things of two about comfort in the desert. The prison is worth a visit - it was the first in the territory and has a fascinating history of its own.
Hasta la vista.

[Dawgzy]

The Glanton gang went through in Blood Meridian. I forget whether a massacre ensued, but I’d bet that one did.

[Kevin in Preskitt]

My mom lived in Yuma for several years while growing up. She has zero nostalgia for the place, never even getting off the interstate there to take a drive down memory lane. Like Pearl Hart, she did her time in Yuma, and that's that.

I've explored the city as an adult (since Mom never took us there). The downtown area and the Territorial Prison are great. I like the history, architecture, and laid-back pace. But, man, summer is brutal there, and the extreme lack of precipitation must make the days monotonous.