Crown King, Arizona

Crown King is a “living” ghost town, located in Yavapai County, Arizona, at an elevation of 6,000 feet.

The site of a former gold mining town, Crown King is 28 miles west of Interstate 17 on Senator Highway high in the Bradshaw Mountains. There are four ways to get to Crown King, but only two routes are accessible by two-wheel drive vehicles and all are dirt roads.

Crown King can be accessed by taking exit 248 (Bloody Basin Road) on I-17 and continuing past the ghost towns of Bumble Bee and Cleator; or by taking exit 259 on I-17. Both routes take approximately one hour traveling at an average speed of about 25 miles an hour.

You do not need a 4 wheel drive vehicle to get to the town, but a vehicle with high clearance is preferred and good suspension is highly recommended. Exit 248 (Bumble Bee) is 10 miles shorter than Exit 259 (Bloody Basin) but the tradeoff is that 248 is all dirt and taking 259 you travel another 10 miles north on the paved route of Interstate Highway 17.

While an active mining town, Crown King was serviced by the Bradshaw Mountain Railroad. Rail service to the area began in 1904 upon completion of "Murphy's Impossible Railroad" -- a series of switchbacks and trestles that ascended the mountain terrain between Cleator and Crown King.

The zip code for Crown King is 86343.

History

Although the town is named after the Crowned King mine and was originally named Crowned King, the first recorded gold claim in Crown King was "Buckeye" and was filed by Rod McKinnon on July 1, 1875. The town's name was shortened from Crowned King to Crown King in 1888.

At it's height, the town had 500 buildings, including several company stores and boarding houses, two Chinese restaurants and a post office. The town was electrified by 1897 and had one telephone at that time.

Of the buildings still standing and in use in Crown King, the Crown King Restaurant and Saloon has become the center of activity in the town. The building itself has an interesting history. The building was originally constructed in the nearby mining town of Oro Belle (now also a ghost town) and having been brought to Crown King in 1910 in pieces, on the backs of mules, when Oro Belle closed. The building was home to a brothel and bar in both towns.

The post office was established on July 29, 1875 and was discontinued on May 15, 1954. It has since been reopened.

References

Philip Varney, Arizona Ghost Towns and Mining Towns: A travel guide to history, Phoenix, Arizona Highways Books, 1988, 117 pages.

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