The General store, which was built in 1916 seemed like a good idea for a coffee and snack stop. Until a flood in 1983 the General Store was also home to the Post Office, after the flood it was moved to a temporary location before a new one was opened near the fire station.
The first service station was built in 1925 and moved to its present location in 1964.
There is a small museum situated in the Old Santa Fe railway depot which is manned by volunteers and is open on Sunday afternoons during the summer unfortunately we were there on a Monday! Oh well!
The railroad has gone through Skull Valley for over 113 years and although trains no longer stop about 10 – 12 times a day freight trains pass through.
As for the name, well according to the book of ‘Arizona Place Names’, Skull valley was named for the piles of bleached skulls discovered by the first white men who entered the valley. The skulls were the remains of a fierce battle between the Maricopa and Apache Indians and the dead were left where they fell.
Have fun, we are!
If I were that first guy, I would have been a bit disturbed by piles of skulls. Wouldn't you? Congratulations, comments work!
ReplyDeleteI think I would've turned tail and run!
ReplyDelete