Oatman, Arizona

When we arrived in the "living ghost town" of Oatman, it was as if we were suddenly transported back to an era when gold miners inhabited the town. Historic hotels, antique slumping buildings with boardwalks, wranglers, burros roaming the streets and mingling with tourists...it was unbelievably picturesque and memorable.

The town was named for Olive Oatman, a 13-year-old girl who was who was captured by Indians in 1861 and ransomed back to authorities six years later. She wrote a story about her experience when she was a grown woman and the miners voted to change the name of the post office to Oatman. In addition, the Olive Oatman Hotel honors her. We had some ice cream in the restaurant and visited Ol' Miner, the coin-operated fortuneteller on the front porch.

Oatman began in 1906 as a tent camp and flourished as a gold mining center during its heyday. During that time, Oatman's population was over 10,000 with 20 saloons lining the main street...it dropped to 400 after the gold rush, but the town would not die. It was well-established during the height of Route 66, but when I-40 came along, Oatman was dealt a near-death blow. Three gas stations and one grocery store shut down the minute the ribbon was cut for the bypass. In 1952, the population was in the single digits. In the late 70's the population escalated because of tourism. Tourists are drawn to Oatman by its history and spectacular setting.

Filmmakers chose this town for movies, including How The West Was Won. Clark Gable and his bride, Carole Lombard spent their Honeymoon at the Oatman Hotel after marrying in Kingman in 1939. Gable was "a regular" and would oftentimes play cards with the miners in the Oatman Hotel's Dollar Bill Bar. We had lunch there and met the musician, Michael Fox who entertained us with his singing and guitar. Michael, a year-round resident of Oatman who has lived in this town for 15 years, is also one of the "gunfighters" during the daily reenactments of shootouts in mid-afternoon. He is a writer too, who penned an account about some of the little-known back stories associated with Oatman and shares it with tourists. He told us about a common practice in mining communities. Miners tacked dollar bills to the walls of their favorite watering holes in advance of future visits so they wouldn't have to carry money on them. After lunch we continued the miners' tradition.

We walked down the street to visit a few of the colorful shops on Main Street (most of the town is on Main Street) before leaving.

www.oatmangoldroad.org

We traveled 21 miles to get to Topock, Arizona, where we crossed the Colorado River into Needles, California...our lodging for the night.

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