Information

Hours: 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. (permit required, free and availible at the Powerhosue Visitor Center)
Location: From downtown Kingman, drive westbound on Beale St. to Fort Beale Dr. Turn right, go approx. 1.5 miles and turn left into parking lot.
More Info. & Permit: City of Kingman Parks & Recreation Dept., 3333 Harrison St., Kingman, AZ 86401 or (928) 757-7919
 
Beale Springs was used by Native Americans for centuries before Lt. Edward Beale traveled through the area in the 1850s and established a wagon road along the 35th parallel. In 1865, Beale Springs became a stop on a toll road from Prescott to Hardyville.

During the Hualapai War of 1866-1870, the site served as a temporary Army outpost. Following the war, the “official” Camp Beale Springs was established in 1871 by Company F, 12th U.S. Infantry out of Fort Whipple. Initially, the camp provided continued protection along the Fort Mojave and Prescott Toll Road and acted as a feeding and supply station for the Hualapai Indians.

The camp remained active until April 6, 1874, when the Hualapai Indians were forced to leave Camp Beale Springs for the Colorado River Indian Tribes reservation at La Paz (near modern-day Parker, Arizona).

After 1874, the springs again became a campsite/way station on the toll road. The site remained active well into the Twentieth Century.

Activities in and around the springs have included ranching/farming, a way station hotel, ore milling, a water works and mining.

The Beale Springs site became a water source for the rapidly developing city of Kingman. A water reservoir was built there and is still partially standing today. It is said that in addition to serving its intended purpose, the reservoir sometimes doubled as a swimming pool.

After the Beale Springs site was no longer inhabited, local people held picnics there and enjoyed the water and shade provided by fruit trees that had been planted many years before. Today, you can still enjoy a picnic there in the quiet atmosphere or do some hiking.

Time and progress have left their mark on Camp Beale Springs, but to those who know what happened there, “It is but a jewel with a light coat of dust. …”
 

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