Road Trip: Winkelman, AZ

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Winkelman had a much earlier start but was not known by that name until March 8, 1905. It was first established as Dudleyville when a post office was built and named after Dudley Harrington. Harrington had a ranch in the area since 1879 and was the first postmaster. The post office helped move the increasing supplies and mail which came though Florence to all the smaller surrounding towns. By the 1890’s problems arose from the cattle overgrazing, and preventing grass from growing back. The nearby San Pedro River would flood causing the town’s folks to move their store on many occasions. In 1903, the railroad line was laid out close to Peter Winkelman’s land resulting in the post office being relocated. With this move, the town of Dudleyville was renamed Winkelman. This town has also shown signs of a poor economy, with many places left empty and with the ghosts of the past wandering through the diminishing walls.

This town had several abandoned places.  I will break up the photos in a few posts following this one.







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