Carrizo Stage Station

[pegleglooker]

The Carrizo Creek Stage Station




hey gang,
Last week my hunting partner ( Bruce ) and I went out on a 2 day trip to the desert. One of the places we wanted to check out was the old Butterfield stage station at Carrizo creek. We were going to try to chase down a old stage robbery but also had a crazy daytrip ( or should I say nighttrip ). There is a lot of history associated with the station including being a hub on the Southern Emigrant Trail, as well as stage robberies, and murder. As you can see from the map the station is in the heart of the desert and at the edge of the Carrizo Impact Area ( old WW2 bombing range ).



In order to get to this place one must drive through the Carrizo Marsh. If you talk to just about anyone about this area they alllll have stories of just how deep it can get and how many people get stuck. Fortunately, we went through at the right time....





Here is also a brief history of the station from the " Treasure Hunters Guide to the Butterfield Stage Stations " by Gerald T Ahnert....




And a story of murder....



It was a GREAT trip, and we learned something VERY quickly.... You DON'T want to be on the desert at NIGHT!!!!! It took us about 2 extra hours to get out and that was with the gps. It seemed that sometimes what the gps showed, was not necessarily what we saw with our eyes. Anyway here are some pixs of the area.. I'll post some more stuff tomorrow, it's getting a little late.

Enjoy
PLL

 

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[Gypsy Heart]

Good info and great pics! Thanks for sharing!

 

[OPUS1]

Great story and pictures Pegleg. You should be writing a book of your adventures of MD'ing and the places you've been.

Thanks for sharing.

 

[pegleglooker]

hey gang,
Here some more info, this place is DEEP in history from " Cave " Couts Johnson's exploration to Butterfield and beyond. I hope you enjoy...

PLL

The Phantom Stage of Carrizo



The Lady in White is not the only ghost story attached to the Vallecito Stage Station. Not far from Vallecito is Carrizo Wash where the Phantom Stage forges it way through the deep sand, pulled by a team of four mules on moonlit nights. The Phantom Stage is driven by a lone driver hunched over as if asleep. No passengers are seen in the Stage when it passes through Carrizo Wash, hesitating for only a moment, as if planning to stop at the place where the Carrizo Station once stood, but is now only a pile of mud. The Phantom Stage continues on past the old station until out of sight. In the morning one may think twice about actually seeing the Phantom Stage, until he sees the ruts carved from wagon wheels and hoof prints left behind by the ghostly stage that travels by on occasion, as if to keep the trail alive.

There is another story that coincides with the Phantom Stage. In the 1860s, before the stage line closed, a special stage set out from El Paso headed for San Diego with a box of coins. The stage that carried the coins had one driver and a guard. When the stage reached Yuma, Arizona, the guard fell ill and the driver continued on without him. That same stage was held up by robbers somewhere in the area where the route meanders into Carrizo Wash between the Fish and Coyote Mountains. The driver was shot during the robbery and the thieves stashed the coins on the south slope of Fish Mountain. The coins remain there to this day, they say, because there were too many soldiers passing by on the trail. It is said that after the robbery, the dead driver and the stage continued through Carrizo toward Vallecito Station, but the stage disappeared, never to be seen again.

Here's a cool link: http://explorehistoricalif.com/may2007.html

Hidden Treasures Near Vallecito Station

Allegedly, a stage was traveling from El Paso, Texas to San Diego with a box of gold coins in the 1860’s. In addition to the driver, the stage also carried a guard to protect the money. However, when the stage reached Yuma, Arizona, the guard fell ill and the driver continued on without him. Somewhere in the area of Carrizo Wash, between the Fish and Coyote Mountains, the stage was held up by bandits, who killed the stage driver and fled with the box of gold. According to the tale, the outlaws buried the gold on the south slope of Fish Mountain but were unable to retrieve it because there were so many soldiers in the vicinity. The buried coins are said to remain there to this day.

Plus if you go to http://www.scribd.com and type in " carrizo stage station " you will see a ton of info....

Here are some more pixs for ya all....

For you guys back east... no this is not in Hollywood but actually out on the desert... and yeah I don't know why either..


close up


This was next to the stage station could be for illegals maybe ??


Local scenery

 

[auferret]

This is from The Anza-Borrego Desert Region by Lowell Lindsay about the sign.

 

[auferret]

Apparently, there is another story about this sign in Anza-Borrego A to Z: People, Places, and Things by Diana Lindsay. I do not have a copy and could not find the text online.

 

[crawdad]

Sine was put up by US.Army 29 ENG.survey team around 1942 at stage stop at palmies springs sa a joke. tom Crawford

 

[hatabdsp]

The quonset was used as a bunkhouse by cattleman Al Kalin in the 50's.

 

[TerryC]

Pegleg,
Very nice narrative. Clearly shows the amount of enthusiasm you have for the hobby. I will be following your posts more closely. Thanks. TTC

 

[pegleglooker]

Thankx Terry.....If you guys like some more stuff I am restarting the Old Desert Magazine.... Our first issue will be Oct 1 and it will be a quarterly online mag with stories, pictures, animation and video.... the site is dezertmagazine.com.... If you like stop by and take a look, if you like it sign up for the newsletter and we will let you know when the issue is out.....

PLL