Bradshaw Grave, Wickenburg, Az

April 14, 2015, we drove out on the Constellation road (near McDonalds) to the Constellation City Park for staging and to start our ride .  We rode out 5 miles to the Y intersection of the Buckhorn Rd.  We followed Charles Wells books map. We highly recommend his books!

From the intersection we drove 4.3 miles turning to the left at the 2 huge rusty water tanks. We followed this trail, some places are tough, but manageable.

We stopped at the Iron Spring and had our lunch in the shade, as a few cattle watched us.  There are breathtaking sights up and down the valleys, but be careful to deep an eye on the road. We went around Swallow mountain  and down to the Bradshaw grave, which is surrounded by a white picket fence.  Isaac Bradshaw is buried here. 1819-1885 At the bottom of the page you can read about the past and what brought him to this rugged country. 

Then we went further up the trail 4.5 miles to the Copperopolis. Which has pretty much been erased.  You can see some evidence of mining like tailings and flat building sights, leave enough time to explore the trails in this area.  You can try to find Annie May White’s headstone dated June 8th, 1939.

At the Bradshaw  intersection turn we went south making a large circle back to the Buckhorn Rd. There are many great views off of this road also. We even saw palm trees growing in a private spring area, looking like a mirage! We rode a total of 42 miles from the staging area and back. We saw one marmot, no snakes.

In 1863, William Bradshaw was the first to lead a group of men into the Bradshaws in search of silver and gold. They traveled as a group for protection up Black Canyon Creek. They did find the fabled gold and left unseen by Indians. William, a heavy drinker, became sick and committed suicide after his return. He is buried in an unmarked grave near La Paz, AZ.

His brother, Isaac, ventured into the Bradshaws at age 66 in search of the gold locations his brother told him about. He and his party also found gold and silver. His mine was not especially profitable, but it produced enough to keep him in beans and bacon. He died Christmas Day, in 1885 and is buried in a remote area of the mountains near Bradshaw Springs.