American Pioneer & Cemetery Research Project
VULTURE CITY PIONEER CEMETERY
A.K.A. Verde Flat Cemetery
Ghost Town of Vulture City, Maricopa County, AZ
From Wickenburg, Vulture Mine Road, S approx. 12 miles to the entrance of the Vulture Mine. Proceed S. on the blacktop 1/4 mile to the first road to the right. Proceed approx 1/10 mile looking on your left (S.) fenced enclosure with white crosses.
Latitude N33 48.726, Longitude W112 50.364 - (Elevation 2,020)
	Burials =	200 +				10/26/2008
Marker	SURNAME	FIRST NAME	MIDDLE NAME	BIRTH DATE	DEATH DATE	COMMENTS
N	CULLING	Albert		Feb. 5, 1879	1882	COD. Deptheria Epedemic. Par: Charles & Maria Culling
N	DOE	Jane	Children		1882	White cross marked internments
10	DOE	Jane	Children		1882	Unmarked internments
90	DOE	John			1882	White cross marked interments
N	DOE	John			1882	Unmarked interments
N	DREW		Child		1882	Daughter. Par: Joseph & Maria Drew (Maria was the widow of Charles Culling). Source: Tom Hernandez
N	DREW		Child		1882	Son. Par. Joseph & Maria Drew. Source: Tom Hernandez
N	McDONALD	John				Not buried in main cemery rather the cemetery NE across the black top road. Killed by Apaches on route from Smiths Mill to Family Station. Mrs. B. Sexton committed the body by reading a portion of the solemn service of the Episcopal Church. "Catch the Stage to Phoenix" Leland L. Hanchett Jr.
N	DOE	John
N	SWAIN	George				Not buried in main cemery rather the cemetery NE across the black top road. Killed by Apaches on route from Smiths Mill to Family Station. Mrs. B. Sexton committed the body by reading a portion of the solemn service of the Episcopal Church. "Catch the Stage to Phoenix" Leland L. Hanchett Jr.
N	TAYLOR	George			Mar. 11 1873	Son of Sam Peter Taylor. Killed by Apaches on route from Smiths Mill to Family Station. Mrs. B. Sexton committed the body by reading a portion of the solemn service of the Episcopal Church. "Catch the Stage to Phoenix" Leland L. Hanchett Jr.
Y	VALENCIA	Francisca	Galindre	Sep. 19, 1875	Dec. 12, 1881	Daughter of Ramon Cevero and Andrea Galindre de Valencia - who are buried in the Garcia Cemetery in Wickenburg, AZ. Francisca's is the only known headstone in the Vulture City Cemetery. The marble was shipped in from San Francisco. In 2006 the headstone no longer marks this grave. The base and enclosure are still there. C.O.D. Diphtheria.
N	VALENZUELA	Inocante			1881	Source: Catch the Stage to Phoenix, L.J. Hanchett Jr. Page, 120
N	VALENZUELA	Ramona			1882	Half sister to Maria Culling
100	200 +
Research by:		Joyce Du Shane, Neal Du Shane
Contributor: Neal Du Shane, Alicia Quesada, Carlos Hernandez book "Lighthouse in the Desert", Bonnie Helten, Lee Hanchett Jr.. Tom Hernandez
NOTE: Feb 22, 2006 this site was visited by the researchers. The cemetery is enclosed by a fence with a main gate at the north end. The cemetery is fairly well visited as the main paths were well worn. A boy scout troop has placed white crosses on the obvious burials which number approximately 100. There is another 100 internments that are unmarked scattered throughout the enclosure. The vast majority of the burials are male - probably miners from the Vulture Mine. About 10% of the burials are female and are children. Research continues to determine the names and dates of those buried here.
RESEARCH NOTE: An additional 25 to 30 internments are in individual graves on the actual mine property. These are the "High graders" and various criminals that were not allowed to be buried in the Respectable Cemetery. In 1996 ashes of one individual are scattered about the mine property by their request. It's believed that most of the burials in the cemetery are of children who died of diseases of the era. Typhoid, diphtheria, chicken pox etc.
RESEARCH NOTE: There was a town by the name of VULTURE which was located approximately one mile north of Wickenburg on the Hassayampa, all trace of the Ghost Town of Vulture is gone. Often these two names are confused when referring to Vulture City.
RESEARCH NOTE: In 1923, some "Personal Miners" (as they were referred to, paid the Mine Company to extract ore) were working in one of the large underground chambers. The Vulture Mine, a hard rock mine, had no need of support timbers. The mining company found it necessary to leave about forty percent of the ore in place as supporting columns. One large chamber had ore columns that were very rich in gold. The Personal Miners were chipping away at these columns when they suddenly gave way. One hundred feet of rock over their heads collapsed on them. The cave in killed seven miners and twelve burros. There was no hope of rescue.
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n.j.dushane@apcrp.org