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American
Pioneer & Cemetery
Research Project
Internet
Presentation
Version 021610
WALKER
CEMETERY
MILLER GRAVESITE
WALKER,
ARIZONA
By
Kathy Block, APCRP
Historian
Coordinates
(WGS83): N34 27.501, W112 22.720. (Elevation 6,361 feet)
Many lists of
cemeteries and gravesites in the Prescott area and Yavapai County mention
"Walker Gravesite". After some research, Ed and I, with help of one
of Neal Du Shane's famous maps, were able to locate the gravesite of a baby
named Claude Miller.
Map
by: Neal Du Shane
His isn't the only
lone gravesite in the area; see Kevin Hart's APCRP information on Howells and
various graves nearby: Howells, AZ
The Miller gravesite
is a burial of a baby named Claude Miller. The inscription on the wooden
marker, presumably at the head of the grave reads:
"Our Darling Baby, Aug. 1, 1910. Claude Miller, son
of A.W. & L. Miller."
At the foot of the
grave is a small board that simply says "C.M." The grave is enclosed
by a well-maintained white wooden picket fence. The site sits on a gentle knoll
amidst a pleasant open pine forest.
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To reach this gravesite,
drive to Walker south on Walker Road which begins in Prescott off Highway 69. This
paved road, labeled "Walker Road" and "Lynx Lake", turns
south from the highway between an ARCO gas station to the west and a COSTCO on
the east. Travel south past Lynx Lake and campgrounds, a
popular recreation area, for about 7 miles to the unincorporated area of
Walker. You will come down Smelter Hill area where Kevin Hart researched
the ghost town and cemetery of Howells.
Go south beyond the
fire station and a marked trail to a historic charcoal kiln, to Sunday School
Lane that turns to the right (west). The turnoff has a sign for "Walker
Community Church." Travel a very short distance, about 1/4 mile, on a dirt
road, and on your left is the Non-Denomination Community Church. It has an open-air
chapel under the pines.
The road veers to the right and becomes Old Walker Road. You can actually spot
the white picket fence on your right as you turn. New Century Road comes in to
your left just past the pull-off to park. There are many summer cabins and some
permanent homes around the gravesite area, reached by narrow, rocky tracks that
form a maze of roads in this area. A passenger car can easily negotiate this
road; it was tricky for us, as we were pulling our famous little travel trailer
with a Toyota 4x4.
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The
community of Walker, according to a Prescott National Forest sign located on
the right just as you approach the fire station, says:
"This town site was
named after Capt. Joseph Walker, who discovered gold here in 1863. At the peak
of activity, Walker had a population of 3,000."
An
excellent web site to see historic photos of the town and learn more about its
history is: Walker Fire Department. One
historic fact of interest is that in 1908 there was a fire and a few buildings
burned. Two years later, in 1910, a second fire hit downtown Walker. The fire
was disastrous and most of the people lost everything. Before the fire reached
the Gronlund's Saloon, a few nearby locals helped Mr.
Gronlund move all the contents of the saloon,
including a barrel of whiskey from the basement, to the Walker jailhouse which
the fire did not reach.
The
Walker area has seen a series of large fires over many years since this time,
and a fire in the Crown King area to the south a few years ago burned
uncomfortably close to Walker. A warning sign at a trailhead tells of the
results.
Walker's
post office was established in 1879 and discontinued in 1940. Walker was once a
boom town sustained for over 80 years by the mines in the nearby Bradshaw
Mountains. Some of the mine claims are still active today. There are
recreational gold panning areas in the Prescott National Forest on Lynx Creek,
which yield fine gold and a few larger gold particles and nuggets.
Bannie
Mine recreational site, north of Walker
A good
biography of Captain Walker can be accessed from several web site’s
using search engines. He was leader of a group who made many discoveries of
gold in nearby Lynx Creek and the Bradshaw Mountains in 1863. He lived from
Dec.13, 1798 to Oct.27, 1876, and is buried in Martinez, California.
Now, the
mystery about the Miller baby buried in that grave! Queries to the fire station
site and to the church, yielded no clues to this baby
or his family. Some limited historical research yielded a list of people in the
Walker party. Some of the men were named Miller, but no direct links were found
to the "A.W. and L. Miller" on the marker. In July 1861, when the
Walker party was leaving Potosi Mine SE of Las Vegas, there were 21 men in the
group. Among them were John L. Miller, J.L. Miller, Samuel C. Miller of
Illinois, Henry Miller of Missouri, John J. Miller of N. Carolina, Jacob Miller of Illinois.
At the
historic Citizens Cemetery in Prescott, we met a volunteer who directed us to
four burials of two babies and two adult Millers. He claimed that Jacob Miller
(1830-1899, "A Pioneer") was one of the Walker party. Could these
people be somehow related to Claude Miller? Queries to
website’s relating to the subject, have so far have gone answered.
Like so
many other gravesites that seem to be scattered around old mines, ghost towns,
and settlements, there are questions, but no answers forthcoming. Possibly the
baby was buried, dying from some illness or accident, very common in these
harsh frontier wilderness times, and the family moved on to other adventures,
other mines, other settlements with their history lost in time in an era when
few records were kept or saved of these early settlers in the Walker area.
If you have any additional information about the Miller baby gravesite, we would welcome your comments. If you have information you would like to share contact APCRP at: n.j.dushane@comcast.net . Thank You
UPDATE ON WALKER (MILLER) GRAVESITE - 2/16/2010
By Kathy Block
While researching Yavapai County Death Certificates on
burials in cemeteries in the Bradshaw Mountains, I found the Death
Certificate for Claude Miller.
Somehow I'd failed to find it when writing about his lonely
grave.
Here's some
information from the Death Certificate.
Claude Miller was born prematurely on August 7, 1910,
and according to the physician (who came from the Poland area), death
was at 10:15PM from “inanition”. The baby lived only 17 hours.
He was buried by his father, Archie Miller, listed as
“undertaker” at “Walker”.
Claude's parents, Archie and Lillian Miller, were both
originally from Nebraska.
It
can be inferred that they truly cared about this short-lived infant by
the elaborate grave they created in the pine forest near Walker. Their
informant, who witnessed the Death Certificate, “Personal particulars
are true to the best of my knowledge and belief”, also lived in the
Poland area, suggesting that Archie had some type of employment or
friends there.
All Photographs courtesy: Ed and Kathy Block
American Pioneer
& Cemetery Research
Project
Internet
Presentation
Version 021610
WebMaster: Neal Du
Shane
Copyright
© 2009 - Neal Du Shane
All rights reserved. Information
contained within this website may be used
for personal family history purposes, but not for financial profit or gain of
any kind.
All contents of this website are willed to the American Pioneer & Cemetery
Research Project (APCRP).
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