Earp California and the Happy Day Mine

When a friend of Sunni’s asked if Earp, California, where the Riverview RV Park is located, had anything to do with the infamous lawman, Wyatt Earp, neither of us had a clue. But after we set up our motorhome and got on our computers, we were surprised to learn Wyatt Earp spent a considerable amount of time in this area. After his death in 1928, the Santa Fe Railroad and the U.S. Post Office changed the name of the railroad siding and post office to Wyatt Earp. That was shortened to Earp, by which it is still known today. 

At some point in his life Wyatt Earp lived just about everywhere in the west, his most famous years being the two he spent in Tombstone, Arizona. It only took 30-seconds of those two years, on October 26,1881, to become one of the most infamous lawmen in the American west. Those seconds were spent in a gun battle at the OK Coral, for which he will forever be remembered.  

What people don’t know is that Wyatt Earp was a prospector, and in 1906 he discovered a gold and copper mine in the Whipple mountains a few miles to the north and west of here, and spent nearly a quarter of a century working his claim and developing over 100 other mines in the area. With his second wife, Josephine Sarah Marcus, he first lived in Drennon, or Calzona, as it was know back then, a ferry crossing and railroad siding on the California side of the Colorado River.  

Later, he and Josie purchased a small cottage in the town of Vidal where they spent their Fall, Winter and Spring seasons whenever they weren’t camping out at the mine.  Summers were spent in Los Angeles where they partied and hung out with Hollywood movie stars of the day.  The cottage was the only home Wyatt ever owned in his life although they sometimes lived in the many saloons, gambling halls, and dance halls Wyatt built, owned and operated throughout the west.

But it was in Vidal he and Jose seemed to be most happy, so, it seemed appropriate, since we were staying in Earp, that we pay our respects to him and visit his home in Vidal and his Happy Days mine, the place he loved and lived longer than anywhere else in the West.

Corn Springs

Tuesday, February 23rd Today we set out to find the dwelling place and grave of August “Gus” Lederer, self-proclaimed ‘Mayor of Corn Springs’.  

As I have explained before, we are staying at Lake Tamarisk Desert Resort, which is 2-miles from Desert Center — a ghost town with a post office. Desert Center is in the middle of the Colorado Desert, 50 miles east of Indio and 50 miles west of Blythe on the California Arizona border. Our destination today is in deep desert, a canyon 20-miles inside the Chuckwalla Wilderness Area.  

Gus Lederer lived in a small stone cabin at the spring. A plauqe placed on a rock along the road as we entered the oasis, memorialized Gus as being a prospector, burro fancier, and vegetable gardener. The story goes Gus made pancakes for his burros who would show up each morning and await their treat.  

In 1932, he was bitten on the neck by a Black Widow Spider and died because he couldn’t get medical help quick enough to save his life.  

It was ‘Desert Steve’ Ragsdale who went up and buried Gus at Aztec Springs, further up the canyon next to Gus’s friend Tommy Jones who died in ’29. A third more recent grave, is Tim O. Crowley who died in ’48. The grave markers have really deteriorated.  From a previous internet photo, we determined the middle grave is the oldest, belonging to Jones.  Gus's grave is the far left and the newest addition, Crowley's, is on the right.  

There are two more graves that exist according to Findagrave.com which we did not find.  They are  Dixon Dale Hill, D.1942 and Donna Marie Taylor-Kidd D. 1994.  There was one other monument (pictured below) near the three graves but it was not marked.

If anyone knows more about any of these graves or has pictures of the deceased, I would like to learn more.

In regard to Gus's grave, any friend of Desert Steve is a friend of ours, we felt obligated to pay him a visit and we were glad we did.  

The spring is a true Desert Oasis which explains Gus's lush vegetable garden that he grew to help sustain himself and guest.  Gus kept the oasis in resort condition for the travelers and prospectors who might show up at his door. 

After Gus died, the springs reverted to the BLM. Because of the exquisite condition of abundance of petroglyphs it was to be preserved as a national monument.  

Unfortunately, that never happened.  So, it remains today, remote and mostly forgotten. Some embellishment and additions to the native artwork now exist, but for the most part people have respected the significants of the ancient history the site represents.