Wednesday, April 13, 2022

Book Review: Kingman History: 50 Stories of Kingman



Kingman History: 50 Stories of Kingman by Loren B. Wilson, publisher not given, 2007.  I found it at Kingman library.

Loren Wilson was a teacher in Kingman for 40 years, and a long term volunteer at the Mohave County Museum.  As such he tells many stories from Kingman and Mohave County.  These stories include 7000 planes at Kingman Airport at the end of WWII, the original airport in Kingman which extended form Airway and Banks to the current fairgrounds.  A story of two graves found in the Black Mountains which turned out being a Chinese woman and her mother.  The woman was traveling with her new African American husband to Nevada after celebrating her marriage in Cerbat.  They were traveling by wagon and their water barrel leaked.  The horses could not go further so the husband walked out to get help.  He returned too late and the the women had died.

The author tells many biographical sketches from early Kingman pioneers.  He talks of a plane crash on the railroad tracks in the early days of Kingman.  He also tells the story of an Amtrak derailment outside of town and of course the Doxol Fire which killed eleven volunteer firemen, and a few others, and injured many more.  

He has piqued my interest with archeological sites and other historical sites in the area.  This includes Native American items found in several spots, Petroglyphs, and the sites at Ft. Beale.  

He tells of Andy Devine, Edward Beale, the connection of Louis L' Amour to the area, Roy Purcell and many others.  He also tells of stories of several old buildings including the old hospital, the Red School and the Grammar School and Hotel Beale.  He also recounts Route 66.

I recommend this book for those interested in local history.

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