The purpose of the Wickenburg Historical Preservation Society shall be to conduct research and provide education and information concerning the history of the Town of Wickenburg and its vicinity, to acquire, manage and improve historical sites in the community, and to work in conjunction with other civic organizations to preserve, protect and interpret the history of the community.

It was the Vulture mine that first attracted people to the Town of Wickenburg.  By 1866, Wickenburg was one of the largest settlements in the Territory and was a rival for the location of the territorial capitol of Arizona, losing by only two votes to Prescott.  By 1865, the early mining camp tents were replaced with adobe dwellings and a post office was established.  By 1867 there were approximately 200 people living and working in a number of adobe structures associated with the Vulture Mine.  The original townsite was surveyed by Robert Groom in 1868; however the first plat was never officially filed.

Wickenburg also owes much of its prosperity to its highway location at the fork of the only road between Northern and Southern Arizona and the California road by way of Ehrenberg.  The California and Arizona Stage Company’s main office, repair shops and corrals were located in Wickenburg.  Long wagon trains drawn by mules or oxen arrived from Ehrenberg, Phoenix, Prescott and other points with goods, grains, lumber, etc.  In May of 1875, mail service to California by way of Ehrenberg was discontinued, and Wickenburg became only a way station on a semi-weekly line from Prescott to Phoenix.  By 1883, Wickenburg ‘became almost a ghost town’.  The Vulture mine was closed and population decreased to less then 10 people.  Fortunately, because Wickenburg was on the highway to California, and the addition of the railroad line, it managed to survive.  In subsequent years, ranching and tourism have replaced the early mining and farming activities as the basis of the economic life of the community.

Henry Wickenburg and his companions were apparently attracted to the area around Wickenburg by ore that Territorial Colonel, King Woolsey, had shown to Mr. Wickenburg.  It was thought to have come from a mine in the Harquahala Mountains, southeast of the Wickenburg area.  Henry Wickenburg discovered gold in October 1863, which initiated the development of the Vulture Mine and ultimately the establishment of the Town of Wickenburg.  The mine was located fourteen miles west of what would become the town of Wickenburg and was well known for its size and richness.  In 1864, Henry Wickenburg, with the assistance of Charles E. Genung, built an arrastra to process the ore.  They ground out a ton of ore and cleared one hundred fifty dollars.  In 1866, Wickenburg sold the mine to a New York company.  The governor’s message, reported in the December 12, 1868 Miner called the Vulture ‘one of the richest and most extensive and remarkable deposits of gold quartz on the continent’.  A variety of stories exist regarding the name of the Vulture mine.  The most famous is that Henry Wickenburg saw a vulture at the same time he captured his first view of gold.  Another version says that Henry Wickenburg discovered gold as he went to find a buzzard that a member of his party shot.  Since the bird had led to the discovery of gold, he named the mine after it.  The Vulture Mine is said to have produced $16,000,000 worth of gold.  Small gold bars bearing the Vulture stamp were current exchange in Arizona for years.  Wickenburg’s early history depended upon the Vulture Mine.

John Boetto and his family are acknowledged as one of the early pioneer families of Wickenburg.  John Boetto was born in northern Italy on February 29, 1874.  His wife, Mary, was born in Italy in 1878.  The location and the date of their marriage are unknown.  He came to the United States in 1892 and spent time in Colorado and Mexico before coming to Arizona, arriving in Wickenburg in 1907.  In his early years in Wickenburg, Mr. Boetto worked in mining, hauling water from the town to the Belmont Mine, 28 miles from Wickenburg.  He purchased the Wickenburg-Boetto House and the included 17 acres for $2500 in 1913.  He and his wife had one son, Anthony (Tony), who was born in 1906.  When John Boetto retired from mining, he raised chickens and bees.  He also constructed a number of additions to the Wickenburg-Boetto House.  He held the position of the town’s first Fire Chief, with the honor of holding Badge Number One.  John Boetto died of a heart attack on February 7, 1957 at the age of 83.

Mary Boetto was also a civic leader in Wickenburg.  Both Mary and Laurel Boetto (Tony’s Wife) were members of the local “Rebeccas.”  The Rebecca Lodges grew out of the interest of women in participation in the IOOF (Independent Order of Odd Fellows) activities.  The name Rebecca is derived from the Old Testament where Rebecca draws water from the well.  She is considered to be the protectress of the indispensable water and by that symbolically of life.  She is the symbol of readiness to help and decisiveness.  The Rebeccas did civic work in the community and provided assistance to their members in need.  Mary Boetto died in 1945.

Tony Boetto grew up in Wickenburg and served four years in the Navy as a Chief Petty Officer.  He returned to Wickenburg to teach industrial arts in the local high school.  He joined the volunteer fire department in 1946 and served as Chief from 1952 until his untimely death in 1955.  Laurel Boetto, Tony’s wife, inherited the Wickenburg-Boetto House in 1957, upon John Boetto’s death.  She sold the property to the City of Wickenburg in 2000.  As long time residents of Wickenburg, they were well known in the community, very involved in civic activities, and typical of the mining families of Wickenburg.

Henry Wickenburg was born in Holsterhausen, Essen, Germany on November 21, 1819.  His family was involved in both farming and mining.  He made his way to Arizona in 1862 after arriving in California for the Gold Rush via travel around Cape Horn, working on a freighter out of New York.  With his mining background, it was not surprising that Henry Wickenburg was drawn to the Arizona Territory.  Although he founded the Vulture Mine in 1863, he did not have the resources to continue to extract the gold, so he sold the mine (or was swindled out of it, as some reports say) four years later.  He then became a farmer.  He grew apples, peaches, barley, wheat and grapes.  He also kept a large herd of goats and supplied milk to the town.  In 1879, he applied for a land patent and received a 160-acre plot of land, which became a fair size portion of downtown Wickenburg near the Hassayampa Bridge.

His farm on the Hassayampa River was destroyed by floodwaters when the Walnut Grove dam broke in 1890.  He had a general store, then sold it and built an adobe home on his ranch land (at 411 South Tegner St, which is still standing.)  Later he finally built the Wickenburg-Boetto House on South Washington Street in 1903.  He befriended Mr. & Mrs. W.S. Holland in his later years and his property was deeded to Mrs. Holland, although he reserved exclusive right to sell town lots during his lifetime and execute his own affairs.  Henry Wickenburg lived in Wickenburg from the time of the discovery of the Vulture Mine until his death (believed to be by his own hand from a gun shot) on May 14, 1905.  Unfortunately he would not live to see the organization of the town’s first government when it was incorporated in 1909.  He remained a life long bachelor and was known as a gruff, but friendly and generous man who enjoyed his role as old-timer.

The Wickenburg-Boetto House was built in 1903 by Henry Wickenburg, namesake of the Town of Wickenburg.  Located at 225 South Washington Street, the original construction was a 3-room adobe house heated by wood stoves.  Later additions of porches, a kitchen and a bathroom were completed (specific dates of additions are unknown, but the 1931 Sanborn Fire Map shows all additions in place).  The house is named after Henry Wickenburg, and for John Boetto, who purchased the property in 1913.  Mr. Boetto, and his family owned the property the longest, over 80 years, until it was acquired by the City of Wickenburg in 2000.

1879      Property deed signed by U.S. President Rutherford B. Hayes granting 160 acres of land to Henry Wickenburg, some of which becomes the main part of the Town of Wickenburg and includes the site of the Wickenburg-Boetto House, home of Henry Wickenburg from 1903-1905.

1903      Henry Wickenburg constructed the original 3-room adobe structure now known as the Wickenburg-Boetto House.

1903      Mr. & Mrs. W.S. Holland inherit the house and property.  Mrs. Holland is listed as the heir to his estate on Henry Wickenburg’s Warranty Deed.

1905      On May 14th Henry Wickenburg was found dead near the house (believed to be due to a self-inflicted gunshot).

1909      After Mr. & Mrs. Holland divorce, the land is deeded to Helene Holland (Streitz) and her new husband Gus A. Streitz.

1912      Gus & Helene Streitz sell the house to George Ward and Arthur Greenleaf.

1913      The House is sold to John Boetto by Arthur and Virginia Greenleaf.

1913-1931      Additions were constructed onto the original 3-room adobe house, although the dates of these additions are unknown.  They include a kitchen at the southeast corner of the house (which may have originally been a porch); enclosure of the porch at the northeast corner; and a porch and bathroom at the northwest corner.  The 1931 Sanborn Fire Map shows the entire structure with all additions.

1945      Mrs. John (Mary) Boetto died in the Wickenburg-Boetto House.

1955      Anthony (Tony) Boetto, the only child of John & Mary Boetto, died on October 9, 1955.

1956      Laurel B. (Bonnie) Boetto, wife of Anthony Boetto, obtains half ownership in the Wickenburg-Boetto house upon Anthony’s death.

1957      John Boetto died on February 8, 1957.  The Wickenburg-Boetto House remains in the family through transfer to Laurel Boetto, upon John Boetto’s death.  The property includes the house at 225 South Washington Street on .86 acres of land.

2000      A Representative for Laurel Boetto sells the Wickenburg-Boetto House to the Town of Wickenburg.

2006      The Town of Wickenburg sells the Wickenburg-Boetto House to the Wickenburg Historical Preservation Society.