Swansea was a mining camp from about 1909 until 1924, with a population that may have reached around 700 at one point, but now is a ghost town in the middle of a vast desert about 25 miles from the town of Parker. Mining activity removed gold and copper ore, with copper ore being sent to Swansea, Wales for smelting until a smelter was built on site. The mining company was profitable for only a short time, so the town's existence was doomed.
The roads to Swansea include a poorly maintained paved road, then rough gravel trails through the mountains. Early on I passed a multitude of RVs camping in the desert, a no cost option that's very popular all along Arizona's western territory. In this location, several hundred units were parked, many of them with ATVs for exploring the desert. Since I had no map and limited information about getting to Swansea, I stopped and talked with a couple people camped by the road. No one had any knowledge of it, so I just kept going. Eventually, a sign indicated a spur road went to Swansea, 17 miles away.
Soon after the turn, I came upon a biker who was also going to Swansea. Recently retired, Virgil explained that biking was his passion, as well as exercise.
The road crossed the Central Arizona Project canal, a 336 mile long aquaduct that delivers water to central and southern Arizona. I won't get into the political controversy or other issues related to this fifty year old project. Suffice to say, it has made possible the tremendous population growth in the area it serves.
Desert plants here demonstrate the transition from Mojave Desert to Sonoran Desert. Rather than all the Joshua trees, the plant life now includes saguaro, cholla and ocotillo cacti along with the ubiquitous creosote bush. These seemed surprisingly healthy for such an arid region.
There were also interesting and colorful rock formations, including several arches formed in the conglomerate hills.
After several miles of steep up and down grades through some low mountains, I reached the old town site and began exploring. Most of the remains were stone foundations and partial walls made of adobe covered with smooth stucco.
The best preserved structures were called "workers cottages", thanks to BLM installing tin roofing some years ago. There were 24 rooms in the dormitory style buildings, but may have housed more than one person in each room.
As with all former mine sites, lots of junk metal such as pipes, cans, cable, etc was strewn all about. I noticed a couple old stoves left to rust, as well as old truck bodies.
Numerous mine shafts dotted the area, most were vertical shafts but a few horizontal. BLM has placed screens over all of them to keep people from entering.
After two hours exploring and having my sandwich and granola bar, I was ready to move on to other adventures. That's when Virgil the biker arrived. We talked again, him telling me about having to walk his bike up some of the steep grades. I offered a ride for his return, but he declined, saying he didn't mind walking when necessary. I left him to enjoy Swansea ghost town on his own.
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