Account of the Travels of John Winger and Family
Datec.1900
MediumPaper
Dimensions11 x 8 1/2 in. (27.9 x 21.6 cm)
ClassificationsDocumentary Artifact
Catalog number2011.19.1
DescriptionThis letter tells of John Winger, wife Margaret, and children arriving by covered wagon in Prescott September 18th, 1877 having left Arkansas City, Kansas three months prior. They came by way of Ft. Wingate, followed down Mogollon Mts. to Beaver Head and to Prescott by way of Camp Verde. After a winter in Prescott, Winger was called to the Methodist Church in Florence. She describes the difficult journey down Black Canyon Road from Bradshaw Mountains to Salt River Valley. Winger said the view was of "Wheat and barley coming into head, alfalfa six to eight inches high, garden vegetables growing luxuriantly". One day later they were in Tempe, then known as Hayden's Ferry. At that time, the mill, a store, Hayden's home, 2 small houses and a one-room school was all it consisted of. With no wells, water came from the canals. During the next four years he built the Methodist Church in Globe, took the first Apache Indian census, and escaped from Fort San Carlos to Tucson amidst the Geronimo outbreak in 1881. They went back to Tempe in 1882 to make a permanent home and Mr. Winger accepted a position in the Hayden Store.
With no protestant churches in the area, a Sunday school was organized by Neil Petersen, Bill Lewis, A.J. Peters, and Captain Harris, along with the Hayden and Winger families. The Sunday school flourished and later a Literary Society and Good Tempean Lodge was established and served as a social center for many years.
All of the four Winger children grew up in Tempe, three attended the normal school, and 2 became teachers.
Status
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