A tranquil oasis in Arizona’s picturesque Sonoran Desert, Castle Hot Springs has long offered its guests a wealth of thrilling outdoor experiences to enjoy. Central to those activities has been one of the most iconic geological fixtures in the desert’s northern environs—the surrounding Bradshaw Mountains. Named in honor of frontiersman William D. Bradshaw, the mountain range extends for some 40 miles on its north-south axis. Perhaps its most defining feature is its towering peaks, such as Mount Tritle, Mount Davis, and Mount Union. (Mount Union is the range’s largest mountaintop with an elevation measuring over 7,900 feet.) However, the Bradshaw Mountains also possess a fascinating human history that traces back millennia. While many Native American tribes inhabited the mountains for thousands of years, the most well-known were the Yavapai—specifically a subgroup referred to as the “Guwevkabaya.” The Yavapai lived throughout the region as hunter-gatherers, traversing the rugged mountain passes for wild game like deer, rabbit, and quail. They also formed fortified villages that cultivated a wide variety of crops, ranging from lamb’s quarters to saguaro fruits. Perhaps the most interesting economic endeavor that the Yavapai pursued was mining. Indeed, archeological evidence has revealed that the Yavapai discovered extensive copper deposits throughout the Bradshaw Mountains and fashioned ways to extract it from the earth.

The Yavapai thus succeeded in establishing a rich society in the heart of the Bradshaw Mountains that lasted until the arrival of the first European American settlers during the mid-19th century. Settlement by the settlers remained sparse at first, as most people who migrated through the range intended to reach the more populated California coastline miles away. But one wagon train managed to discover gold on their trek, setting off a significant population boom that continued for decades. Many of those pioneers were enterprising prospectors who were more interested in making a quick fortune mining rather than settling down permanently. (Among those early prospectors was the namesake of the mountain range, William D. Bradshaw.) It was soon common to see countless prospectors scattered across the Bradshaw Mountains, doing everything they could to find the next major lode of ore. So many prospectors had eventually reached the area that a network of some 40 diminutive yet prosperous mining towns had come to dot the landscape in just a few years. The mines themselves proved to be incredibly successful, too, with the largest one—Crowned King—collecting some $2-million worth of minerals over its lifetime. Nevertheless, the extensive land surveying gradually created tension between the Euro-American settlers and the local Yavapai, leading to armed conflict throughout the 1860s and 1870s. The Yavapai, in turn, lost the struggle and were ultimately confined to reservations north of the mountain range. (The Yavapai have continued to live in the area, where their descendants have endeavored to keep their legacy alive.)

Mining nonetheless remained the preeminent industry within the Bradshaw Mountains, providing an important source of employment for decades. However, the mines began to close permanently by the beginning of the 20th century as the price for rare metals became very unstable. Most of the small mining communities transformed into ghost towns in consequence, with the remaining residents turning to ranching and other agricultural endeavors instead. The federal government had also begun enforcing land conservation policies, which ultimately designated portions of the Bradshaw Mountains as a part of the 1.25-million-acre Prescott National Forest in 1908. Amazingly, the range’s pastoral character has managed to endure ever since, enabling the region to emerge as a renowned holiday destination. Prescott National Forest, in particular, has become a favorite place to explore due to its 950 miles of beautiful scenic trails. Furthermore, the location is host to many fantastic recreational hobbies, including camping, fishing, rock climbing, and general sightseeing. Guests do not have to drive far from Castle Hot Springs to enjoy the mountains' natural beauty either, as they can experience the landscape just beyond its front door. In fact, the resort offers direct access to five peaceful hiking trails in the Bradshaw Mountains: Agave Trail, Castle Peak Trial, Chocolate Drop Trail, Salvation Peak Trail, and Yavapai Trail. Guests will discover several exciting natural wonders when journeying along the nearly nine miles of trail pathways, too, such as the famous Wells Fargo Cave and Crater Canyon.

Castle Hot Springs today largely displays a reconstructed version of its original architectural style, which can best be described as “eclectic.” Dating to the mid-19th and early 20th centuries, historians today consider “eclecticism” to be part of a much larger movement to fuse together a variety of historical designs. Earlier in the 1800s, architects—particularly those in Europe—decided to rely upon their own loose interpretations of historical architecture whenever they attempted to replicate it. Such a practice appeared within such styles as Gothic Revival, Italianate, and Second Empire architecture. But at the height of the Gilded Age, those architects decided to use historic architecture more literally when developing a building. A few architects went a step further by combining certain historical styles together to achieve something uniquely beautiful. In some cases, those individuals felt inspired to add a new historical form onto a building that they were renovating—just like The Mansion at Ocean Edge. Ultimately, the architects felt that joining such architectural forms together would give them a new avenue of expression that they otherwise did not have at the time. They also believed that they had stayed true to the earlier forms, so long as their designs perfectly replicated whatever it was they wanted to mimic.  

In Europe, this approach first appeared as a rehash of the Gothic Revival style known as “Collegiate Gothic.” The European architects then used such a mentality to influence the unfolding philosophies of the Beaux-Arts school of design and the emerging Renaissance Revival style. Many architects in America followed suit, the most notable of which were Richard Morris Hunt and Charles Follen McKim. The American architects who embraced “eclecticism” were at first interested in the country’s colonial architecture. Much of the desire to return to the time period was born from the revived interest in American culture brought on by the Centennial Exposition of 1876. Pride in preserving the nation’s heritage inspired the architects to perfect the design principles of their colonial forefathers in new and intriguing ways. This interest gradually splintered into other revival styles, though, like Spanish Colonial and Tudor Revival. Some Americans even infused the approach with the popular Beaux-Arts aesthetics of France, such as Hunt and McKim. Yet, the birth of Modernism in the 1920s and 1930s eventually ended the worldwide love affair with “eclecticism,” for architects throughout the West became more enchanted with the ideas of modernity, technology, and progress.

Zane Grey, author best remembered for his novel Riders of the Purple Sage

Maxfield Parrish, painter and illustrator best remembered for his saturated hues and neoclassical imagery

Cecil B. DeMille, director known for filming movies like The Ten Commandments, The Greatest Show on Earth, and Samson and Delilah

Nathan Oakes Murphy, 10th and 14th Governor of Arizona Territory (1892 – 1893; 1898 – 1902)

Richard Elihu Sloan, 17th Governor of Arizona Territory (1909 – 1912)

Theodore Roosevelt, 26th President of the United States (1901 – 1909)

John F. Kennedy, 35th President of the United States (1961 – 1963)

The Squaw Man (1914)