Wickenburg is known as the Dude Ranch Capital of the World.

In the fall of 1863, German immigrant, Henry Wickenburg, was prospecting for gold in Indian country. In the distance, he saw a white quartz hilltop sparkling in the sun with a black vulture circling ominously above it.  Among the quartz crystals, he found chunks of free gold.  The Vulture Mine, perhaps Arizona’s richest gold mine, was discovered. 

In the early 1870’s, the Vulture Mine closed down due to problems, one of which was a lack of water to process the gold ore.  The fortunes of Wickenburg declined with it.  The population in 1870 was 460, but in 1883, only 50 people remained in town.  From 1875 to 1900, Wickenburg was described as a “ghost town” with over 100 empty homes and businesses.  In 1895, a railroad line from Phoenix to Prescott came through town, and in 1909, Wickenburg incorporated as a city.