D is for Dragoon

Dragoon, Arizona is an unincorporated town located off I-10 in Southeastern Arizona.  For those of you who live here or know the area, it's half way between Wilcox and Benson. The town derives it's name from a U.S. Cavalry unit.

During the Civil War there were two battles fought in this area.  The 1st Battle of Dragoon Springs and the 2nd Battle of Dragoon Springs.  They weren't too creative with the names back then...must have been the heat :)  Arizona was a Confederate territory and the 1st battle was fought between the Confederate soldiers and the Apache Indians, led by war chiefs Cochise and Francisco.  Four Confederate soldiers were killed in this battle and were buried near the Dragoon Springs stage station where they remain to this day.  These are believed to be the Confederate Army's western most battle deaths.  Four days later the 2nd battle was fought and in that instance the Confederate Army won the battle, killing five Apache and recapturing their stolen property.

So, when I started out to write about Dragoon I thought I was only going to be writing about the Civil War battles.  But during my research I came across something much more fascinating.  It's called "The Thing" and it resides along I-10 near Dragoon.  Billboards along I-10 announce it's existence for 200 miles.  247 of them to be exact.  It's one of those quirky little places you find when you're driving in the middle of nowhere.  It costs a dollar to see whatever weird artifacts they have there.  It's part museum part side show and contains items such as: what they claim is a car that belonged to Adolf Hitler and some weird wood carvings of tortured souls by an artist named Ralph Gallagher.  And what exactly is "The Thing"...it's a mummified mother-and-child weird thing in a coffin under glass...yeah weird.  There is a picture of it but I really don't want to post it on my blog, so if you really want to see it, go here.  And if you haven't lost your appetite by the end of the show...they have a Dairy Queen inside for your enjoyment.

So, Dragoon definitely falls into the quirky category and even a Civil War battle couldn't redeem it.

See you tomorrow!