Welcome back Earthlings, to another episode
of The Amateur Space Archaeologist.
I'm your host, Anthony Steinhart.
This episode will focus on the controversial
Topock Maze, also known as the Mystic Maze
in Needles, California.
First, a little bit about the area where the
maze is located, Needles, California.
Needles sits just west of the Colorado River
at the tri-state crossroads of California,
Arizona and Nevada.
The city was named for the nearby pinnacle
mountain peaks ranging between 1200 and 1600
feet above sea level, just across the Colorado
River in Arizona.
Needles was established as a location to house
railroad workers during the construction of
the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway.
The city was founded in 1883
and eventually incorporated on October 30th, 1913 as a California Charter City.
The city grew into the largest stop on the
Colorado River north of Yuma, Arizona
as it was the gateway into the Southern California
for people traveling out west.
And in 1926 with the construction of the historic
U.S. Route 66, even more travelers would make
their pit stop in Needles, filling up on gas
and food, thus causing the little desert town
to thrive.
Needles even makes an appearance in John Steinbeck's
'Grapes of Wrath' as the Joad family crosses
from Arizona into California. The city was
also home to Charles Schulz, the creator of
the 'Peanuts' comic strip, who lived there
as a boy.
However, the city's heyday is long behind
it and has been in decline in recent years,
with its decline accelerating since the Great
Recession of 2008.
Many of the city's businesses have closed
down and newer businesses have chosen to open
up in nearby Bullhead City, Arizona due to
their lower corporate taxes and building regulations
than would be found in California.
Being known for extreme heat during the summer
months doesn't help either, as the city routinely
reaches highs of 120 degrees Fahrenheit and
is frequently reported by the National Oceanic
and Atmosphere Administration as the site
of the highest daily temperature recorded
in the U.S.
But long before western expansion and European
exploration, the Needles area was home to
"First Nation" or Native American people known
as the Mojaves for hundreds, if not thousands
of years.
The Mojaves have long history of using the
land to communicate with other travelers through
the use of petroglyphs and geoglyphs found
throughout the Colorado River region.
Which brings us to the controversial Mystic
Maze. There are varying accounts about the
history of the maze and its purpose.
Was the so-called maze a part of a larger spiritual
complex that the Mojaves used?
Or perhaps the maze is the result of the nearby railway
construction in more modern times?
Unfortunately, we may never know, but here is what has been said about the Mystic Maze.
According to some stories told by the Mojaves,
the maze had existed before there arrival
on the land and was made by the "Old Ones."
However, the maze is not a true maze with
an entrance and exit point.
Instead the site is a series of windrows placed in a geometric pattern.
Some evidence suggests that the maze was once
part of a group of nearby geoglyphs.
Unfortunately, during the construction of the railroad in
the 1880s, tracks were laid right through
the maze, not only causing destruction to
the maze, but also destroying a nearby geoglyph
of a human figure holding a snake.
Before the intrusion of the railway through
the Mojave territory, the maze had various
spiritual uses for the Mojave people. One
such use was the belief that the maze was
a spiritual portal to the next life, where
bad souls could get lost
and good souls could find their way and complete the maze to crossover to the afterlife.
Another use, according to research by archaeologist
Albert H. Schroeder, the "Mojave used to put
some of their men in the center of the area
of alignment and then left them to find their
way out of the maze without crossing the gravel
alignments. By doing this they would leave
the devil behind them."
Other stories tell of warriors returning from
battle and would have to run through the maze,
leaving any bad spirits behind.
And similarly, an account in 1908 by American
photographer Edward Curtis, said it was believed
"that by running in and out through one of these
immense labyrinths, a person haunted by a
ghost would confuse the spirit and leave it
behind."
Perhaps these stories about the maze and its
ability for spiritual cleansing are true.
However, there are very different accounts
of the maze's origins and use, including one
in 1891 by Chief Engineer Samuel M. Rowe of
the Atlantic and Pacific Railroad who oversaw
the construction of the nearby Red Rock Cantilever Bridge.
Mr. Rowe stated the maze was "created during the construction of the railway
in the 1880s by indigenous people hired by construction contractors."
The men would rake up gravel
and use a Buck Scraper on nearby mesa terraces,
then transport the gravel to the site where
the Red Rock Cantilever Bridge was under construction
for use in the caisson work.
The California Department of Public Works
also documented interviews with two Mojave witnesses.
One of which was Mr. Hiram McCord's account
of knowing eight Mojaves being hired to rake
gravel near the bridge.
And the other account was from a Mojave elder,
Charlie Hamilton, whose original name before
the United States exerted its cultural influence
on his tribe, was Auva halyevatch.
Mr. Hamilton was the oldest of the Maha Clan and for 50
years a tribal witness and advisor.
He stated he actually saw "the rocks being raked by
eight Mojaves and the he rode on the wagons
that hauled the rocks to the bridge site."
As time passes, the truth behind the Topock
Maze may never come to light.
What is interesting to note is that a campaign
to save the maze from further destruction
had to do with preserving it as a roadside
attraction by Congressman William "Brother
Bill" Kettner for the upcoming Panama-California
Exposition of 1915 and 1916 in San Diego, California.
The promoters of the event had hoped to encourage
people traveling from the east to come to
California on the National Old Trails Road,
which was eventually replaced by Route 66
and happened to pass right through the maze.
The maze had become an important political
and economical attraction regardless of the
reality of its development.
However, the pursuit of trying to establish
the Topock Maze as a National Monument started
in 1916, when C. F. Hauke, the Chief Clerk
of the Office of Indian Affairs, called for
the maze to be a National Monument.
Further inspection by the General Land Office's
Mineral Inspector, H. W. MacFerren,
felt the maze was not of national interest.
Also complicating the matter was that the
maze was located on railroad land
and could not be established as a National Monument
by Presidential Proclamation.
In 1932, Yellowstone National Park Superintendent
Roger Toll, declared the site of "considerable
archaeological importance," but it was a "feature
of importance to the State of California,
not of national interest sufficient to warrant
its consideration as a National Monument."
It wouldn't be until 1978 when the Topock
Maze would finally be listed on the National
Register of Historic Places.
Whether or not the maze is of symbolic or
ritual significance to the Mojave people,
the area surrounding the maze clearly is.
The maze itself has been a valuable roadside
attraction for over a hundred years
and the controversy over its age, origin and function
add to the importance of the preservation
of the site.
Thanks for watching another episode of The
Amateur Space Archaeologist.
I hope I've inspired the citizen scientist inside of you to explore the world around you.
And don't forget to subscribe to the channel.
