Jail Tree

Easy parking, wakes down an alley. There was a homeless man with some younger looking kids hanging around. Felt okay.

A pretty cool piece of weird Arizona history. It’s just a mile of two off the highway so if you are interested in history it’s worth a stop if you are on your way to Vegas.

What a lovely little surprise to find just next door to an ice cream shop in Wickenburg, AZ. Not knowing much about the town at all, I appreciated this little hidden gem as it helped me learn more about the town and its rough Wild West history. If you’re driving through the area, definitely stop through and check out this little square where prisoners used to be on display for punishment before they had an official jail in town.

In the Old West, with towns sprouting up all over, Wickenburg made due without a prison by chaining outlaws to the 100-​year-​old mesquite tree in the center of town.
A hundred years later, the Jail Tree still stands as one of the city’s biggest landmarks. Sandwiches have been named for it in the local cafes, and signs all around town direct visitors right to it. Today the tree has a statue of a downtrodden outlaw chained to a safe beside the tree. A green button beside him, beckoning you to push it, sets off a voice recording explaining the history of the tree.
According to local legend, on a day when there were so many men restrained to the tree the authorities had to chain one to a large log and left them all there for hours, days even. Eventually the log-​bound outlaw got fed up waiting to be tried, picked up his anchor, and headed into the nearest saloon with it.
While jaded tourists might look on unimpressed, it’s worth stopping by and checking out this off-​beat piece of American history while stretching your legs during a long trip down the 60.