How Cave Creek, Arizona Got Its Name: The Cave, the Gold and the Ranches

Cave Creek, Arizona got its name from a large cave the U.S. Army noted along the bank of the creek in the 1860s. The creek gave its name to the mining camp, ranch country and, in 1986, the town that grew up around it in the foothills north of Phoenix.

Every time I drive up Cave Creek Road with a buyer, someone asks, "So where's the cave?" Here is the story as local historians tell it.

The Cave Behind the Name

The Carefree/Cave Creek Chamber of Commerce and the Desert Foothills Land Trust both trace the name to a big, eroded cave along the creek bank. The Land Trust describes it as more of a band shell shaped cavern than a deep tunnel, roughly sixty feet wide, high and deep. According to the Land Trust, the Army was already calling the stream Cave Creek by 1866.

There is a second theory you may hear around town. An early miner named Edward G. Cave, known as "Old Rackensack," lived in the area, and the Chamber's timeline mentions him as a possible namesake. The Land Trust points out that he came to Arizona in the 1870s, after the Army was already using the name, so most local historians favor the cave.

Long Before the Town: Hohokam and Apache Country

People lived along this creek for centuries before any map was drawn. The Hohokam farmed the area, and the land now inside Spur Cross Ranch Conservation Area holds nearly 90 archaeological sites tied to them, according to a 2019 azfamily.com history piece. Later, the Cave Creek Museum notes, Tonto Apache and Yavapai people moved through these hills, and the area was considered Apache territory into the 1870s.

Soldiers, a Trail and the First Settlers

Camp McDowell was built in 1865, about eighteen miles from the future town of Cave Creek. Around 1870, Col. George Stoneman and his troops worked a route west through the desert foothills, part of a network of supply roads meant to link Fort McDowell with Fort Whipple near Prescott. That military trail is a big reason travelers, and later settlers, found their way to the creek.

By 1877, Jeriah and Amanda Wood had settled along the creek and opened Cave Creek Station, a stop where travelers and prospectors could rest and buy supplies. By 1886 the little community had a one-room schoolhouse.

Gold in the Hills

In 1873, prospectors found gold, and the Cave Creek Mining District was set up to cover about 144 square miles. The first recorded gold mine was the Continental, and others followed with names like Gold Hill, Mormon Girl, Maricopa and Phoenix. The Cave Creek Museum says the gold strike carried the area for about 20 years.

The best known of the later mines was the Golden Reef on Continental Mountain. When it closed, its stamp mill and tramway car were donated to the Cave Creek Museum. Volunteers restored the mill to working order, so visitors can see how ore was actually crushed.

Cattle, Sheep and Dude Ranches

Ranching grew up alongside the mines. Reddick "Red" Cartwright came west on the Oregon Trail and, with his son, built the Cartwright Ranch into one of the big cattle operations in the desert foothills. It ran for close to a century before it was sold in 1980. James D. Houck built what the museum calls the first commercial sheep shearing station in Arizona, on land now known as the Andora Hills area.

In the 1930s, workers building Bartlett and Horseshoe dams on the Verde River passed through, and the town served as a supply stop. Then came the guest ranch era. Spur Cross opened as a dude ranch in 1928, and others followed. Harold's Cave Creek Corral started as a bar in the mid-1930s. The 1925 Cave Creek Service Station, also from those years, is now on the National Register of Historic Places.

Saving the Story, and the Land

In 1968, a small group of volunteers formed the Cave Creek Historical Society. They opened the Cave Creek Museum in April 1970 at the west base of Black Mountain, on land donated by Frank and Hazel Wright. The grounds now hold the old Good Shepherd of the Hills Episcopal Church, moved there from its first site, along with the Golden Reef stamp mill and a Tubercular Cabin from a 1920 sanitarium, which is on the National Register. The museum is open October through May at 6140 E Skyline Drive.

Residents voted to incorporate as the Town of Cave Creek in 1986. In 2000, the state, Maricopa County and the town teamed up to buy Spur Cross Ranch, about 2,154 acres north of town, and it is now a Maricopa County conservation area. Black Mountain, at 3,398 feet, still sits on the border with Carefree, the neighbor town with its own fun naming story.

What That History Means When You Live There Today

Horse trailers still park on the main drag, and many homes sit on larger lots. My Cave Creek relocation guide covers the basics, or browse Cave Creek homes for sale, and buyers with horses can start with Cave Creek horse properties.

Questions People Ask

Is there really a cave in Cave Creek?
Yes. Local historians describe a large, eroded cavern along the creek bank, about sixty feet wide, high and deep, that the Army noted in the 1860s.

When did Cave Creek become a town?
Cave Creek incorporated in 1986, more than a century after its mining and ranching days began. Carefree, next door, is a separate town.

Can you visit the old gold mining sites?
The easiest way is the Cave Creek Museum, which displays the restored Golden Reef stamp mill and mining exhibits. Spur Cross Ranch Conservation Area also has trails through historic ranch and archaeological land.

Terry Day, REALTOR®, DeLex Realty, 10115 E Bell Rd, Scottsdale, AZ 85260.