Gold was discovered in the Bradshaw Mountains in the 1870's and Crown King sprung up. It has refused to die out to a complete ghost town, but there are still many good remnants of its past. There is still an original school (1904), saloon (& restaurant), and the old cemetary. The cemetary is hard to find (you may have ask a local).
To get to Crown King, see the directions to Cleator. Start in Cleator and continue west on FR 259. Crown King is about 17 miles west up the mountains. It is best to have a high clearance vehicle for the drive from Cleator to Crown King, but it is not absolutely necessary.
In 1863, Capt.Joseph Rutherford Walker built a small fort near present day Prescott. Some of the men from the fort were out exploring and found gold in a nearby stream. Upon exploring further, they found the source iof the gold in the hills around the area. They then moved their settlement to the site of the discovery. It was named Walker, in honor of their captain. A post office was built and opened in 1879. A charcoal kiln was built to turn trees into charcoal to smelt ore.
Mining finally ceased in the 1940's and the post office also closed in 1940. During its busiest times Walker supported 2700 people and had all of the usual buildings and businesses. Today, the pine forest has taken over the area again. Only one unique feature remains, the charcoal kiln, hiding in a thick forest of pine trees again. It is marked by a forestry sign.
To get to Walker, start in Prescott. Take Highway 69 east just to about the edge of town and you will see Walker Road. take a right here (south). Continue for about 12 miles to the forestry sign that marks the kiln. A half mile farther is another forest service sign that tells about Walker. From the kiln sign (on Walker Road) turn east on FR 9266W. At the fork, go left to a parking area. It's a quick walk down a trail from here. Explore around, it's not completely visible until you are close..
