100 YEARS IN THATCHER
1883-1983

A TASTE OF PIONEER HARDSHIPS
OSCAR GEORGE LAYTON
& LULA JANE LEWIS

Oscar George Layton was born in Kaysville, Utah, May 12, 1873; the fourth og seven children born to Christopher Layton and Hannah Maria Septima Sims. In 1880, the family moved to Arizona and settled in Curtis, We came here by team and wagon. The town of Thatcher did not exist, There was not a water hole or shelter of any kind and the Apache Indians had possession of all this land. And we had to protect ourselves and our livestock from the Indians at all times. There was not even a trail into the Graham mountains where we could get logs".

"In 1888, my father, Christopher Layton, entered into a contract with the U.S. government to carry or haul mail from the South Bowie RR station to Ft. Thomas later to Globe. Each day we harnessed 186 horses to do this work. We also carried all passenger and express service, as well
Wells Fargo strong box. We carried on this service for eight years, until the railroad was finished through here.

Those were hectic days in early Arizona and outlaws often held us up. I have personally looked down the barrells of two 45 Colt six-shooters. Since the hold-ups were frequent, Wells Fargo started sending an armed man to protect the strong box. By now, we were using stage coaches." On one trip from Bowie to Ft. Thomas the stage was held-up. The Wells Fargo guard was disarmed and he and Oscar were sent walking 4 1/2 miles to the nearest station, where they obtained horses and rode to Bowie to report the robbery. These robbers were later caught, convicted and sent to San Quinten. Many of the men who held up the stage were sentenced from 10 to 50 years.

The pioneers started clearing this land with shovels and hoes, as they had no other equipment. They also had to dig canals to get the river water to the cleared land. Since they had no engineer, Oscar and others made a three-cornered pig trough, bored a hole in each end, placed two small wooden floates in the trough, then by sighting through the holes, over the floats, they were able to determine the slope to dig the canals. In this way, the pioneers were able to start raising crops and increase their livestock.

The first building put up was called an amusement house. Here, church was held as well as recreational activities. Some had to stand guard against the Indians while others were in church.

" My father, Christopher Layton, requested that the Church give us an academy, They said if he could guarantee 50 students in the school, they build it, if he would pay the teachers. So Christopher donated the land and paid the teachers' salaries for the first academy. He also donated 10 acres where the Thatcher High School is located. He originally gave it for a park, but it was used for the schools. Christopher also built the first creamery in Thatcher and a flour mill.

Oscar filled two missions for the LDS church: One in Mexico and one in the Western States. He served in numerous positions in the Thatcher Ward and was in the Bishopric when the original Thatcher Ward Chapel as built.

Near the end of the Territorial days, when Arizona was soon to become a state, Oscar was asked by the Territorial governor to become a secret agent in cleaning up the corruption in Graham County. Tax money was being embezzled and records improperly kept. Oscar did not want this job, but was finally persuaded to take it. It took many months before this work was completed. A grand jury was then called to investigate the findings. During this time, there were two threats against Mr. Layton's life.

In 1907, Oscar was appointed water boss by the Union Canal Co. He held this job for 12 years. In 1915, he was appointed by the Gila Valley Irrigation District as Tailings Inspector of the Mogollon mining district in New Mexico. He held this position for over 25 years His first trips were made by horseback.

Oscar George Layton and Lula Jane Lewis were married May 24, 1892. They lived in Bowie for a few years, then returned to Thatcher, and built a home on land west of town which Oscar had cleared. Here their 12 children were born. On May 23, 1942, Oscar and Lula celebrat­ed their 50th wedding anniversary.

Oscar's life span went from the covered wagon, ox-team and stage coach to the automobile, airplane, radio, TV and atomic bomb. In Arizona from the arid, unclaimed desert to modern reclamation projects, and rich irrigated farmland. From savages and lawlessness of the frontier to the civilized communities of our present day society. He passed away Nov. 26, 1952.

At age seven, Lula Jane Lewis helped load their household goods into covered wagons. The family was leaving Panguich, Utah and pioneering to Arizona. Lula was born in Panguich, April 22, 1873, and this was the first time she had left it. The travel started in May, 1880. Lula climbed into the wagon with a big gray cat in her arms. The loads were heavy and food scarce, so all pets had to be left at home. Lula went back into the empty house and placed her cat on the warm hearth, who stretched out and went to sleep, not seeing the tear-stained face of the little girl who left him there. The party moved onward, blazing trails and making roads as they went. The cattle were driven in front of the wagons. One of the most dangerous places they crossed was the Kaibab Mountains, then called the Buckskin Mountains. Here the wagons had to be lowered over the cliffs. When the group reached the Colorado River, the women, children and goods were carried across on flat-bottomed rafts The cattle and horses swam across the swirling water of the river.

After reaching Arizona, they were terribly afraid of the Indians, but their party had no trouble with them. At night, they would draw the wagons into a circle and the men lay on the ground watching for Indians.

Lula's family reached Show Low in December, and stayed there until Spring. "I'll never forget the wonderful Christmas we had that year. We had a large Christmas tree which we decorated with pine-burrs and strips of bright colored cloth. We even tore up old petticoats and dresses in order to have more pieces for the tree." The women and girls made rag dolls and cookies and candy. "I'll always remember that doll as it took the place of my cat that I had to leave in Utah."

In March, the party started for Pima. This part of the journey was not so difficult as roads had already been made by earlier pioneers. Their main fear was Indians, but they didn't have any encounters with them.

There were 20 families in Pima, and all lived in stickade houses with mud roofs and dirt floors. The rainy season had just started when Lulu's family arrived. When a storm came, tubs and buckets had to be put all over the house to catch the muddy water. Immediately after a storm, scorpions, tarantulas and other insects would be running all around.

At night and sometimes during the day, Indians and wild cowboys would ride through the street and shoot up the town; stealing anything they could. There was a town well, and the people filled their water barrels from it. One store, the well and corral made up the business section of Pima. At that time, 1880, Safford had only two stores and a number of saloons.

Samuel Lewis, Lula's father had purchased a ranch up the Cotton­wood wash and here he had planted a garden and orchard. He rode a white mule from the stockade house in Pima, to the ranch to guard it at night. One evening, the mule threw him, causing serious injuries so he was unable to reach the ranch. Indians raided the place that night and burned the cabin. Being injured, saved his life that night.

One of the greatest joys of the pioneer's lives were the celebrations held on May Day, July 4th and July 24th. They would decorate a grove of trees by the Cottonwood wash and set large tables under them and everyone had a picnic. In the evening, a band composed of a drum, violins and a few brass instruments would play and everyone danced. It was at one of these celebrations that Lula tasted ice cream for the first time. Some young men had been to the mountains and brought back ice, so those who knew how, made ice cream. It was served at the dance and everyone thought it was the most delicious dessert they had ever tasted.

Samuel Lewis moved his family to Thatcher, which was just being settled. Everyday the children walked through the mesquites to school at Central. The first academy, an adobe building was built in Thatcher, and Lula attended it.

Lula Jane married Oscar George Layton, May 24, 1892. The ceremony took place at the Christopher Layton's home in Thatcher. The young couple made their home in Bowie. Where Oscar was in charge of the Mail route and stagecoach.

After the railroad was completed as far as Ft. Thomas, Oscar and Lula returned to Thatcher They bought a farm and built their home, the area is now called Palmer Lane.

Twelve children were born to this couple: nine of whom lived to maturity and married. The children are: Blanch Udall, Clyde Layton, Delbert, Flossie Allen; Bertha Birdno, Malon Layton, Beatrice Welker, Junius, Jesse Ewing, Rex Lewis, Max and Chester.

Lula passed away in Mesa, November 19, 1946.

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Oscar George Layton

He married Lula Jane Lewis.

Their sons Junius Lewis Layton died in 1923 and Oscar Clyde died in 1946.

Children not listed below: Bertha Layton Birdno, Grace Layton Allen, Beatrice Layton Welker