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Monday, June 15, 2015

Buckey Owens & the Grand Canyon

William Owen "Buckey" O'Neill

Twenty-five years after my first visit to the Grand Canyon and my husband's declaration made on the way home, "Next year, we need to come back and take the train up to the Grand Canyon," we finally made it. This train ride introduced me to William Owen "Buckey" O'Neill, the "mover and shaker" behind getting this rail line built between Williams and the South Rim of the Grand Canyon.

Buckey O'Neill cabin today
William Owen O'Neill was born on February 2, 1860 in Missouri. During the Civil War, his father, John, served as a captain in the 116th Pennsylvania Volunteers of the Irish Brigade and was severely wounded at the Battle of Fredericksburg.

Buckey O'Neill moved out west in 1879 at the age of 19 and settled in Tombstone, Arizona during the era of the Earp brothers and the Clanton-McLaury Gang. It is claimed Mr. O'Neill earned his nickname "Buckey" for his ability to buck the odds in the card game of faro. There he started a career as a journalist when he joined the Tombstone Epitaph which was a pro-Earp newspaper. Although he might have reported on it, he did not stay in Tombstone long after the O.K. Corral shoot-out.
Buckey O'Neill cabin today

Buckey next went to Prescott, Arizona in the spring of 1882 where he continued his career in journalism and founded his own newspaper about the livestock industry, the Hoof and Horn. he also became captain of the Prescott Grays in 1886, the local unit of the Arizona Militia. In April of 1886, he married Pauline Schindler. They had a son who died shortly after being born prematurely.

In 1888, while serving as a judge for Yavapai County, he was elected as the county sheriff. He was noted as being part of a four man posse that chased four masked robbers of the Atlantic and Pacific Railroad. The posse captured the four men who eventually were convicted and sent to the prison in Yuma. The only casualty was O'Neill's horse. After his term as sheriff was up, Buckey O'Neill was unanimously elected as the mayor of Prescott.
Photo of plaque in front of Buckey O'Neill Cabin, Grand Canyon Village

In 1890 he built a cabin for himself in the small Grand Canyon Village. Today it is part of the Bright Angle Lodge, functioning as a two room suite for guests. It has the distinction of being the oldest continuously standing structure on the South Rim. 

Buckey O'Neill owned several mining claims along the South Rim of the Grand Canyon. Although his claims promised wealth, because of the distance and terrain involved, he did not have a cost-effective way to transport the ore out of the area. For five years he lobbied for funding to build a rail system to connect the South Rim with the rest of Arizona. It was his vision of building a railroad to accomplish this that led to the September 17, 1901 completion of the first steam engine train between Williams, Arizona and Grand Canyon Village to carry passengers and supplies.

Engine GCR No. 29 purchased 1989 when service restarted.
The Railway revolutionized the Canyon by making the Grand Canyon Railway accessible to the general public. It was part of the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railway Company. It started with two scheduled arrivals each day at the South Rim, plus special trains might be added to the schedule. The train ran until 1968 when it shut down due to more people visiting the Grand Canyon by automobile. However, twenty years later, the train Buckey O'Neill envisioned and set in motion was started up again and offers daily service between the two communities.


Unfortunately, Buckey O'Neill did not live long enough to see the completion of his dream for the railway. In 1898, war broke out between the United States and Spain. O'Neill joined the Rough Riders organized by Teddy Roosevelt. He became Captain of Troop A, which he did his best to organize into a regiment of Arizona cowboys. He died on July 1, 1898, one day before the charge on San Juan Hill. He was buried in Arlington Cemetery.
Part of plaque outside Buckey O'Neill Cabin, Grand Canyon Village



ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

 Zina Abbott is the pen name used by Robyn Echols for her historical novels. Her novel, Family Secrets, was published by Fire Star Press in October 2014 and her novelette, A Christmas Promise, was published by Prairie Rose Publications in November 2014. The first two novellas in the Eastern Sierra Brides 1884 series, Big Meadows Valentine and A Resurrected Heart, are now available.
The author currently lives with her husband in California near the “Gateway to Yosemite.” She enjoys family history and any kind of history. When she is not piecing together novel plots, she pieces together quilt blocks.

Please visit the Zina Abbott’s Amazon Author Page by clicking HERE.


 






12 comments:

  1. Fascinating! Thank you for sharing the story. My kind of history. Doris

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    1. I found it interesting, too. Doris.It seems like he was quite the adventurer.

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  2. I never heard of "Bucky" O'Neil until now. Can't imagine why since he did just about everything. I also did not know there was a train that went along the Grand Canyon. I've never been on a train, but they sound like great fun--better than trying to drive and see everything while you fight traffic and try not to get lost. Just sit in comfort and look out the window. Wonderful. What a shame he didn't get to see his dream become a reality. How exactly, did he die? Did his only child die, or did he have more?
    Great blog, Robyn. I really liked reading about Bucky.

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    1. Sarah, the train does not go along the rim. It goes from Williams, a small town along Hwy 40 north to Grand Canyon Village which is right along the rim. According to what I read, Buckeye must have been a bit of an egotist. He believed in leading his troops from the front even though they were aware of Spanish snipers and the realization that men in officer's uniforms were targets. He walked around in the open among his men the night before the Battle of San Juan Hill and a sniper bullet got him in the head.

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  3. Robyn,

    The Grand Canyon remains on my list of places to visit, and reading your post reminds me that I really need to get out of "armchair research mode" and get into "drive there and see it for myself mode". I've flown over the Grand Canyon (commercial airline) a few times, but from that height, it's not really much to see or enjoy. Maybe someday I'll make it there. :-) Thanks for sharing your trip experiences.

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    1. Kaye, it was great. Even though it was a bit hazy, it was much clearer than 25 years ago when the smog blown in from Los Angeles filled the canyon. There are several historical points of interest, just in the Village. Close by are three national parks featuring Sinagua Indian ruins.

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  4. Wonderful post, Robyn!
    I've never taken the train since we always drive to the canyon. One of these days...Take care. So glad you had a nice trip to Arizona.

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    1. The train was nice. We had my daughter and two grandsons in tow, and this was their first train ride as well as their first trip to the Grand Canyon. Next time I think we'll drive.

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  5. Hello Robyn. I've never been to the Grand Canyon, that I can recall anyway. When I was seven my dad drove us through the desert in Arizona, all I can remember is that there was lots of sand and it was really hot. I don't know if we went by the Grand Canyon on that trip. So sad Bucky didn't live to see his vision of a railroad come to true. Seems like that happens a lot throughout history. But it seems in the end if its meant to be, someone else grabs a hold of a piece of the dream and makes it happen.

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    1. Barb, I always think of Arizona and sand and cactus in the same thought. That is further south. Williams and Flagstaff are about 7,000 feet elevation with pine trees and cooler weather. I could happily live there.

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  6. Thanks for posting this. It was fascinating. I've only visited the Grand Canyon once and I didn't take the train. Now I wish I had. Maybe I'll get to go again sometime.

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    1. I enjoyed it, Agnes. The train was a good adventure, especially if you want a break from driving. Go back to the Canyon if you can. For us, after 25 years, it was like a new adventure. Last time I was more focused on Indian ruins, this time early western history.

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