Historic Bullhead General Store

Mohave County Davis Camp Park

2251 AZ-68, Bullhead City, AZ 86429

REQUEST FOR INTEREST

Mohave County seeks private entities and organizations with an interest in acquiring for relocation the Historic General Store situated next to the Saint Margaret-Mary Catholic Church at Davis Camp Park.

Historic Perspective

On April 26, 1941, the Davis Dam project was authorized under the provisions of the Reclamation Project Act of 1939. In June of 1942, the government awarded a contract for the construction of Davis Dam and related structures. After work stopped in 1943 due to World War II, it resumed in 1946. At the same time the Bureau of Reclamation built the town Davis Camp to allow for housing of Davis Dam workers. At its peak, Davis Camp consisted of more than 100 homes, a grocery store, gas station, post office, a recreation center with swimming pool, two churches and several service buildings. This includes Saint Margaret-Mary Catholic Church, which was constructed in 1946-1947. With the completion of Davis Dam in 1953, the use of Davis Camp began to diminish and change. In the 1970’s, Davis Camp again witnessed change as many of the Davis Dam employees chose to purchase homes in new neighborhoods along the Colorado River in Bullhead City. The use of Davis Camp for housing ended in 1982 when the Federal Government declared Davis Camp to be surplus property. That same year, the Mohave County, Bureau of Reclamation, National Park Service and the Arizona State Parks Board, began the process of turning Davis Camp into a regional park.

Historic Bullhead General Store

In the 1980s, Saint Margaret-Mary Catholic Church became the Colorado River Museum. The museum moved an old cabin to the property and placed it next to the church for display purposes. The building was originally from Oatman, a mining town in the Black Mountains. The cabin was moved from Oatman in the 1920s or 1930s to Bullhead City where it served as a post office and general store before relocation to the museum grounds. According to a 2010 Historic Building Assessment of Davis Camp by Arizona Preservation Consultants, the original cabin is not eligible for the National Register of Historic Places because it was moved during the modern period and creates a false sense of history in its present setting.