Beale Wagon Road

United States Arizona  Beale Wagon Road



History
The Beale Wagon Road is named after the surveyor and superintendent of construction Edward Fitzgerald "Ned" Beale, (4 February 1822 - 22 April 1893) who was commissioned to build a wagon road from Fort Smith, Arkansas to Los Angeles, California. The Atlantic and Pacific Railroad and latter, U.S. Highway 66 closely follow the route of the Beale Wagon Road. The modern-day Interstate 40 generally follows the route, although the wagon road is usually slightly north and closer to the mountains and hills.

The complete report of the construction of the road is contained in: Beale, Edward Fitzgerald. Wagon Road, Fort Smith to Colorado River. Washington, D.C.: s.n, 1860. eBook available from the Hathi Trust

The Beale expedition is notable in that it used camels to carry supplies. As part of the expedition's transportation needs, Beale acquired 25 camels, imported from Tunis, as pack animals. The Army hired a camel driver named Hi Jolly to work with the camels. Hi Jolly is buried in Quartzite, Arizona. See Hi Jolly

The Beale Wagon Road is also significant as the route of early immigration to Arizona from Utah by the pioneers of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.