Mohawk Valley Odds And Ends

  There is a town on Old U.S. Highway 80, in Yuma County, called Tacna. According to "The Old U.S. 80 Highway Traveler's Guide" by Eric J. Finley, the town's name came from Tachnapolis, a 17th century Greek priest who came to Arizona after spending time in California to spend his dying days with the local Indians. This name was given to the town, which was previously called Antelope Hill, by Max Noah. At least that is the story that Max Noah told people. I don't know if the story is true or not. Sounds like the author of "Old U.S. 80 Highway Traveler's guide" has his doubts, too.  A Greek priest named Tachnapolis did exist, however.
  Five miles west of Tacna is a ghost town called Noah. Noah, or what's left of it, is halfway between Tacna and Wellton. Wellton is the biggest town in Yuma County that is outside of the Yuma area, where most of the population lives. Wellton has about 2,000 people. 
  There isn't much left of Noah, just an abandoned gas station, some scattered debris from long gone buildings, and Antelope High School. That's right, a high school located in a ghost town. Antelope High School has about 400 students and it draws from a huge area of Yuma County east of the Gila Mountains, which are also called the Fortuna Mountains(my preferred name for the mountain range). The school district goes all the way to the boundary with Maricopa County east of Dateland. I am not sure how far north the school district goes, but it goes south all the way to the Mexican border.
Antelope High School is located in a rural area. In fact there is farmland all around the campus. The high school was named after nearby Antelope Hill. The school's mascot is the Rams. The abandoned gas station on Old Highway 80 that I just mentioned is always painted in Antelope High School's colors (red, white and blue). From what I have been told, the senior class of Antelope High School repaints the abandoned gas station with a different theme every year. I am assuming that theme is the Homecoming theme. If that is true, it is an interesting use of an abandoned gas station. It certainly appears to be true because every time I have gone through that area, the gas station was painted with a different theme.
  At the end of this 33 mile stretch of Old U.S. Highway 80 is a tiny town called Ligurta. "Ligurta" maybe a corruption of "lagarto," which is Spanish for lizard. Ligurta only has about 25 people. It is mostly an RV park these days. The RV park gets bigger, much bigger, in the winter months when "snowbirds," or winter visitors from cold northern states and Canada, converge on this area to take advantage of the balmy winter weather.