Historical Kingman

This is the oldest living thing in Kingman. This mesquite tree is over 200 years old. The  branches are held up by braces.

Bonelli House, built in 1915.  He had electricity in the house long before anyone else.

Can't remember the year of this clock,  but besides telling the time, it  also tells the day, month and year.

Notice the hinges on the step that the guide is standing on. It opens up and lets in cold air from under the house. It was their air conditioning. The husband had all sorts of innovations  in the house.

The courthouse was built in 1915 for $80,000.  In my blog about Oatman, I put in a picture of a hallway that led to the honeymoon suite of Clark Garble and Carol Lombard. This is the courthouse where they were married. Hard to imagine. You would have thought they would have been married in Los Angeles, in front of all their friends.

Back in the day, women had to make everything in the household. Here is the ingredients for  lye soap from the Bonelli House. Just had to include it.

Soap:  5 lbs of grease (any waste fat)

1 can lye, dissolved in water (use enamel or iron pot only)

1/2 cup borax

1/2 cup ammonia

I won't put in the directions, but looking at it certainly makes me glad I live now, not back then. Can't imagine using lye, ammonia and borax on your skin