The History of Lake Havasu
Robert P. McCulloch created Lake Havasu, by some small miracle,
to build a city in a small piece of Arizona desert. The miracle
is that he was able to do this without any major highway winding
its way through the would-be city. There was no road connecting
this area to the rest of the country. Not only was he able to do
this but also he was also able to transport the historic London
Bridge almost halfway around the globe and reconstruct it in the
Arizona desert.
McCulloch found the site for Lake Havasu when he flew over the
area in search of a location to test the outboard boat motors he
manufactured. Lake Havasu was created with the construction of
Parker Dam in the 1930's. Until this dam was built, what is now
Lake Havasu was a remote section of the Colorado River that
wound its way through the rough terrain.
However, McCulloch was not the first person to ever venture into
this area that is now Lake Havasu. In the early 1800's mountain
men made their way along that section of the river. They made
their livelihood at trapping beavers in the streams and rivers
in the area. However, the mountain men were forced out of the
area in by the 1830's by the Mohave Indians.
The Spanish also found their way in the Lake Havasu region by
mining up and down the river in the nearby mountains. Other
prospectors followed them. Mining camps began to spring up all
along the rivers in this area. These miners discouraged people
from settling the area saying that the terrain was too rough and
uninhabitable.
With the construction of Parker's Dam in the mid 1930's we see
the appearance of small villages and communities in the Lake
Havasu area. However, floods that caused the shoreline to widen
destroyed most if not all villages and communities.
When McCulloch first discovered Lake Havasu, the military had
already abandoned the area, and the fisherman had reclaimed the
area and the waters. Through shear determination Robert P.
McCulloch transported pieces of the London Bridge to Lake Havasu
and created a beautiful place for residents and tourists alike.