Will C. Barnes

Will C. Barnes in Prescott in 1885.

Will C. Barnes is a larger-than-life enduring Arizona Legend.  If ever there was a Frontier Style Renaissance Man, Will C. Barnes would be in the running for Top Dog in that category.

Barnes wrote without doubt the most credible account of The Canyon Diablo Train Robbery (CDTR).  He was on the scene of the crime a mere 5 hours after it happened.  He and one of his cowboys had already been chasing the train robbers BEFORE they became train robbers!  Barnes account of the incident is a classic narrative published in the April 1930 issue of "The Arizona Review."

We'll cover Barnes report of the incident in a later post.  Today, we'd simply like to tell you about Will and establish his credibility as one of the most keen observers of frontier life and culture.
Will Croft Barnes was born in San Francisco in 1858 and spent his early childhood in a Nevada gold camp.  He came of age in Indiana and moved back to San Francisco to manage a sheet music store, earning $20 a week in gold.  While in San Francisco, Barnes became smitten with tall ships--those majestic sailing icons of the high seas.  He became determined to join what now known as the U.S. Coast Guard but was denied admission.  With renewed enthusiasm and bold self-determination, Barnes joined the U.S. Signal Corps in 1879 and quickly rose to the head of his telegraphy class.  Barnes was mighty proud of his Signal Corps uniform as his 1879 photo shows.After a brief assignment to San Diego, Barnes received orders to ship out to Fort Apache in the wilds of Arizona Territory.  Barnes wound up spending his entire military career at Fort Apache where his earned a Congressional Medal of Honor for his undaunted courage and bravery in action.  After a five-year stint in the Signal Corps, Barnes morphed easily into the role of an Apache County cattle rancher, a career he enjoyed for almost 20 years.

Barnes became heavily involved in Apache County and Territorial politics. His ranching prowess and connections led to a second career as the third highest ranking official with the brand new US Forest Service.  Barnes laid the very foundations of grazing policies that underpin today Forest Service range management philosophies and practices.

After retiring from federal service, Barnes devoted his life to writing about Arizona and Western topics.  He wrote the landmark reference "Arizona Place Names" and it was published by University of Arizona in 1935.  Barnes died in 1936 and was buried in Arlington National Cemetery.  Two years after his passing, an imposing piece of Phoenix Papago Park topography near today's Desert Botanical Gardens was named Will C. Barnes Butte.

In his life Barnes was a trained musician, soldier, telegrapher, cattle rancher, County Supervisor, Territorial Legislator, Chief of Grazing of the Forest Service and Secretary of the US Board of Geographic Place Names and a truly prolific writer.  Barnes enjoyed his life to the fullest and not long before his passing he wrote: "If I go tomorrow it will be the feeling that every day has been a joy and that I am "way ahead of the game."

Here are two reference links:

http://home.ionet.net/~paroales/MOH.htm

https://archives.sharlothallmuseum.org/articles/days-past-articles/1/meteorological-mettle-helps-barnes-to-medal-of-honor

Note that in the above article there is a typo which created an incorrect date of Barnes enlistment in the Signal Corps.  It should be 1879 and not 1897.

Most of the information for this narrative was adapted from:

Barnes, Will C. Apaches & Longhorns. Edited by Frank Lockwood, Ward Ritchie Press, Los Angeles, 1941.

TEven though the above book is not in public domain, it can be found in its entirety here:

http://uair.library.arizona.edu/system/files/usain/download/azu_h9791b261a_w.pdf

The main University of Arizona website for the book source is here:

http://uair.library.arizona.edu/item/293771