Through KJZZ's Q&AZ reporting project, a listener asked: "How did Bloody Basin Road get its name?"
There are a few stories associated with the moniker, but one is more widely considered to be historically accurate.
Marshall Shore is known as Arizona’s Hip Historian.
“I moved here 25 years ago and became enamored with the stories of Arizona and I do a variety of lectures, tours all about that quirky side of Arizona," Shore said.
Several years ago, Shore was on the way to Crown King when he passed the sign for Bloody Basin Road, which is posted along Interstate 17 about 60 miles north of downtown Phoenix, and wondered about its origins.
Some attribute the name to cattlemen who slaughtered a herd of sheep to protect their grazing land.
“There’s also the talk of a livestock mishap about a sheep bridge that was built in the ‘40s to basically help the sheep get across the Verde River and at one point, it’s said that they plummeted," Shore said. "The color of the rock is what is said to have then created that Bloody Basin."
But the more widely accepted explanation is the Battle of Turret Peak.
“Where you had a group of Indigenous families. They were camped, seeking refuge and a group of soldiers surprised them," Shore said. "The battle was swift."
Some reports say they were so panic-stricken that many jumped from the mountain side, falling to their deaths below. Today, Shore said, if you have a vehicle with enough clearance, it's a road worth driving down.
"It's one of those hidden gems of Arizona. I love those forestry roads because you get to see a whole different side than what you can see from a highway," Shore said. "There's so many layers of history that you have the opportunity to explore in a completely different way than you can in some other places."
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