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| www.springvalleyaz.com The official website for Spring Valley Arizona |
There was a large spring down at the east end of Big
Bug Creek and lots of small springs up and down the
creek. That is why we decided “Spring Valley” was an
appropriate name.
You have this land all fenced and you have a name. What’s next?
You have to carve it up in little pieces (lots, roads, tracts, etc.) A
surveyor had to be found. We checked with the County and found a
gentleman who had done a lot of surveying in our area. After the
survey we decided to take 80 acres of the 320 as our first phase.
Hopefully, we could get this phase done and sold to finance the
rest of the property development.
Phase 1 had 224 lots. The surveyor had the lots and roads all
staked, but you still can’t sell them until you have roads, water
lines, electric lines, CC&R’s property reports and county and state
approval on all of the above. We were still working our jobs in
Phoenix, so every weekend we would load up the pickup with
material and work all weekend long. The old ranch house had to
be torn down and we purchased a single wide mobile home to put
in its place. This provided us with an office and a bedroom when
we came up on the weekends. After four years of working every
single weekend, we quit our jobs, sold our home, cashed out our
retirement funds and came to Spring Valley to “Sink or Swim”..
Bug Creek and lots of small springs up and down the
creek. That is why we decided “Spring Valley” was an
appropriate name.
You have this land all fenced and you have a name. What’s next?
You have to carve it up in little pieces (lots, roads, tracts, etc.) A
surveyor had to be found. We checked with the County and found a
gentleman who had done a lot of surveying in our area. After the
survey we decided to take 80 acres of the 320 as our first phase.
Hopefully, we could get this phase done and sold to finance the
rest of the property development.
Phase 1 had 224 lots. The surveyor had the lots and roads all
staked, but you still can’t sell them until you have roads, water
lines, electric lines, CC&R’s property reports and county and state
approval on all of the above. We were still working our jobs in
Phoenix, so every weekend we would load up the pickup with
material and work all weekend long. The old ranch house had to
be torn down and we purchased a single wide mobile home to put
in its place. This provided us with an office and a bedroom when
we came up on the weekends. After four years of working every
single weekend, we quit our jobs, sold our home, cashed out our
retirement funds and came to Spring Valley to “Sink or Swim”..
| P.O Box 397 Mayer Az. 86332 |
History of Spring Valley 2
By Les and Virginia Kyllo
By Les and Virginia Kyllo
This Website is sponsored and hosted by S.V.P.O.A.
For comments, suggestions, advertising or more
information:svpoamail@yahoo.com
For comments, suggestions, advertising or more
information:svpoamail@yahoo.com
One of the most important items we had to prove was water. There was a farm well but we had to prove 100 year water
supply for a subdivision. Les knew how to douse for water. Some people call it “divining” or “witching”. Les cut his forked
stick and located water and it looked like it would be a good well. We hired a driller from Prescott to punch the first well. He
was doing pretty good until one day he didn’t show up for work. Les and I drove to Prescott to check out why he wasn’t there
and found him on the floor in real pain. He had the same problem as the old cowboys had putting up that fence! Finally he
recovered and finished the well and it satisfied the 100 year requirement. A pump was inserted and a big storage tank
installed and the water supply was ready.
The electric lines were in the center of the development. There were no lines on Highway 69, so we had to build a road from
the Highway to the center where we had water and electric. Since the Big Bug Creek also ran through the development we
could get the gravel for the roads from the creek. The gravel had to meet County requirements so we rented a screening
plant to get all the material for the roads. The creek was a popular place for people to pan for gold. I told people that out
streets were paved with gold. I don’t think they believed me! To this day there is lots of gold panning in the Big Bug Creek.
To build roads you had to have a backhoe to haul the gravel and a road grader to prepare the roads. You need the backhoe
to dig the lines for the water pipe and the electric conduit and lots of other work. (Spring Valley was one of the first in the area
to have underground utilities.) We didn’t have a either piece of equipment but Les was able to get a used backhoe pretty
reasonably locally and he heard that the AZ Dept. of Transportation was going to auction off their used equipment. Les went
to Phoenix to look for a road grader and found one he thought was suitable. This grader had a market value of $10,000.00.
When the auctioneer came to the grader that Les wanted, he started out with a $2000.00 low bid. Les yelled out $3500.00 on
this the hottest day of July. Everyone was shocked and no one else bid, so we had a road grader.
Les had to learn how to USE that road grader and backhoe, and he did a really great job. Les put in all the roads, electric,
and water lines in Spring Valley. The County came in some years later and paved the roads and they are still county
maintained. When we did the initial roads, you had to drive through Big Bug Creek, which was OK unless you had a lot of
water coming down the creek. I remember one time when one of our elderly ladies was trying to cross the water and lost
control. Thank goodness someone saw her and called. Les. He and a helper grabbed the backhoe, Les got in the bucket,
put a chain around the bumper of her car and they pulled her out of the creek with no harm done. She didn't seem to be at all
excited about it!.
The county then required a back road be built so that residents on the south side of the creek would have access to the
county road to Mayer (Old Black canyon Highway) when the creek was too high to cross. This road required two cattle guards
and was quite an added expense. Some years later the County built the bridge that crosses the creek today.
Les had many long days digging trenches for water and electric lines. Many days he worked from sunup to sundown and
even later since the backhoe had lights. There was a roadrunner that liked to roost on the backhoe and he would follow Les
around until he parked so he could roost. One night there was a major rainstorm that filled up all his ditches with water and
they had to be cleaned and dug out again. Another time, Les had put six foot culverts in the creek and before he could get
them cemented in, another big rain storm came and they were washed all the way down the Big Bug almost to the spring.
Another trying time happened when a helper was digging some water lines and he got really excited when he found a
human skeleton in the ditch. The skeleton had a big stone on his chest and no head. Les called the county and they took a
look at the skeleton. We were told later that it was probably an Indian Chief. If that were to happen today, they would probably
shut down our whole operation to check for ruins!
For the “rest of the story” contact the S.V.P.O.A. the booklet is available for $5.00 and has many color photos.
supply for a subdivision. Les knew how to douse for water. Some people call it “divining” or “witching”. Les cut his forked
stick and located water and it looked like it would be a good well. We hired a driller from Prescott to punch the first well. He
was doing pretty good until one day he didn’t show up for work. Les and I drove to Prescott to check out why he wasn’t there
and found him on the floor in real pain. He had the same problem as the old cowboys had putting up that fence! Finally he
recovered and finished the well and it satisfied the 100 year requirement. A pump was inserted and a big storage tank
installed and the water supply was ready.
The electric lines were in the center of the development. There were no lines on Highway 69, so we had to build a road from
the Highway to the center where we had water and electric. Since the Big Bug Creek also ran through the development we
could get the gravel for the roads from the creek. The gravel had to meet County requirements so we rented a screening
plant to get all the material for the roads. The creek was a popular place for people to pan for gold. I told people that out
streets were paved with gold. I don’t think they believed me! To this day there is lots of gold panning in the Big Bug Creek.
To build roads you had to have a backhoe to haul the gravel and a road grader to prepare the roads. You need the backhoe
to dig the lines for the water pipe and the electric conduit and lots of other work. (Spring Valley was one of the first in the area
to have underground utilities.) We didn’t have a either piece of equipment but Les was able to get a used backhoe pretty
reasonably locally and he heard that the AZ Dept. of Transportation was going to auction off their used equipment. Les went
to Phoenix to look for a road grader and found one he thought was suitable. This grader had a market value of $10,000.00.
When the auctioneer came to the grader that Les wanted, he started out with a $2000.00 low bid. Les yelled out $3500.00 on
this the hottest day of July. Everyone was shocked and no one else bid, so we had a road grader.
Les had to learn how to USE that road grader and backhoe, and he did a really great job. Les put in all the roads, electric,
and water lines in Spring Valley. The County came in some years later and paved the roads and they are still county
maintained. When we did the initial roads, you had to drive through Big Bug Creek, which was OK unless you had a lot of
water coming down the creek. I remember one time when one of our elderly ladies was trying to cross the water and lost
control. Thank goodness someone saw her and called. Les. He and a helper grabbed the backhoe, Les got in the bucket,
put a chain around the bumper of her car and they pulled her out of the creek with no harm done. She didn't seem to be at all
excited about it!.
The county then required a back road be built so that residents on the south side of the creek would have access to the
county road to Mayer (Old Black canyon Highway) when the creek was too high to cross. This road required two cattle guards
and was quite an added expense. Some years later the County built the bridge that crosses the creek today.
Les had many long days digging trenches for water and electric lines. Many days he worked from sunup to sundown and
even later since the backhoe had lights. There was a roadrunner that liked to roost on the backhoe and he would follow Les
around until he parked so he could roost. One night there was a major rainstorm that filled up all his ditches with water and
they had to be cleaned and dug out again. Another time, Les had put six foot culverts in the creek and before he could get
them cemented in, another big rain storm came and they were washed all the way down the Big Bug almost to the spring.
Another trying time happened when a helper was digging some water lines and he got really excited when he found a
human skeleton in the ditch. The skeleton had a big stone on his chest and no head. Les called the county and they took a
look at the skeleton. We were told later that it was probably an Indian Chief. If that were to happen today, they would probably
shut down our whole operation to check for ruins!
For the “rest of the story” contact the S.V.P.O.A. the booklet is available for $5.00 and has many color photos.
