Oatman is a small community that sprang up around 1906 when gold was discovered. The town quickly grew to over 3500 people, but the population declined in 1942 when the U.S. Government declared that mining for gold was not essential to the war effort.

The town survived for a short time longer as a stopping point along old Route 66 between Kingman Arizona and Needles California, until a new road was built and Oatman was completely bypassed.

With over half a million visitors a year, tourism is now helping to revive Oatman. One of ... (more)