Inside Wickenburg, a Historic Arizona Town Preserves a Living Mesquite Tree That Once Doubled as Its Only Jail

Picture being chained to a tree in the open desert while waiting for a sheriff to ride in from Phoenix. That was real life for lawbreakers in one Arizona mining town back in the 1800s, when a sturdy mesquite did the job a jailhouse never got built to do. Amazingly, that same tree is still alive and rooted downtown, complete with a plaque and a life-sized statue. It’s free to visit, quick to see, and one of the strangest little history stops in the whole state. A Living Landmark in Downtown