OATMAN, Ariz — Below the Black Mountains of Arizona is an old ghost town abandoned by gold miners. The town is named Oatman and when prospectors left, they also left something behind... their four-legged friends.
Today, Oatman is a historic Route 66 pit stop famously infested with wild donkeys. Brad and Kelly Blake are long time Oatman residents and they’re also campaign managers for the mayor, who is a donkey.
“Yes sir, elected by the town council,” said Brad. “This is just another jackass politician in our mind.”
That will not be the last donkey joke you read in this story. The shops and businesses in Oatman truly embrace the burros.
Walter is an adopted burro abandoned by his mother about four years ago. The Blakes nursed him to health and now he is a welcome mascot inside local businesses.
“He prefers to be called prima-donky,” said Blake.
On any given day, a dozen or so wild donkeys waltz into Oatman from the Arizona desert to take pictures with tourists. In return, the donkeys get healthy alfalfa pellets, which can be purchased at most stores in town.
“They are wild donkeys and they decide when and where they come to town. If they don’t want to come to town, they don’t. Oftentimes they just stay outside of town,” said Blake.
Oatman has experienced many booms and busts over the years. After the gold miners left town and left their donkeys behind, Oatman became a lover’s hideaway and the donkey population increased.
“Yes sir, they are really good at that,” said Blake.
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Oatman had a bit of a resurgence after Historic Route 66 was built and tourists discovered the donkeys' hidden love nest was also a good place for human lovers to hide.
“A lot of people don’t realize Clark Gable would hide out here,” said town historian Michael Fox.
Actors Clark Gable and Carol Lombard spent their honeymoon at the Oatman Hotel after they were secretly married.
It didn’t take long for the rest of Hollywood to find out about Oatman. The Black Mountains served as a picturesque backdrop for numerous movies.
“Parts of the movie How the West was Won was shot here and the most recent film shot in this area was Universal Soldier," said Fox.
One reason Hollywood likes to make movies in Oatman is because of the ghost town feel of the place.
The donkeys of Oatman may have been left here by prospectors, but now they are federally protected by the Bureau of Land Management and they outnumber the people. So, in a way, it's only fitting the town's mayor is a donkey.
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