Pottery fragments found around Apache Spring suggest it was used by prehistoric Mogollon Indians before the Apache arrived. Journals of early Spanish explorers describe Apache trails radiating from the spring. The Butterfield Trail was constructed through Apache Pass simply to take advantage of the precious spring water. Disputes over the spring caused a raging conflict between Chief Cochise and California Volunteers in 1861. Without Apache Spring, there might not have been a stage station, or a Fort Bowie, Arizona. Photo by Kathy Weiser-Alexander.