Mansel Carter

Mansel Carter (May 12, 1902 – June 5, 1987), also known as "Man of the Mountain", was a businessman and prospector. In 1987, The Phoenix named him one of "Arizona Legends". The San Tan Historical Society of Queen Creek recognized his gravesite at Gold Mountain in the San Tan Mountain Regional Park in Queen Creek, Arizona as a tourist attraction. In 2017, the town of Queen Creek named a new community park the "Mansel Carter Oasis Park" in his honor. Early years Carter was born in Quaker City, Ohio. When he was young, he studied photography and worked as a mechanic in his hometown. He moved to Indiana and purchased an airplane with which he provided a shuttle service. During the Great Depression, he worked as a lumberjack on the Zuni Indian Reservation. Marion E. Kennedy In 1941, Carter moved to the town of Gilbert, Arizona, and opened a photography shop. He was drafted by the United States Army during World War II and served a short tour of duty. He was eventually discharged on account of his age. He met and befriended Marion E. Kennedy (1874–1960), a Cherokee Indian from Oklahoma whose job was delivering ice. Kennedy had at one time attended the Indian School in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, where he studied geology. Gold prospecting