He lived in New York for 26 or so years, where then he ventured to California on a wagon train, being labelled as Captain Hardy.

From the help of George Alonzo Johnson's Colorado Steam Navigation Co.,[2] He began to run a ferry company, which he would occasionally give rides for free for those that were unfortunate.

It was common for steamboats arriving at Hardyville to deliver supplies to the recently discovered gold mines.

The town was given a seat in Mohave County in 1867, and later on, it increased in population, and there was new buildings built up, such as general stores, blacksmiths, and a city hall.

The introduction of the railroad, and multiple fires, brought down Hardyville, and in the 1890s, with the mills no longer running, slowly became a ghost town.