A history of Willcox, Arizona, and environs Item Type text; Thesis-Reproduction (electronic); maps Authors Schultz, Vernon Burdette, 1924- Publisher The University of Arizona. Rights Copyright © is held by the author. Digital access to this material is made possible by the University Libraries, University of Arizona. Further transmission, reproduction or presentation (such as public display or performance) of protected items is prohibited except with permission of the author. Download date 07/10/2021 06:13:27 Link to Item http://hdl.handle.net/10150/551301 A HISTORY OP WILLCOX, ARIZONA, AND ENVIRONS by Vernon B. Schultz A Thesis Submitted to the Faculty of the DEPARTMENT OF HISTORY In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements For the Degree of MASTER OF ARTS In the Graduate College UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA 1 9 5 7 7;i07: . ! :: /• ■:v ; C979I 1957 S t STATEMENT BY AUTHOR This thesis has been submitted in partial fulfill­ ment of requirements for an advanced degree at the Univer­ sity of Arizona and is deposited in the University Library to be made available to borrowers under rules of the Library. Brief quotations from this thesis are allowable with­ out special permission, provided that accurate acknowledge­ ment of source is made. Requests for permission for extend­ ed quotation from or reproduction of this manuscript in whole or in part may be granted by the head of the major depart­ ment or the Dean of the Graduate College when in their judg­ ment the proposed use of the material is in the interests of scholarship. In all other instances, however, permission must be obtained from the author. SIGNED; APPROVAL BY THESIS DIRECTOR This s been approved on the date shown below: Date Professor of Histo CONTENTS PAGE CHAPTER I. SETTING THE STAGE— — r— -- -----— — 1 CHAPTER II. WILLCOX IN ITS FORMATIVE YEARS---— ------ 28 CHAPTER III. THE DAYS OF THE OPEN RANGE----- ---- 8? CHAPTER IV. LATER DEVELOPMENTS IN THE CATTLE INDUSTRY--- ------------------------- 116 CHAPTER V. MINING IN THE WILLCOX AREA---- -------- lljJ. CHAPTER VI. FARMING IN THE SULPHUR SPRINGS VALLEY------------------ ---- — ---- 174 CHAPTER VII. COMING OF AGE, 1915-1945------------ 189 CHAPTER VIII. RECENT PROGRESS, 1946-1957----- — ---- 215 BIBLIOGRAPHY— --------- ----------------------- ----— — 228 ILLUSTRATIONS BUTTERFIELD STAGE STATION AT DRAGOON SPRINGS, 1956-— --- l5 BULL TEAM USED IN TRANSPORTING SUPPLIES FROM WILLCOX TO THE SAN CARLOS RESERVATION, 1882-- ----------------- 36 WILLCOX BUSINESS DISTRICT FLOODED IN THE LATE 1880«S---- 48 MEXICAN FUNERAL IN THE 1880*8— ------ ----------— ------ - 6? FEEDING PENS AT THE SIERRA BONITA RANCH, 1955-— -------- 137 CRUSHER AND CONCENTRATOR AT THE CENTRAL COPPER COMPANY PROPERTIES, 1956------------ ------- ---------- l£L AERIAL VIEW OF WILLCOX-,-1956 ------------------------ 214 MAP OF WILLCOX, 1946— --- ----------— INSIDE OF BACK COVER CHAPTER I SETTING THE STAGE SBae first organized party of Americans to enter Arizona for purposes of exploration Was the United States 1 Boundary Commission under the direction of John R. Bartlett. In 1850, a portion of this commission entered the southeast corner of the territory by way of what Is now known as MApache Pass'* In the Chlricahua Mountains. Bartlett wrote about the area: In the Chlricahua Mountains we found water in abundance. So copious indeed was the supply (al­ though but the basinof a spring), that after all our animals, about one hundred and fifty in number had drank (sic) of it, we could perceive no diminu­ tion. The mountain pass was well wooded, with plenty of grass.2 He added that between these mountains and the San Pedro River there was "an undulating plain intersected by a mount­ ain range, with brackish water in some parts." Dr. Thomas Antisell, who was with Lieutenant G. 2 H . N. Elliot (comp.), History of Arizona Terri­ tory (San Francisco: Wallace W. Elliot S“Co., Idblp, p. £9* 2 ; ,' - \ . ■ ■ ■ .' ■ " Letter from J. R. Bartlett, Oct. 31, 18^7, cited by Sylvester Howry, Arizona and Sonora (New York: Harper and Brothers, Publishers, 186^), p. 1 % . 3 .... .. Ibid. : . :'v ' • ' ■ 1 2 Parke*s railroad exploration group in 1853# observed "toward the middle of the plain a series of pools or springs which yield a large supply of water. ** He found it unpleasant tast­ ing, as it was **slightly saline, sulphurous and highly Im- - ;-V. _ . 4 . - ..... ,.;v, pregnated with decaying vegetation." The area referred to above, which has been approp­ riately named the Sulphur Springs Valley, first appears to be one vast plain, but it is really a series of basins. The valley is nearly a hundred miles long and approximately fifteen miles wide. Extending from the northern spurs of the Sierra Madre in Sonora almost to the Gila River, it is one of the finest stock ranges in the West. The smaller •valleys and hillsides in the area are also excellent for graz­ ing purposes. The altitude of from 3900 to 44OO ft. pro-. duces an excellent climate with no extremes, of heat or cold, and cattle raised in the area are remarkably healthy. The mountains of southern Arizona are of the type described as "lost mountains." That is, mountains or small ranges have no apparent connection with each other. How­ ever, they all have a northwest-southeast direction. U.S. Congress, Senate, Reports of Explorations and Surveys to Ascertain the Moat Practical and"Economical Rouge for a Railroad from the Mississlupl RiveFT o ~the "PacIfic Ocean, Be. Doc. Ho. To, 33rd Cong., 2d Sess., Vol. VII. Part II (Washington: Beverly Tucker, Printer, 1857) # p. llfo. (E erelnafter referred to as "Lieutenant Parke* s Report.") ^Patrick Hamilton, The Resources of Arizona (San Francisco: Bancroft & Company, Printers, 18%), p. 275* 3 indicating that they were produced by the same upthrust. It is possible (by winding around the bases of these mountains) to pass through the entire system without going much above or 6 below, the elevation of 4,000 ft. To the north of the Sulphur Springs Valley are the Plnaleno Mountains, of which Mount Graham, with an altitude of 10,713 ft., is the highest.-' - 1 r . The eastern boundary of the valley is formed by the Dos Cabezas Mountains tp the north and the Ghirlcahua Range ex­ tending - southward. The, former group is separated from Mount Graham by a gap about eight miles wide. These mountains are made up of many radiating ridges and spurs with serrated and pinnacled crests. The Dos Cabezas Mountains are so called be­ cause they have two pinnacles that are very conspicuous for height and uniformity of figure and dimension. These are the "Dos Cabezas," meaning "two heads," and guard the western ent­ rance to Puerto dpi Dado, or Apache Pass, as it is more common­ ly known. This district was quite rich in minerals at one time, a gold mine and 10-stamp mill being reported there as early as 1869. : - - ; g- U.S, Congress, Senate. Report on the United States and Mexican Boundary Survey. Ex. Doc. No. 108. % t h Cong.. 1st Sess., Vol. 1 (Washington: A. 0. P. Nicholson, Printer, 1857) * p. 41. .Hubert Howe- Bancroft, H istory of Arizona and Hew Mex­ ico Ib30-l888 (San Francisco: The -fi istory Comm any. Publishers, ISF9T, pT b ■i. This pass is a narrow winding trail with many small valleys and canyons, opening Into It. The valleys are elevat­ ed considerably above the Sulphur Springs Valley and are en­ closed1 ■ v* I V 1 : between■ . ■ • ' * the- - crests• - J J of’ small' ' ' v" ranges that run from east to west. The accumulation of water in the impervious bot­ toms of the valleys produces many springs an^ makes shallow wells practical. When Parke went though there.with his railroad survey he noted "there was an abundance of good grass.... and small timber;.. oak, cedar, and0 walnut, ■-■arbutus and wild cherry were the common.growth...." The seven miles of the pass east of the summit descends through a narrow canyon with steep walls, a. favorite location for the Apaches to ambush their white enemies— thus the name "Apache Pass." Farther south in the Chiricahuas is the area which was proclaimed Chiricahua national Monument by. President ,. Calvin Coolidge in 192lj.. It covers seventeen square miles of canyons, hills, and fantastic rock formations. The rhy­ olite rock, which is of volcanic origin, was originally dep­ osited in vast beds. , Erosion resulting from the action of wind, rain and. sun has carved out hundreds of thousands of pillars and pinnacles. Many, of them bear a striking resem- blance to human features, animals and other familiar objects. - * - > r. ■ Senate Ex. Doc. No. 78, II, ^Lieutenant Parke1 s Report," p. 1^0. Mat. N. Dodge, "Refreshing Interlude is Chiricahua National Monument," Arizona's National Monuments (Santa Fe, New Mexico: Southwestern Monuments Association, 19lj-5), P» 6. 5 Here also Is the mountain which, when viewed from a distance, resembles the face of a reclining Indian, and Is appropriate­ ly called MCochise1s Head,M as this was familiar territory to that great chief of the Apaches. The Sulphur Springs Valley Is bounded on the west by the Dragoon, Bile, and Winchester Mountains, rising from one to three thousand feet above the floor of the valley. .The PI ay a de los Pliaas, or Wllloox PI aya. Is Immed­ iately to the west of the Dos Cabezas Mountains and covers an area of about sixty square miles. It Is a level plain of white sandy clay, which appears to be as level as a frozen lake, but It does rise gently toward the north. The playa ■ "y - - - V ; Is now li,13k feet above sea level, but fossilized shells and bones found In it Indicate that it was once the bottom of an ancient sea. Although it very seldom has a drop of water in it, there occurs continuously a phenomenon known as La Playa Mirage.