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Mine with the iron door
"Look for the mine with the iron door, Jimmy," my dad said. When I was about six years old, Dad told me the legend of the lost mine and the Spanish missionaries who mined silver and gold on the north side of the Catalina Mountains. We'd leave Tucson in the dark to hunt quail on Golder Ranch, Owl's Head, or Tecolote northwest of town....
Globe Masons
In 1879, six men met in Globe, Ariz., to discuss leaving their respective Masonic temples. Their first task was to figure out if enough of them were actually willing to dimit (a Masonic term used for a written certification of honorable withdrawal from membership) from their respective lodges to establish a new lodge of Free & Accepted Masons in the small town east of Mesa.
The curious death of the ‘Father of Arizona’
Charles D. Poston was born in Hardin County Kentucky on April 20, 1825. At age 12, he was apprenticed to the County Clerk's Office for seven years, after which he studied law and was admitted to the Bar.
Bolles’ killer dies in Tucson prison
The man convicted in the 1976 murder of Arizona Republic investigative reporter Don Bolles died in a Tucson prison medical unit on July 21, according to the Arizona Department of […]
Never mind Mining
This 1956 photo of Tombstone shows a modern, but economically depressed town. It wasn't until Hollywood painted a fantastic picture of the Wild West did the town cash in its rough-and-tumble lore with tourists.
Triangle L Ranch
Triangle L Ranch, one of the first dude ranches in southern Arizona, began in the 1890s as a working cattle ranch frequented by Buffalo Bill. The 49-acre property near the Catalina Mountains is now operated by Sharon Holnback as a bed-and-breakfast, farmers' market, art gallery and concert venue, but once had its share of horse opera drama.
Famous names in Arizona: LDS settlers and the Colorado
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS) President Brigham Young’s vision of settling the West that began in the 1850s initially met with little success.
The Southern Arizona Auto Company
The Stevens-Duryea Company produced cars in Chicopee Falls, Mass., between 1901 and 1915 and from 1919 to 1927. The company’s first foray into the car business began with the introduction of a two-cylinder, five-horsepower runabout that sold for $1,200. The firm produced 61 cars in 1902 and 483 in 1903.
A Superior destination
While Lake Superior is far from Superior, Ariz., the miners who came to explore the mountains in what is now Pinal County honed their skills in the Great Lakes region before mines there played out and they heard of new opportunities in the West.
Arizona’s amazing rangers
"MEN WANTED!! Invalids need not apply" announced the poster when the U.S. government sought rangers to patrol their National Forest lands around 1900.
San Antonio Ranch
One of Arizona's oldest and most enduring families, the Sosas trace their genesis to Jecori, a village on the banks of the Yaqui River between Cumpas and Oposura, Sonora. There, in 1746, Jose Maria Sosa was born.
The Great Arizona Outback
The Great Arizona Outback, also known as McMullen Valley, is a little-known locale where the frontier never closed. Hope, Salome, Wenden and Vicksburg are a few of the necklace of towns strung out along a desolate stretch of Highway 60 west of Phoenix. The valley was named after James McMullen, who ran the stage between Congress and Ehrenberg. Wells Fargo took over later and made it part of their [...]
