Cerro Colorado | |
---|---|
Location in the state of Arizona | |
Coordinates: 31°39′32″N111°16′21″W / 31.65889°N 111.27250°W | |
Country | United States |
State | Arizona |
County | Pima |
Elevation | 1,118 m (3,668 ft) |
Time zone | UTC-7 (MST (no DST)) |
Post Office Opened: | April 17, 1872 |
Post Office Closed: | April 15, 1911 |
Cerro Colorado is a ghost town in southern Pima County, Arizona. The town is located off Arivaca Road, near Arivaca, and is best known for the massacre of mining employees by Mexican outlaws and buried treasure. [2]
Cerro Colorado was established around 1855 by Charles D. Poston, who owned the Sonora Exploring & Mining Company in Tubac, Arizona. The most prosperous mine in the area was the Heintzelman Mine, named after Major General Samuel P. Heintzelman, who was the first president of the mining company and later grew famous during the American Civil War. The post office was established on April 17, 1879, and closed on April 15, 1911.
In 1861, fifteen Mexican and Native American men were killed after being buried alive in their shaft when the roof caved in. The men were deep within the shaft so no rescue was possible or attempted, this frightened the Mexican employees who felt the mine was haunted so they left and went home to Sonora. Several German and American miners then became employed.
When the Civil War began, United States Army troops left the region to fight the rebels and the town became part of Confederate Arizona. Once again Cerro Colorado was surrounded by Apache land, leaving the settlement under constant threat. At about the same time in 1861, Charles Poston left the mine for business elsewhere, he left his brother John Poston in charge. [2]
When Charles Poston left Cerro Colorado, the mining operations were constantly halted due to the Mexican employees who continually stole and took their plunder to Sonora. One day, Poston's foreman, known only as Juanito, was caught heading back to Sonora with a load of stolen silver bullion, so Poston had him executed as an example to other thieving employees. The silver was never recovered and was reportedly buried by Juanito somewhere near the mine. Juanito's death only made the matter worse. Within the next few nights, Mexicans stole "whatever they could" and took the property to Sonora, where several Mexican outlaws heard the story of the buried treasure.
The outlaws immediately headed into Arizona for the mine. Once there they won the support of the Mexican employees and destroyed the mine in hopes of finding the silver. After failing to find it they tortured and murdered John Poston and two German miners. As of 2023, nobody has ever found the treasure. When the massacre was over, the outlaws left for Mexico and the mine was rebuilt. By 1864 a walled stone fort was erected on a nearby hill and a guard tower was constructed in the town plaza. A few adobe buildings remain along with the concrete grave of John Poston, and his tombstone. [2] [3]
Tombstone is a city in Cochise County, Arizona, United States, founded in 1879 by prospector Ed Schieffelin in what was then Pima County, Arizona Territory. It became one of the last boomtowns in the American frontier. The town grew significantly into the mid-1880s as the local mines produced $40 to $85 million in silver bullion, the largest productive silver district in Arizona. Its population grew from 100 to around 14,000 in less than seven years. It is best known as the site of the Gunfight at the O.K. Corral and presently draws most of its revenue from tourism.
Samuel Peter Heintzelman was a United States Army general. He served in the Seminole War, the Mexican–American War, the Yuma War and the Cortina Troubles. During the American Civil War he was a prominent figure in the early months of the war rising to the command of a corps.
Arivaca is an unincorporated community in Pima County, Arizona, United States. It is located 11 miles (18 km) north of the Mexican border and 35 miles (56 km) northwest of the port of entry at Nogales. The European-American history of the area dates back at least to 1695, although the community was not founded until 1878. Arivaca has the ZIP code 85601. The 85601 ZIP Code Tabulation Area had a population of 909 at the 2000 census.
James Joseph "J.J." Brown, was an American mining engineer, inventor, and self-made member of fashionable society. His wife was RMS Titanic survivor Margaret Brown.
Newman Haynes Clanton, also known as "Old Man" Clanton, was a cattle rancher and father of four sons, one of whom was killed during the Gunfight at the O.K. Corral. Two of his sons were involved in multiple conflicts in Cochise County, Arizona Territory including stagecoach robbery and cattle rustling. His son Ike Clanton was identified by one witness as a participant in the murder of Morgan Earp. Billy Clanton and Ike were both present at the Gunfight at the O.K. Corral in which Billy was killed. "Old Man" Clanton was reportedly involved with stealing cattle from Mexican ranchers and re-selling them in the United States. Records indicate he participated in the Skeleton Canyon Massacre of Mexican smugglers. In retaliation, Mexican Rurales are reported to have ambushed and killed him and a crew of Cowboys in the Guadalupe Canyon Massacre.
Contention City or Contention is a ghost mining town in Cochise County in the southeastern part of the U.S. state of Arizona. It was occupied from the early-1880s through the late-1880s in what was then known as the Arizona Territory. Only a few foundations now remain of this boomtown which was settled and abandoned with the rise and fall of silver mining in and around the area of Tombstone.
Charles Debrille Poston was an American explorer, prospector, author, politician, and civil servant. He is referred to as the "Father of Arizona" due to his efforts lobbying for creation of the territory. Poston was also Arizona Territory's first Delegate to the U.S. House of Representatives.
Silver mining in Arizona was a powerful stimulus for exploration and prospecting in early Arizona. Cumulative silver production through 1981 totaled 490 million troy ounces. However, only about 10% of Arizona's silver production came from silver mining. More than 80% of the state's silver was a byproduct of copper mining; other silver came as a byproduct of lead, zinc, and gold mining.
The Cerro Colorado Mountains are a low mountain range in southern Pima County, Arizona, USA. The highest point of the range is Colorado Peak. The range consists of a NNW–SSE trending ridge with several shorter ridges extending off the main ridge to the ENE. The higher portions of the range cover an area of about 21 km2 (8.1 sq mi), with dimensions of 6.8 km (4.2 mi) by 4.0 km (2.5 mi).
Colonel William Cornell Greene was an American businessman who was famous for discovering rich copper reserves in Cananea, Mexico, and for founding the Greene Consolidated Copper Company in 1899. By 1905, Greene was one of the wealthiest businessmen in the world.
The Silver King Mine is an inactive silver mine located near Superior, Arizona in the United States. The richest silver mine in Arizona, it produced an estimated US$42 million worth of silver ore between 1875 and 1900.
Sylvester Mowry was an American politician, miner, and land speculator. He is best remembered as an early advocate for establishing the Arizona Territory. He was also a West Point graduate and officer of the United States Army who was later arrested as a traitor during the American Civil War.
The Mowry massacres, also known as the Mowry murders, were a series of Apache attacks in and around the mining town of Mowry, Arizona between 1863 and 1865. At least sixteen American settlers were killed during the period.
The Bisbee massacre occurred in Bisbee, Arizona, on December 8, 1883, when six outlaws who were part of the Cochise County Cowboys robbed a general store. Believing the general store's safe contained a mining payroll of $7,000, they timed the robbery incorrectly and were only able to steal between $800 and $3,000, along with a gold watch and jewelry. During the robbery, members of the gang killed five people, including a lawman and a pregnant woman. Six men were convicted of the robbery and murders. John Heath, who was accused of organizing the robbery, was tried separately and sentenced to life in prison. The other five men were convicted of murder and sentenced to hang.
Courtland is a ghost town in Cochise County, Arizona, that was founded in 1909 due to a copper boom. The town is located at the foot of the Dragoon Mountains, about fifteen miles northeast of Tombstone, and was named after Courtland Young, one of the owners of the Great Western Mining Company.
Brunckow's Cabin is a historic cabin southwest of Tombstone in Cochise County, Arizona. It is purported to be the "bloodiest cabin in Arizona history;" between 1860 and 1890, at least twenty-one people were killed there, many of whom are buried on site. Presently, little of the cabin remains except for some foundations and small portions of the walls. A few unmarked graves have been identified, but because of theft, vandalism, and erosion, the site has been heavily damaged.
The Las Guijas Mountains are a small northwest–southeast trending mountain range in southern Pima County, Arizona. The range is approximately 12 kilometres (7.5 mi) long by 4 km (2.5 mi). Surrounding ranges includes the Cerro Colorado Mountains to the northeast, the Tumacacori Mountains of Santa Cruz County to the east, the San Luis Mountains to the south and the Baboquivari Mountains across the Altar Valley to the west. Arivaca is immediately to the southeast and the old mining townsite of Las Guijas is in the wash just north of the range.
San Xavier is a populated place in Pima County, Arizona, United States, situated seventeen miles southwest of Tucson, and six miles northwest of Sahuarita. Originally a small silver mining camp from the 1880s, today San Xavier is little more than a collection of rural homes and partially abandoned mines. The ghost towns of Azurite and Mineral Hill were located about one mile north of San Xavier. Twin Buttes was five miles southeast.
Silver Bell is a ghost town in the Silver Bell Mountains in Pima County, Arizona, United States. The name "Silver Bell" refers to a more recent ghost town, which was established in 1954 and abandoned in 1984. The original town, established in 1904, was named "Silverbell" and abandoned in the early 1930s. Both towns were utilized and later abandoned due to the mining of copper in the area.
Elgin Bryce Holt was an American geologist, mine owner and engineer, amateur scientist, anthropologist and entrepreneur who reorganized and managed the Cerro de Plata Mining Company in Magdalena, Sonora, Mexico.