Arizona is one of the youngest states in the Union, but it's full of historic and iconic places, many of which date to long before statehood. Here are a few of them. | Text by Noah Austin
Patagonia
The centerpiece of one of Southern Arizona’s most charming small towns is a depot built for the New Mexico and Arizona Railroad. The rail line, built in the 1880s, connected Nogales to the main Southern Pacific line in Benson. The depot came along at the turn of the century, when Patagonia had a population of 133. But within two decades, the town’s mining industry was so prosperous that the railroad made three stops a day there. By the end of World War II, about 5,000 tons of lead, copper, zinc and molybdenum ore were being shipped from Patagonia’s mines every month. After the mines went bust and the rail line was abandoned, a Patagonia resident bought the depot to save it from being demolished. He then sold it to the local Rotary Club. Today, the restored depot is owned by Patagonia and houses the town’s offices.
LOCATION: 310 McKeown Avenue, Patagonia
CONSTRUCTED: 1900
BUILDER: New Mexico and Arizona Railroad
INFORMATION: Town of Patagonia, 520-394-2229 or www.patagonia-az.gov
Photo: Today, the restored depot houses Patagonia’s town offices and looks much the same as it did at the turn of the 20th century. | Jeff Kida
Flagstaff
The building that today houses the Pioneer Museum is 108 years old, but if you want its true origin, you’ll have to go back further — a lot further. Half a million years ago, Elden Mountain, a lava-dome volcano northeast of Flagstaff, blew its top, ejecting a type of volcanic rock called pumiceous dacite that proved to be fireproof and lighter than sandstone. That rock was used to build the Coconino County Hospital for the Indigent, which served the county’s poorest patients for 30 years. After that, the building spent another two decades as a boarding house before becoming a museum, which today is operated by the Arizona Historical Society. It provides a glimpse of life in Flagstaff’s early days through exhibits on ranching, logging and transportation. There also are remnants of the building’s hospital days, including an iron lung and antique surgical equipment. And train buffs will appreciate Locomotive No. 12, a 1929 Baldwin steam engine that’s welcomed visitors to the museum since 1994. In short, there’s plenty to see. That is, until Elden Mountain erupts again.
DIRECTIONS: From downtown Flagstaff, go north on Humphreys Street for 0.6 miles to Fort Valley Road. Turn left onto Fort Valley Road and continue 1.3 miles to the Pioneer Museum, located at 2340 N. Fort Valley Road. The museum is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Mondays through Saturdays. Admission is $6 for adults but is free for Arizona Historical Society members.
CONSTRUCTED: 1908
BUILDER: Coconino County
INFORMATION: Pioneer Museum, 928-774-6272; Arizona Historical Society, arizonahistoricalsociety.org/museum/pioneer-museum/
Photo: Ponderosa pines surround the former Coconino County Hospital for the Indigent, now the Pioneer Museum. | Mark Lipczynski
Near Fredonia
On the Arizona Strip, water can be nearly impossible to find. That’s what drew Mormon missionaries to Pipe Spring, which was the only source of water on the 62-mile route between Fredonia, Arizona, and Hurricane, Utah. Humans have used the spring for thousands of years, but famed pioneer Jacob Hamblin first arrived there in 1858. Within two years, Pipe Spring was being used as a watering hole and campsite for ranchers. The site endured periodic raids by Navajos until 1870, when Brigham Young visited and ordered his followers to build a fort to protect the “fine spring of good water.” That fort became Winsor Castle, named after one of its builders and the ranch’s first manager. Pipe Spring became a “tithing ranch,” raising cattle donated by members of the church. Now, Winsor Castle is the centerpiece of Pipe Spring National Monument, which receives more than 50,000 visitors annually. And the spring still flows, just as it has for centuries.
LOCATION: 406 N. Pipe Spring Road, near Fredonia
CONSTRUCTED: 1870-72
BUILDER: Anson P. Winsor and other Mormon settlers
INFORMATION: Pipe Spring National Monument, 928-643-7105 or www.nps.gov/pisp
Photo: Winsor Castle's lookout tower is visible on the right in this photograph. A lookout would enter the tower through the ceiling of the fort’s meeting room. | Jeff Kida
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