Southern Arizona

The history of Southern Arizona goes way back in time with the arrival of Marcos de Niza in 1539. His visit made him the first European to step into Arizona. Niza was a Franciscan priest traveling through the area, in search of gold. He would not be the last one to venture this way. In the years to follow, many people traveled to Southern Arizona in search of mineral wealth.

In 1692, Father Eusebio Kino arrived in Southern Arizona. This marked the time that Europeans came to stay. The first European settlement was founded in Arizona in 1750. The Spanish fort was named Tubac Presidio. It is located in the town of Tubac. You can visit the town and fort today to discover more about the early history of Arizona.
The Apache Wars began in 1860, when the Apache war chief, Cochise was falsely accused of kidnapping. Cochise began a rampage that eventually caused the government to create fort in the area. Fort Bowie, near the town of Bowie, was established to protect the early settlers and to help gain control of the region.

Not far from the wars, the town of Tombstone began to boom. Silver was found in 1877 and the town grew to become a big city. Then in 1898, Bisbee started attracting copper miners. Southern Arizona was the place to get rich.

At the same time, the land surrounding Willcox was cattle rich county. It was said that, ‘the grass was growing stirrup high. Willcox was the ideal place for grazing and cowboys flocked to the area. With the arrival of the railroad, in 1880, the town was able to transport the cattle across the country.

Southern Arizona is a portion of the state filled with mining, cowboy, Spanish mission and Indian history. Each town had its own influence. It is time to learn more about these colorful towns and Arizonan.com will help you explore.