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Superior History
During the Tertiary Period of geologic time,
dynamic forces in the form of volcanic activity spewed lava from
below
the ground approximately 29 million years ago and shaped the
mountainous region in and around the town now
known as Superior. We call these mountain rock formations Apache
Leap, Picket Post, Pinal and the Superstition
Mountains. Superior’s geological history is also linked to those
cultural influences that have remained as a strong
presence over time in this region:
AD 500 Anasazi Indians, a pre-historic group
AD 900 Hohokam Indians, whose culture was influenced by the Anasazi
AD 1225 Salado Indians, a mixture of the Mogollon, Hohokam and
Anasazi Indians
AD 1600 Apache Indians, comprised of the Chiricahua Apaches and the
Mohave-Yavapai Apache Indians
1539 In his search for the fabled “Seven Cities of Gold”, Fray
Marcos de Niza led Spanish explorers to
surrounding areas. From their stop at the Gila River, they marveled
at the mountain they named La Sierra de
Espuma, “the mountain of foam,” later re-named the Superstition
Mountains
1539 The Spaniards called the Apaches who roamed the mountains
Piñaleros, meaning those who lived in
and around the Pinal Mountains near present-day Superior. The word
“Pinal” means “deer” in the Apache
language
1860s Mexican miners explored the area within the Queen Creek Valley
looking for Spanish treasures of gold
in and around the 1800-foot mountain they named La Montaña Tordillo,
“the gray-spotted mountain”, later called
“Picket Post Mountain” by the U.S. Army in 1871
1870 The U.S. Army is in the region to ensure a military presence
and to protect small Mexican and Anglo
encampments nearby from the Chiricahua Apaches
1871 The butte called “Picket Post” is used by Army soldiers on
sentinel duty to watch for Chiricahua Apache
Indian activity
1871 Camp Pinal, sometimes called “Fort Pinal”, is developed on a
small scale by General George Stoneman,
U.S. Army
1871 Picket Post area, known as “Piñalito” by the Mexicans and
“Pinal” by the Anglos, emerges as a small
campsite, ready for settlement
1871 San Carlos Apache Indian land established by Executive Order,
signed by U.S. President Ulysses S. Grant
1871 General Stoneman leaves Camp Pinal for another assignment
1872 Apache Indian land and the general area becomes home to the
Chiricahua, Warm Springs, and Mohave
Apache Indians
1872 While digging a new road to the Globe Mine further north, a
U.S. Army soldier named Sullivan discovered
the silver ore. He delivered several specimens to a Florence farmer,
Charles G. Mason, at his ranch on the Gila
River
1875 William Tuttle claimed the Irene and Hub silver mining sites
and developed the “Silver Queen mine.”
1875 The escarpment called the “Apache Leap Mountain” acquired its
legendary name after a roving band of
75 Apache warriors rode their horses off the mountain to their
deaths thousands of feet below in order to avoid
capture by the U.S. Army in a small skirmish atop the mountain. When
news of their tragic deaths reached the
Apache camps nearby, the tears shed by their families are said to
have turned into the translucent merikanite
obsidian gemstones called “Apache Tears”, found in abundance in the
Superior area. Arizona historians, however,
say there is no historical basis for this story.
1875 Two small silver lodes previously discovered by the U.S. Army
soldier named Sullivan in 1872, are
claimed by Isaac Copeland; William H. Long; Charles G. Mason; and
Benjamin W. Reagan. This claim led to the
establishment of the prosperous Silver King mine
1875 The Pioneer Mining district is founded around the Silver King
mine and the small mining town became
known as “Silver King” and lies within the newly-formed Pinal
County, comprised of Maricopa, Yavapai, and Pima
counties
1875 The Silver King mine shipped 30 tons of silver per month to
Florence for refining, with a silver value of
$1,000 per ton. The mine disbursed over $1,500,000 in dividends,
with its stock quoted regularly in the San
Francisco Stock Exchange
1875 Estéban Ochoa, civic leader and prominent Mexican merchant from
Tucson and recognized as
establishing the public school system in the Arizona Territory,
organized the Tully, Ochoa and Company, a leading
freight company in the Arizona Territory. Ochoa obtained the Silver
King freighting contract to Florence. Ochoa sub-
contracted the Silver King, Pinal, and Florence freight run to the
Mexican freighter José A. Gonzáles, of “Piñalito”.
Rather than use the weather-ravaged route that followed the flow of
the Queen Creek to Florence, Gonzáles
selected an alternate and shorter route directly west and across
Queen Creek from Pinal and over a “saddle” of
the Mineral Mountains south of Gonzáles Wash. This “saddle” route
became known as the historic “Gonzáles
Pass”, which is aligned with U.S. Highway 60 today
1877 Mexican and Chinese storekeepers began providing services to
Silver King and the smelter town called
Pinal City, Pinal or Piñalito. The Chinese merchant known as “Jim
Sam” operated a café and soon, Chinese
laundries began to appear in Pinal City. The Chinese grew vegetables
and fruits and brought produce to Pinal City
on wagons and sold them to the U.S. Army and families in the area
1877 The Silver King post office was established and S.B. Chapin
served as its postmaster
1878 The Picket Post post office was established and William H.
Benson served as its postmaster
1880 The Pinal school was established, with children from various
ethnic backgrounds in attendance
1881 The Silver King, Pinal, and Gila River Railroad Company was
established. The railroad brought supplies
and people of various backgrounds to the growing area
1881 Gold was mined at D.T. Elmore’s “Surpriser mine.” Elmore joined
with C.C. Hastings to develop the
“Surpriser mine #2”. Elmore organized the Hastings Gold and Silver
Mining Company. The area became known as
“Queen City,” but is re-named as “Hastings” after a well-known San
Francisco clothing merchant in 1900. Hastings
was the forerunner of today’s town of Superior
1881 Financial support comes from the Gem gold mine of the Wide
Awake Prospecting and Mining Company to
build small rail cars that ran to ore bins at the ore crusher of the
Gem mill near Hastings
1881 Silver King boasted 37 wood-framed and well-constructed
buildings, at least 14 homes, two hotels, and
a population of 245 people
1881 The Pinal County Bank opened in Pinal City
1882 A 20-stamp mill at Hastings began to prosper and Hastings began
mining copper ore
1882 Pinal City has approximately 200 adobe buildings, with saloons,
hotels, boarding houses, two
Protestant churches and offices for doctors and lawyers, all of
which served the community of 861 people
1882-83 A shortage of water began to affect the production of silver
ore at the Silver King mine, a sign of bad
things to come. Families began moving away from the Silver King area
1883 The Pinal post office was established
1886-87 The market price of silver began its decline
1888 The price of silver drastically declined and the silver mines
begin to close
1891 Pinal City closed its post office
1900 The price of copper began to rise and the community of
Hastings, now known as Superior, comes alive
1900 The townsite of Superior was laid out by George Lobb. The town
is named “Superior” after Superior,
Michigan, where some of the Lake Superior and Arizona stockholders
lived
1903 The Superior post office was established. George Lobb served as
postmaster
1903 Superior’s first elementary school teacher was Miss Nellie
Bartelson, from Florence. She lived in a tent
house on East Main Street
1904 Tom Kelley established Superior’s first saloon in a tent house
1910 William Boyce Thompson formed the Magma Copper Company, owning
the Silver Queen mine outright
1910 The Magma Copper Company began operations at its mine-site near
the Arizona-Eastern Railroad 30
miles southwest of Superior. The word “magma” means molten rock
material, from which igneous rock, or lava, is
formed
1910 More and more immigrant workers, merchants and their families
continue to come from Mexico, England,
China, Norway, Ireland, Serbia, and Spain to Superior to work and to
establish and create a new way of life. They
bring with them a rich vitality of customs, languages and cultures
1910 The Roosevelt Elementary school was built
1914 The new Magma smelter began operations in Superior and a new
narrow gauge Magma Arizona railroad
was built to transport the copper ore on its steam operated railroad
cars to buyers
1915 The Superior Fire Department is established
1915 The St. Francis Catholic Church was established for its Mexican
parishioners. José Parra and Francisco
Nuñez carried hay from Florence to Superior in a two-wheeled wagon
cart to mix the hay for the church’s adobe
walls
1922 The Harding Elementary school was built
1923 William Boyce Thompson began building his 26-room mansion and
the Thompson Arboretum on the land
that held the earlier Silver Queen mine-site near the foothills of
the Picket Post Mountain and located near the
Pinal Mountains. Today, the Boyce Thompson Southwestern Arboretum is
recognized as one of the world’s
important arboretums. More than 6,000 plant species from all over
the world can be seen there. It is also a refuge
for over 150 species of birds and 40 other wildlife species and its
name is synonymous with the town of Superior
1924 A more formidable and stable smelter was constructed at the
Magma mine
1925 Superior High School was built
1941 The Pinal County Board of Supervisors approved the creation of
Superior’s fire district
1946 The Ladies Auxiliary to George E. Truman Post 3584 of the
Veterans of Foreign Wars was established
1957 The International Union of Mine, Mill and Smelter Workers (IUMMSW)
organized Local 938. The union
was later certified by the National Relations Board
1964 The Kennedy Elementary school was built
1965 A new federal post office opened in June
1971 The Magma Copper Company smelter closed
1976 The town of Superior was incorporated
1982 The Magma Copper mine closed
1982 The Town of Superior celebrated its 100-year anniversary with
its “Superior Centennial”. The Governor
of Arizona, the Honorable Bruce Babbitt, proclaimed the “Town of
Superior as a proud example of a bicultural
community, within a State rich with cultural diversity” and
surrounded by the landmarks known as the Superstition
Mountains, Apache Leap, Picket Post Mountain, and the Silver King
Mine
1990 The Magma Copper mine re-opened |
