Superior

Arizona's mining towns are full of historic buildings built to last but they're showing signs of weathering a century later. Superior, less than an hour east of Apache Junction on U.S. 60, is an example of mining  towns that prospered on and off for nearly a century starting in  the late 1800s. But Superior has endured  hard times since the mines closed two decades ago. 

Arizona Territory commander Gen. George Stoneman arrived in November 1870, set up a short-lived camp near Picketpost Mountain and started building a road to Camp Pinal to the east, according to David Briggs, an economic geologist with the Arizona Geological Survey.  

​ A soldier who worked on the road found nuggets in 1873 in the area that turned out to be silver. That indirectly led to exploration of the Silver King Mine two years later and attracted other mining interests to what would be become  Superior, Briggs said.

In 1902, George Lobb  sold his Golden Eagle Group  silver mine to the Lake Superior &  Arizona Mining Co. Lobb  laid out the town site, naming it Superior after the Lake Superior & Arizona Mining Co. The town's post office was established in December 1902.

The Magma Copper Co. mines in Superior operated from 1911 to 1996 and produced 27.6 million tons of ore, including 34 million ounces of silver, 686,000 ounces of gold and 1.29 million short tons of copper, according to Briggs. 

​Superior has since worked to save its historic downtown buildings A years-long effort to restore the Magma Hotel led to its reopening in March 2019.

The hotel has 21 rooms, a dining room, a tea room and a bar that's open from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays. 

Previously, Magma Hotel also housed a drug store and served as the Greyhound Bus depot.

Superior has an 11.65 mile trail through the town for hiking, biking and equestrians. The Magma Avenue trailhead leads up Queen ​

A hardscrabble cemetery is the final resting place for Mattie Earp, a prostitute who was Wyatt Earp's common-law wife.

Creek but that part of the trail is restricted due to construction of a new US 60 bridge northeast of town.

Superior also has the Bob Jones Museum in his former home. Jones was the town's first postmaster and Arizona's sixth governor.

The Magma Copper smelter site has been razed and its 300-foot smelter stack -- a town landmark -- was imploded Nov. 10, 2018.
Resolution Copper, which owns the site, cleaned up the contaminated debris and reseeded the site. 

Superior has no stoplights and not many shops are open. But the throw-back streetscapes with an old Sprouse-Reitz store are worth a detour off U.S. 60.

My list for future Superior visits include a hike on Picket Post Mountain and a visit to the nearby Boyce Thompson Arboretum.  Also, an historic cemetery west of Superior is the final resting place of Celia Blaylock, aka Mattie Earp, common-law wife of Tombstone lawman Wyatt Earp.

​Founded: 1882
Elevation: 2,820
Population: 3,232

Hotel Magma opened the same year as Arizona became a state, 1912, and was closed for decades before reopening in March 2019 after a major renovation.

The restored lobby of the Magma Hotel.

Magma Hotel's Ladle dining room.

Marty Robbins once played at the now-closed La Mina Cantina.

Central Bakery at Pinal Avenue and Pisano Street is no longer open.

This Main Street shop originally was Vaughn's Clothing Store, established in 1950. It also housed the VFW, chamber of commerce and a dentist's office.

Griftee's Market on Main Street sold groceries and meat in Superior. Its second-floor balcony was stripped from the historic building.

This artistically decorated home stands out among the town's small cottages.

A desert garden with a Totem Pole cactus decorates this colorful home.

Magma Copper Co. built this clubhouse for its workers. It hosted dinners, dances and even boxing matches for decades.

Superior's Main Street includes this retro diner now called Bella's Cafe.

Superior is know for its colorful murals.

An annual burro race brings two- and four-legged competitors to town.

Legends of Superior Trail (LOST) leads up Queen Creek from Magma Avenue. Construction of a new bridge has restricted access to the trail in 2025.