Superior
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Arizona's mining towns are full of historic buildings built to last but they're showing signs of weathering a century later. Superior, 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 Picket Post Mountain and started building a road to Camp Pinal to the east, according to David Briggs, an economic geologist with the Arizona Geological Survey. Briggs' full report: https://bit.ly/2RMQlfy A soldier who worked on the road found some nuggets in 1873 in the area that turned out to be native silver. That indirectly led to exploration of the Silver King Mine two years later and attracted other mining interests to what would be beomce Superior, he said. 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. Superior also has a town museum in the former home of Bob Jones, Arizona's sixth governor. |
A hardscrabble cemetery is the final resting place for Mattie Earp, a prostitute who was Wyatt Earp's common-law wife.
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, is cleaning up the contaminated debris and planned to reseed the property. In town, there aren't many shops open but the throw-back streetscapes here are worth a detour off the main highway. 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: 3,141 |
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.
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Magma Hotel's Ladle dining room.
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Superior's La Mina Cantina
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Central Bakery is no longer in business.
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A breezeway adjacent to La Mina bar.
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La Mina bar anchors the eastern end of Main Street in Superior in a fortress of a building that no doubt has a lot of stories to tell.
Griftee's Market on Main Street sold groceries and meat in Superior. Its second-floor balcony was stripped from the historic building.