TUBAC – More than 150 years ago – five decades before statehood – Arizona’s first newspaper hit the printing press in Tubac.
At the time, Tubac was among the territory’s more active presidios with 400 residents. The Gadsden Purchase had just been ratified five years earlier…
About 40 miles north of Tucson, Picacho Peak abruptly rises 1,500 feet above the flat desert landscape typical to many other parts of Southern Arizona. It’s among the most prominent landmarks along the highly traveled stretch of Interstate 10 connecting Tucson and Phoenix.
Thousands of drivers pass by the ominous peak daily; most unaware of the adventure it holds, or its historical significance.
Picacho is the highest peak among a cluster of rugged rock formations shaped by an ancient volcanic flow. It serves as the cornerstone of Picacho Peak State Park, which boasts 3,700 acres of recreational opportunities that aren’t visible from the highway. In addition to numerous hiking trails, the park has campgrounds, ramadas, picnic areas, grills and a LEED-certified visitor center.
According to Arizona State Parks, this region was frequently traveled by Mormon settlers and forty-niners throughout the mid 1800s. It was also the scene of the westernmost battle of the Civil War. In April 1862, a couple dozen Union and Confederate troops clashed near the base of the mountain while scouting. Three men were killed.
When old Joe Walker, a big, strapping, ex-mountain man, and his party of prospectors arrived at Granite Creek in the Spring of 1863, another old mountain man, Pauline Weaver, was already camped there. The area where the future territorial capital city of Prescott would be founded was the stomping grounds of the Yavapai and Tonto Apaches. Both groups had a reputation as formidable foes of the whites who asked no quarter and gave none. Surprisingly, the earliest days of Prescott’s history were relatively free of bloodshed and the credit goes to Pauline Weaver.
Weaver is one of those ubiquitous characters who best fits the description of one who never had time to write or narrate early Arizona history—he was too busy making it. Born in Tennessee around 1800, he was the son of a white father and Cherokee mother. For a time he worked for the Hudson Bay Fur Company but preferred warmer climates, so he headed for the Southwest.
Q: Who was the McDowell in Fort McDowell?
A: This is an excellent question because it has nothing to do, at least not directly, with Jack Swilling or Darrell Duppa, two worthies of whom we are thoroughly sick and tired.
Fort McDowell was founded in 1865 at the juncture of Sycamore Creek and the Verde River by five companies of the army’s California Volunteers. It was near several Indian trails and convenient for expeditions against the Yavapai and Tonto Apache, who were tearing up the pea patch at the time.
It was named for Gen. Irvin McDowell, the commanding officer of the Department of California and New Mexico. He held this post because it was about as far away from the Civil War as his superiors could put him.
Today, Picacho Peak serves as a familiar landmark along a stretch of Interstate 10 that connects Tucson and Phoenix. An unmistakable cluster of volcanic remnants juts hundreds of feet from the desert floor, greeting a constant flow of drivers who whiz past the site, completely unaware of its historical significance.
Some 150 years ago, this was actually the scene of “the westernmost battle of the Civil War.”
