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1913 Who's Who in Arizona

This book by Jo Conners was published in 1913. A small sampling of extractions are provided below.
[Page 97]

Greenlee County, the fourteenth and youngest county in Arizona, was organized from the eastern part of Graham County, the organization having become effective January 1, 1911. Greenlee is one of the richest and most populous counties of the State. Its last assessment showed a valuation of upwards of $12,000,000, with vast improvements and developments under way, especially by the mining companies operating there. Three of the greatest mining companies of the State, The Arizona Copper Company, The Detroit Copper Mining Company, and The Shannon Copper Company, have their holdings in Greenlee County. Although primarily a mining county, a large number of cattle are raised in Greenlee County, and this industry is being gradually developed. There is also a large amount of land under cultivation, and in the southern part are many fine ranches, on which alfalfa hay, grain, fruit and vegetables are raised, and for the latter the towns of Clifton and Morenci furnish an excellent market. The Arizona Copper Company has stores in both these places, and The Phelps Dodge Mercantile Company has a store at Morenci that will compare favorably with those found in large cities. Other good stores are to be found throughout the county, and the banking facilities are splendid. There are also two live newspapers, The Copper Era and The Duncan Arizonan.

For the transportation of ore from mines to smelter the Shannon Copper Company has built, at a greater cost per mile than any other road in the State, a railroad 13 miles long, and the Coronado Railroad, owned by The Arizona Copper Company, connects the towns of Metcalf and Clifton. The Arizona & New Mexico Railway also passes through the county and connects with the Southern Pacific main line.

 

 Birdseye Views of Clifton

Clifton, the county seat, has a population of more than 5,000, and is situated on the line of the Coronado and Arizona & New Mexico Rys. Morenci, the next town of importance in the county, has also a population of more than 5,000. Both these towns are dependent upon the mining and smelting; of copper, and both have excellent lighting, water and telephone systems, all modern conveniences, and splendidly equipped high schools, with superior opportunities for education. Each one also supports a Catholic and a Presbyterian church, two banks, two good hotels, and two hospitals, the latter maintained by the mining companies whose headquarters are in the county. These towns are seven miles apart, and arrangements have been made by the corporation which recently received the franchise for an electric road between Globe and Miami, to build an electric road connecting them within the next year.

Metcalf, another thriving town of more than 2,000 inhabitants, is situated six miles from Clifton on the Coronado Railway, in the heart of the mining district, and upon this industry its inhabitants are largely dependent. Duncan is the largest town in the farming district and the shipping point for the farmers and cattlemen of a large area. It has a thoroughly good school system, hotel, bank, several stores and weekly paper. Plans are now under way for a highway from Duncan, on the A. & N. M., to Solomonsville on the A. E. Ry.

Greenlee County needs better transportation facilities, and her people are working earnestly for better highways. The affairs of the county are handled by capable officials, its outlook is bright, and the desirability of Greenlee as a place of residence is constantly being recognized by persons in search of a permanent home.

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