Through Miami

I had no idea that there was a Miami in Arizona, but here I am. Just shy of 500 miles for the journey.

Miami is located in the mountains of south central Arizona, approximately 75 miles east of Phoenix and 110 miles north of Tucson. In the 1860's the first non-Indians penetrated the region with expeditions organized by Anglo settlers and soldiers for the purpose of recovering stolen livestock from Apache raiders or conducting warfare against the Apaches. Silver mining started in the surrounding areas in the 1870's and interest in mining gold and silver was far greater than any other kinds of metal deposit.

It was not until the early 1880's when the price of silver dropped and the price of copper began to rise did the miners began to take an interest in copper deposits they had previously encountered in this region. In 1906, the Miami Copper Company began working the claims in the Miami area and the demand for men to work in the mines increased. Most of the men traveled to work on foot (no public transportation), few miners could afford to keep horses, and these new mines were located 7 miles west of Globe, Arizona. The development of new large scale copper mines and the need to provide miners with convenient housing, shopping and places of amusement led to the founding of Miami, Arizona.