Clifton, Arizona, is located on U. S. Highway 191 very near the New Mexico border. It is thought that the Coronado Expedition passed this way in 1540. It was Apache territory at the time. Mexican miners operated placer mines here as early as 1864. In 1872 Jim and Bob Metcalf identified rich copper deposits in the area and soon thereafter several mines were established. There is a dispute as to how the town got its name. One story has it that the high cliffs that surround the town inspired Charlie Shannon to call it Cliff Town, later shortened to Clifton. Anther claims that it was named for Henry Clifton, an early prospector. Like the early ore shipped out of Ajo, the first ore from the Clifton mines was shipped all the way around Cape Horn to Swansea, Wales, for smelting. The Lesinsky brothers purchased the mines and built the first local smelter in Chase Creek, Clifton grew up around the creek. In 1880 the Lesinskys sold out to Frank Underwood who formed the Arizona Copper Company with headquarters in Edinburgh, Scotland. In 1809 Clifton was designated the county seat of Greenlee County. In 1921 Phelps-Dodge acquired the mines from Arizona Copper.
|
|
