by Mark Duggan | May 29, 2017
The Center of Southwest Studies website immediately gives a sense of the organization’s sizeable regional scope, from the logo image of the Superstition Mountains east of Phoenix to the historic mining photographs of Ouray and Silverton, Colo. Clicking around, you’ll...
by Mark Duggan | Jul 26, 2014
Tucson, Ariz. – I became interested in exploring copper mining in Arizona when I saw several photographs of the Tucson skyline from the 1940s. The images showed a smoky haze hanging in the sky, completely obscuring the view of the Santa Catalina and Rincon...
by Mark Duggan | Jun 30, 2014
Tucson, Ariz. – When the San Manuel Mine northeast of Tucson closed in 1999, it was the largest underground copper mine in the U.S., with more than 2,000 people working in 350+ miles of tunnels and a nearby smelter. The copper market had just gone bust,...
by Mark Duggan | May 29, 2014
Tucson, Ariz. – The names stand out on early maps of the Arizona Territory: Hamlets like Ruby and Silver Bell. Mines named The World’s Fair, Old Dominion, and The Heavy Weight. But they’re not to be found on modern maps of Arizona. When the copper booms...
by Mark Duggan | Sep 24, 2013
Longtime residents of Tucson, Arizona, remember the area as “prison camp.” From 1939 to 1973, it was the Catalina Federal Honor Camp. The inmates who built the Catalina Highway up Mount Lemmon were the original occupants. Conscientious objectors were also housed there...
