|
The area surrounding Benson has been inhabited for centuries. In 1697,
a Spanish officer wrote in his log that the houses along the San Pedro
River were on fertile land and except for the frequent Indian attacks;
it was pleasant place to live. Then in 1860, near the place of Benson the
Butterfield stagecoaches crossed the San Pedro River.
It wasn't
until 1880, when the railroad created the town of Benson. The town was
chosen for two reasons. One was its proximity to the San Pedro River and
the second its location to the mines on the upper San Pedro Valley. Benson
became the railroad town for the famous mining town of Tombstone. It was
also a shipping point for supplies south to the towns of Bisbee and Douglas.
It was in that same year, that Benson was founded. The town was named after
Judge William B. Benson, who was a good friend of Charles Crocker, the
Southern Pacific Railroad owner. Benson remained a railroad hub for southern
Arizona| Arizona | (air-i'-ZON-u') | The State of Arizona comprises the extreme south-western portion of the United States. It is bounded on the north by Utah, on the east by New Mexico, on the south by Mexico, and on the west by California and Nevada. |
until 1910. Today it is a tourist spot, trading hub and popular retirement
town.
|
