Welcome to the heart of Arizona and access to amazing outdoor adventure. Home to 7 wildernesses, like the Hell’s Gate Wilderness and Mazatzal Wilderness areas this maybe some of the most “Wild”, beautiful and due to its remoteness less explored territory in the United States. That is until now! The Gila County Board of Supervisors in early 2018 approved a never-been-done-before marketing plan that would showcase the entire area and shed light on all the amazing adventures, activities, special events, diversity, history and culture of this amazing part of Arizona. From 2,000 feet above sea level through the grand saguaros to the amazingly beautiful ponderosa pine forest (largest in the world) sitting at 8,000 feet above sea level, to the north and every place in between, Gila County has it all.
Popular theory says that the word Gila was derived from a Spanish contraction of Hah-quah-sa-eel, a Yuma word meaning "running water which is salty".
Gila County has a very diverse and somewhat wild makeup. The northern part of the county rises almost 8,000 feet above sea level and includes the Towns of Payson, Star Valley, Christopher Creek, Strawberry and Pine. Here you will find a tradition rich in the old west, including what some think is the birth place of the modern-day rodeo and the last strong hold of the Apache Indians in what was around the early 1800’s called the Arizona Territory. It then stretches east to include the remote community of Young and some of the most wild, untamed territory in the western United States.
To the south the history and heritage of American work ethic and toughness is on display where mining for copper and other precious minerals can be found in the cities of Globe and Miami. To the east the rich Native American culture brings to light the traditions and lifestyles of the San Carlos and Apache Indian Reservations.
Gila County has long been known for its rugged almost untamable geography, people and way of life. It incorporates the Mogollon Rim that is a topographical and geological wonder cutting across the State of Arizona. It extends approximately 200 miles (320 km), starting in northern Yavapai County and running eastward, ending near the border with New Mexico. It forms the southern edge of the Colorado Plateau in Arizona. This natural geographic wonder is second to none when it comes to providing outdoor adventure to campers, hikers, mountain bikers, hunters and anyone else that follows the call of the wild.
In addition to the “The Rim”, about 10 miles from Payson is one of the greatest national treasures in all of America - The Tonto Natural Bridge. So special that in 1990 a purchase agreement between the State Parks Board and the Tonto Natural Bridge, Inc., was signed to operate this as a State Park. Hundreds of thousands of visitors come each year to see the largest travertine Bridge in the world. One spring day in 1877, while prospecting for gold in the Tonto Rim area, David Douglas Gowan’s eyes first beheld this enormous Natural Bridge. He descended from the mountains to the east to the beautiful little valley below that had a clear spring, in order to quench his thirst. After refreshing himself, he started exploring the adjacent area and made his unique discovery. After a few more trips to this “Garden Spot” with its unique beauty, Gowan decided this was the place for him to live.
Its people were no less rugged. During the prohibition years “bootleg” enterprises grew. New stills sprouted in the canyons. In an Arizona Highways article, Vernon Haught said that 30 to 40 stills were operating in the Payson area. In the 1880s, a long range war broke out in Gila County that became the most costly feud in American history, resulting in an almost complete annihilation of the families involved. The Pleasant Valley War (also sometimes called the Tonto Basin Feud or Tonto Basin War) matched the cattle-herding Grahams against the sheep-herding Tewksburys. Once partisan feelings became tense and hostilities began, Frederick Russell Burnham, who later became a celebrated scout and the inspiration for the boy scouts, was drawn into the conflict on the losing side. Burnham shot many men in the feud and was himself nearly killed by a bounty hunter. Tom Horn, a famous assassin, was also known to have taken part as a killer for hire, but it is unknown as to which side employed him, and both sides suffered several murders to which no suspect was ever identified.
Globe is currently the County seat and truly exemplifies the culture of the once popular phrase uttered in most old western movies, the “Wild Wild West”. Due to Globe’s relative isolation from the rest of Arizona and its proximity to the San Carlos Apache reservation, Globe remained a frontier town until the mid 1900’s. Globe's history is laced with many historic events such as murders, stagecoach robberies, outlaws, lynching’s, and Apache raids. The history of Globe is often linked back to several outlaws that ran rough shod over the area in the early 1800’s including; Ike Clanton from the famous Gun Fight at the OK Corral, Geronimo, Apache Kid and Big Nosed Kate - the estranged girlfriend of Doc Holiday from the infamous “Fight at the Ok Corral” in Tombstone, Arizona. She later moved to Globe and opened a boarding house. That home still stands today.
Currently Gila County is working to find its footing as a place that offers tourists and visitors a glimpse of its famous history that was certainly instrumental in forming the famous “Wild” western frontier.
It looks to position itself as the place in Arizona to “Explore the Wild”, not only by showcasing its colorful historic past but also featuring its current day world class outdoor recreational opportunities and access to some of the most beautiful yet challenging landscape in North America.
We invite you and your family to come and Explore the Wild and Discover all that Gila County has to offer. Locals have a saying “come for the Mexican food and stay for the sunsets”. Whatever your draw, whether it be hunting your trophy elk on the San Carlos Indian Reservation or embracing Globe’s mining history or the Payson – World’s Oldest Continuous Rodeo, backpacking the Pinal mountains or camping on “The Rim”, Gila County is your next ADVENTURE DESTINATION – Best part it is only 90 minutes from Phoenix - See you there!!
For More info visit https://www.discovergilacounty.com
