The area around what’s now Patagonia, Arizona was once a Tohono O’odham village called Sonoitac. It may take its current name from the southern region of South America, christened by Welsh miners who had moved north for work. Another theory is that early settlers found a large footprint, perhaps from a grizzly bear (or Sasquatch himself), and called it “Land of the Bigfeet”. However it got its name, Patagonia is a wonderful little town that’s big on art and seems to have sought to beautify even the smallest details of their town.
When the Spanish moved north into the area, they established the Mission Los Reyes de Sonoitac. The region became part of the United States through the Gadsden Purchase of 1853 and lead and silver mines were quickly opened. Fort Buchanan was established to provide protection for the settlers from Apache raiders, later to be joined by Forts Crittenden and Huachuca.
In 1893, oil tycoon and rancher Rollin Rice Richardson began to develop the area near his mining interests into a townsite which would be served by the new Mexico and Arizona Railroad. Humbly, he decided to name the town Rollin after himself, but when the growing community petitioned for a U.S. Post Office towards the end of the century, they chose the name Patagonia instead. Patagonia, with its two story train station, became the shipping center for the nearby mines and by 1900 boasted a population of 133 souls.
The town flourished until 1929 when a series of misfortunes struck. The stock market crash was tough on everyone nationwide, but in Patagonia spring rains flooded the river, washing out all of the bridges. Because of this (among other reasons), the railroad abandoned the line to Mexico, isolating the town at the end of the line.
Local mines were reopened during World War II to provide important metals for the war effort and the town experienced a small rebound. Patagonia was officially incorporated in 1948.
Since then, Patagonia has slowly grown into a community of about 900 people. The natural beauty of the area has brought in outdoors people of all varieties and many artists have settled there as well. Just walking around town, it’s easy to see the impact of the artists and also the support they receive from the community. There are artistic flourishes everywhere you look - even the public restrooms are colorfully painted.
I saw quite a bit of Southern Arizona on my travels and I definitely found Patagonia to be the prettiest small town I came across. Put it on your list the next time you’re in the area. You won’t be sorry.