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First Sawmill in Arizona

Santa Cruz County · At the Madera Canyon turnoff from U.S. Highway 89 near Continental. Marker on the east side of the road, with Santa Rita Mountains in the background. · location approximate

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In Madera Canyon ARIZONA'S FIRST SAWMILL Pioneers faced great difficulties in using mesquite and cottonwood for building purposes, until, in 1857, pine timber was whipsawed in Madera Canyon in the Santa Rita Mountains. It was hauled by ox team to Tucson despite constant attacks and harassment by Indians.

Proposed in this 1958 book. We have not found independent confirmation that this one was cast. That 1997 list covers only state highway right of way, so it does not reach markers on city streets, on tribal land, or in state and national parks.

1958 text, presented as a historical document. It uses the period's terms for Native people. The book proposed 100 markers for Arizona's highways and records 14 as cast when it went to press.

Arizona still marks its history under the same law: the State Historical Advisory Commission approves a marker, the Arizona State Library, Archives and Public Records certifies that its text is authentic and historically correct, and the Arizona Department of Transportation erects and maintains the markers on state highway right-of-way. Arizona State Library, Archives and Public Records ↗

David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries

Marker data: Historical Markers in Arizona, Vols. I-II (Arizona Development Board, 1958), text by Bert Fireman

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