By Larry Scott
Most people saw a country to be bypassed - or driven through in haste. But, in October of 1877, Philemon Merrill saw home. A beautiful, remote setting for the Mormon farming community of his dreams.
Philemon scouted the area along the San Pedro river, finally settling on a site just north of the Boquillas Spanish Land Grant and about 10 miles south of Ohnesorgen’s river crossing. Here he found good farming land, plenty of water, and suitable terrain for an irrigation canal.
He also noted the beautiful but ominous rock formation to the east, home to dreaded Apaches who might easily wipe them out.
Philemon returned to Tucson and, on November 29, returned with a ragtag band of eight Utah and Idaho farm families, and set up camp along the west bank of the river. The settlers found mild weather and plentiful wildlife. Goats provided milk and meat. Mexican neighbors proved kind and helpful, with herbs and roots for medicinal purposes. Rainfall was abundant. Gardens were planted, as well as 75 acres of wheat and barley.
When not occupied in farming, the settlers worked feverishly to construct a stone fort on the East side of the river - a u-shaped structure with four rooms on each side, one per family. For a time, the finished building also served as school, church and community center.
The following year, John Campbell, of Texas, arrived and built a sawmill in the Huachuca Mountains. This brought precious cash-flow and building materials to the community. Soon a chapel, school, homes, and barns appeared on the landscape.
But, the dream of quiet isolation was not to be. Tombstone was founded in 1878, attracting swarms of prospectors and miners. Two years later, Bisbee came into being. Then, in 1881, the Southern Pacific Railroad crossed the river north of St. David and the town of Benson was formed.
The proximity of Tombstone, Charleston, Benson and other rip-roaring mining and railroad towns accentuated the differences between people seeking a permanent home and those just passing through in search of fortune. The Mormons came as families, while many prospectors and miners were unattached, having left families wherever they came from.
Circumstances led to unusual friendships and confrontations. Once, Philemon’s nephew, Oren, went into Tombstone to sell produce. Before heading home, he buried his earnings in a sack of grain. Along the way, a bandit stopped him, and searched his wagon. Finding nothing, he allowed Oren to go on his way.
Another young man, Daniel Eldridge, found work and companionship with a young cowboy named Billy Clanton, whose family ranched a few miles south. In October of 1881 Billy and two others died in a widely publicized gun battle in Tombstone.
By 1885 the valley was dotted with homesteads, with St. David as a hub. Its central location was about three miles southeast of the present post office.
Then, on May 3, 1887, a terrific earthquake rocked the region. St. David’s stone fort collapsed, as did the school. In a break seen as providential, the quake occurred while the school children were outside, at recess, and no one was injured.
The earthquake changed the face of the valley. The river disappeared underground for the most part, but people around St. David sometimes declared they could hear water running underground.
In early 1894, the McRae brothers noticed damp spot in one of their fields. Upon excavation, they uncovered an ancient stairway leading downward to a clay pot with a hole in the bottom. A tiny stream of water issued from the opening. The brothers rigged a primitive boring apparatus and, at 276 feet, struck artesian water. This priceless, life-giving treasure - the first of many - still flows today.
Thus, step by step, the dreams of a new community became reality. A century later, St. David’s Mormon roots endure. As elsewhere, religious cultures have relaxed, and the LDS community welcomes neighbors of other faiths. But the core values of faith, family, community, and love for the soil remain. People whose livelihood comes from professional practice in the city still come home to small-time farming, gardening, orchards and livestock. It is, indeed, a good life.
More by Larry Scott...
Most people saw a country to be bypassed - or driven through in haste. But, in October of 1877, Philemon Merrill saw home. A beautiful, remote setting for the Mormon farming community of his dreams.
Philemon scouted the area along the San Pedro river, finally settling on a site just north of the Boquillas Spanish Land Grant and about 10 miles south of Ohnesorgen’s river crossing. Here he found good farming land, plenty of water, and suitable terrain for an irrigation canal.
He also noted the beautiful but ominous rock formation to the east, home to dreaded Apaches who might easily wipe them out.
Philemon returned to Tucson and, on November 29, returned with a ragtag band of eight Utah and Idaho farm families, and set up camp along the west bank of the river. The settlers found mild weather and plentiful wildlife. Goats provided milk and meat. Mexican neighbors proved kind and helpful, with herbs and roots for medicinal purposes. Rainfall was abundant. Gardens were planted, as well as 75 acres of wheat and barley.
When not occupied in farming, the settlers worked feverishly to construct a stone fort on the East side of the river - a u-shaped structure with four rooms on each side, one per family. For a time, the finished building also served as school, church and community center.
The following year, John Campbell, of Texas, arrived and built a sawmill in the Huachuca Mountains. This brought precious cash-flow and building materials to the community. Soon a chapel, school, homes, and barns appeared on the landscape.
But, the dream of quiet isolation was not to be. Tombstone was founded in 1878, attracting swarms of prospectors and miners. Two years later, Bisbee came into being. Then, in 1881, the Southern Pacific Railroad crossed the river north of St. David and the town of Benson was formed.
The proximity of Tombstone, Charleston, Benson and other rip-roaring mining and railroad towns accentuated the differences between people seeking a permanent home and those just passing through in search of fortune. The Mormons came as families, while many prospectors and miners were unattached, having left families wherever they came from.
Circumstances led to unusual friendships and confrontations. Once, Philemon’s nephew, Oren, went into Tombstone to sell produce. Before heading home, he buried his earnings in a sack of grain. Along the way, a bandit stopped him, and searched his wagon. Finding nothing, he allowed Oren to go on his way.
Another young man, Daniel Eldridge, found work and companionship with a young cowboy named Billy Clanton, whose family ranched a few miles south. In October of 1881 Billy and two others died in a widely publicized gun battle in Tombstone.
By 1885 the valley was dotted with homesteads, with St. David as a hub. Its central location was about three miles southeast of the present post office.
Then, on May 3, 1887, a terrific earthquake rocked the region. St. David’s stone fort collapsed, as did the school. In a break seen as providential, the quake occurred while the school children were outside, at recess, and no one was injured.
The earthquake changed the face of the valley. The river disappeared underground for the most part, but people around St. David sometimes declared they could hear water running underground.
In early 1894, the McRae brothers noticed damp spot in one of their fields. Upon excavation, they uncovered an ancient stairway leading downward to a clay pot with a hole in the bottom. A tiny stream of water issued from the opening. The brothers rigged a primitive boring apparatus and, at 276 feet, struck artesian water. This priceless, life-giving treasure - the first of many - still flows today.
Thus, step by step, the dreams of a new community became reality. A century later, St. David’s Mormon roots endure. As elsewhere, religious cultures have relaxed, and the LDS community welcomes neighbors of other faiths. But the core values of faith, family, community, and love for the soil remain. People whose livelihood comes from professional practice in the city still come home to small-time farming, gardening, orchards and livestock. It is, indeed, a good life.
More by Larry Scott...