County: Santa Cruz
Zip Code:
Latitude / Longitude: 31°28′2″N 110°42′25″W / 31.46722°N 110.70694°W / 31.46722
Elevation: 4,872 ft (1,485 m)
Time Zone: Mountain (NO DST) (UTC-7)
Established: 1873
Disestablished: 1960s
Comments: Harshaw is a populated place in Santa Cruz County in the southeastern part of the U.S. state of Arizona. The town was settled in the 1870s, in what was then Arizona Territory. Founded as a mining community, Harshaw is named after the cattleman-turned-prospector David Tecumseh Harshaw, who first successfully located silver in the area. At the town’s peak near the end of the 19th century, Harshaw’s mines were among Arizona’s highest producers of ore, with the largest mine, the Hermosa, yielding approximately $365,455 in bullion over a four-month period in 1880.
Remains: Several historic buildings remain in Harshaw, although most are on private property belonging to the Hale Ranch. The most prominent building still standing is the James Finley House, now preserved and listed on the National Register of Historic Places as of November 19, 1974. Built around 1877 as a residence for the superintendent of the Hermosa Mine, the house was located just 100 yards (91 m) from the Hermosa Mill.
Current Status: Today, all that remains of Harshaw are a few houses, some building foundations, two small cemeteries, and dilapidated mine shafts. Most of the buildings were torn down by locals or by the Forest Service in the mid to late 1970s.
Remarks: Throughout its history, the town’s population grew and declined in time with the price of silver, as the mines and the mill opened, closed, and changed hands over the years. By the 1960s, the mines had shut down for the final time, and the town, which was made part of the Coronado National Forest in 1953, became a ghost town.
