Clifton, Arizona is small town located in Eastern Arizona, in Greenlee County, near the state border with New Mexico. It is a small mining community of about 4,000 people (3,933 as of the 2020 Census). The population of the town is more than six times it’s earliest recorded population of 600 in 18906. Another nearby settlement is the company town of Morenci, connected to Clifton by a steep road. Morenci was originally owned by the Detroit Copper Mining Company of Arizona but is now owned by Freeport-McMoRan7. Morenci is home to one of the largest copper mines in the world7. Although Clifton and Morenci are two legally distinct townships, the residents of both towns form a cohesive community; both towns even being considered as a single economic region by the Arizona Department of Commerce6. Other than the copper mine, there are numerous reasons why the two communities are connected. Clifton has very little infrastructure, lacking even basic amenities such as grocery stores and medical centers. The copper mine is also the largest employer in both towns7.
Clifton, and by extension Morenci and the rest of the region, has a rich history, from its founding and it’s continued operation. According to the town’s official website, Clifton was inadvertently discovered by U.S. Army scouts who were tracking Native Americans1. During their tracking operation, these scouts noticed that nearby water streams had a metallic taste to them, and found deposits of copper in a nearby canyon, what would later become the historic Chase Creek district1. One of these scouts, Robert Metcalfe, later returned to the canyon, with his brother James, as well as mining crews and investors to excavate copper1. Originally known as Goulding’s Camp, the town of Clifton would be officially found in 1873, with the township forming in Chase Creek as well as the nearby San Francisco River1. Numerous companies arrived to stake claims on land and mineral deposits. Some of the most influential mining companies of the town’s first 30 years were the Longfellow Mining Company, the Arizona Copper Company (strangely headquartered in Scotland), and the Shannon Mining Company1. The prosperity of this region in the early 1900’s prompted the creation of Greenlee County in 1909, before Arizona was federally given statehood1. The economic influence the mines had brought other enterprises to the region, with theatres even being built. In 1926. The Coronado Trail state highway was built, increasing the region’s economic influence1.
Of course, the most influential location in Clifton is Chase Creek, the canyon that started it all. Chase Creek was the economic and cultural center of Clifton, and later Morenci. The influence of Chase Creek was one of many reasons why Clifton was more populous than Phoenix at the start of the 20th century1. While Chase Creek is mostly a residential district today, many of its original buildings still stand to this day. Some notable locations are Sacred Heart Catholic Church, The Lyric Theatre, and the Clifton Social Club2. However, a great number of the town’s buildings have been damaged by flooding in the town.
There are other notable locations around the town. A large set of train tracks run through the town, staring with the train station at the entrance of the town, which is now used as a visitor center1. One of the most infamous sites in the town is the old Clifton Jail. This jail is simply a hole blasted into the side of a cliff face in town2. According to local history, the jail was created as criminals were originally punished by being sent to work in the local mines, but too many escaped from this2.
Clifton had received some attention on a national scale a couple of years ago. The A&E network’s tv series, “Ghost Hunters”, filmed an episode inside the Clifton Hotel, which is rumored by locals to be haunted3. While this filming in Clifton did not leave much of an impact on the town, it did bring some attention to this small town3.
Another piece of history and culture Clifton has been a part of is the history of the highway that goes through it. U.S. Route 191 was previously named Route 666 (nicknamed the Devil’s Highway)4, in accordance with national U.S. highway naming guidelines. This naming led many to believe that the highway was cursed, even in the other states where this highway runs through4. While in other regions this is just a superstitious belief, the section of this highway that leads into Clifton is notoriously difficult to drive through, causing multiple accidents4.
The Clifton and Morenci region was also recognized for the actions of nine men who all enlisted to fight in the Vietnam War5. Dubbed the “Morenci Nine”, these men all departed the small community in 19665. Recruitment officers originally told the men that the platoon they would be joining would be comprised of men from Arizona, but the group was split, so part of group had deployed to Vietnam, while other member of the Morenci Nine had stayed in the U.S. for training5. In the end, 3 of the Morenci Nine returned back to the mining community, working at the mine until the strike in 19835.
In 1983, the workers at the copper mine in Morenci has went on strike after the then owners of the mine, the Phelps Dodge Mining Corporation, had “temporarily laid off” its workforce2. This was done in response to the recession in the early 1980’s, as copper prices had started to drop2. The workers started the strike on June 30, 19832. Instead of shutting the plant down, Phelps Dodge hired replacements for the workers who went on strike2. This led to conflict, eventually escalating so far that the state sent state troopers and the National Guard to quell the conflict2. Later in September, when Phelps Dodge had completely replaced the worker who went on strike, a massive flood from the San Francisco River devastated the town, destroying most of the town2. The town has never economically recovered from this flood, with both the strike and flood causing much of the population to leave. The strike as well as parts of the town’s history is discussed in the book, The Copper Crucible.
1Town of Clifton, Arizona. Town of Clifton, Arizona. https://cliftonaz.com
2Clifton Union Hall. Colorful, Quirky Clifton, Arizona. https://www.cometoclifton.com/index.php
3Mares, Walt. “Clifton, ‘Town of Terror’ airs tonight on A&E”. Gila Herald. https://gilaherald.com/clifton-town-of-terror-airs-tonight-on-ae/
4Weingroff, Richard. “U.S. 666: Beast of a Highway?”. Federal Highway Administration. https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/infrastructure/us666.cfm
5Woods, Aiden. “Fifty years and a rebuilt town later, Morenci remembers its Nine”. AzCentral. https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/arizona-best-reads/2016/07/13/fifty-years-and-rebuilt-town-later-morenci-remembers-its-nine/86711650/
6Wikipedia. “Clifton, Arizona”. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clifton,_Arizona
7Wikipedia. “Morenci, Arizona”. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morenci,_Arizona
