Helvetia, Arizona

Helvetia is a ghost town in Pima County, Arizona, that was settled in 1891 and abandoned in the early 1920s. Helvetia is an ancient name for Switzerland.[2]

Helvetia, Arizona
Ghost town
Helvetia in 1909, facing east.
Helvetia, Arizona
Location in the state of Arizona
Helvetia, Arizona
Helvetia, Arizona (the United States)
Coordinates: 31°51′28″N 110°47′19″W
CountryUnited States
StateArizona
CountyPima
Founded1891
Abandoned1921
Elevation4,324 ft (1,318 m)
Time zoneUTC-7 (MST (no DST))
Post Office openedDecember 12, 1899
Post Office closedDecember 31, 1921

History

Helvetia was founded in 1891 for the settlement of workers from the surrounding copper mines. At its peak the city had 300 inhabitants, of which most were Mexicans. In 1911, the mines closed, due to low commodity prices. The post office, which had opened on December 12, 1899, closed on December 31, 1921, marking the end of the town.[3]

The 1967 western film Hombre was shot in Helvetia.[4]

Today

There is not much left of Helvetia to see, simply a pair of foundation walls rising above a floor, the ruins of the smelter, and the cemetery. In the vicinity there are slag heaps and shafts from the mines. Although the town is gone, there are several homes in the immediate area that are still in use, including the Helvetia Ranch.

Geography

Helvetia is located in the Santa Rita Mountains, north of Madera Canyon, at 31°51′28″N 110°47′17″W.[1]

The Rosemont project

The Rosemont project is a large porphyry copper deposit nearby, which may yet be developed into a mine pending proper approval. There is an extensive area of porphyry copper mineralization between Helvetia and the ghost town of Rosemont. Four centers of potentially economic copper mineralization are known. The best-delineated deposit is the Rosemont,[5] which has a geological ore reserve of around 550 million tons at about 0.45% copper, with significant molybdenum and silver credits.

In 2010, Rosemont was owned by Augusta Resources. Augusta hoped to put the Rosemont into production as early as 2011. The Rosemont Copper plan was to create a 21st-century mine in Southern Arizona. Rosemont's plan set new higher standards for environmental protection by using new technologies for water conservation and tailings storage. In addition Rosemont Copper was expected to produce more than 2,900 jobs annually for the state of Arizona and more than $19 billion in economic activity.[6]

Rosemont Copper's plan was being reviewed by numerous local, state, and federal authorities and would only be issued permits to operate once all environmental protections were in place.

There is significant local opposition [As of 12/23/2015 no mining operations have started] to the construction of the mine, including concerns about the loss of the multiple historic and pre-historic sites that are in the area, cultural resources, and natural habitation.[7][8]

  • Helvetia in 1901.
  • Makeshift dwellings in Helvetia in 1902.
  • The smelter in Helvetia, sometime before 1921.
  • The ruins of the smelter in 2014.
  • Slag dumped over the side of a small canyon, in front of the smelter.
  • The fenced-in ruins of an adobe hotel in Helvetia.
  • The Helvetia Cemetery in 2014.
  • Debris and the ruins of a small building at the Bulldozer Mine, northwest of Helvetia.
  • Ruins of the mine.
  • USGS map of southeastern Arizona including Helvetia, c.1910.
  • Azurite on malachite from Helvetia. Size: 6.6 x 4.3 x 3.1 cm.

See also

References
  1. U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Helvetia
  2. Gannett, Henry (1905). The Origin of Certain Place Names in the United States. Govt. Print. Off. pp. 154.
  3. Sherman, James E.; Barbara H. Sherman (1969). "Helvetia". Ghost Towns of Arizona (First ed.). University of Oklahoma Press. pp. 78. ISBN 0-8061-0843-6.
  4. Gaberscek, Carlo and Kenny Stier (2014). In Search of Western Movie Sites. Lulu Press, Inc. Page 44. ISBN 9781312625020.
  5. Helvetia Area Porphyry Systems by Sal Anzalone, Arizona Geological Society Digest 20, 1995
  6. Augusta Resources, Rosemont Project
  7. "Rosemont mine faces mounting opposition", Green Valley News, June 12, 2009
  8. "Rosemont mine benefits are small, short-term, negatives lasting, costly" op-ed, Arizona Daily Star, March 9, 2010
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