Sasco, Arizona, is a ghost town in Pinal County, located west of Red Rock and approximately 35 miles northwest of Tucson. Its name is an acronym for the Southern Arizona Smelting Company. Founded in 1907 as a company town centered around a large smelter, it processed copper ore from nearby mines, primarily the Silver Bell Mine to the southwest.
Founding and Development
Sasco owes its creation to the Development Company of America (DCA), led by Frank Morrell Murphy (brother of Arizona Territorial Governor Oakes Murphy). Murphy envisioned consolidating mining operations in the Silver Bell Mountains into a large-scale enterprise, which was an innovative concept for the time when most mining was small-scale.
Key steps in its development included:
- In 1903–1904, Murphy and engineer William Field Staunton acquired and combined mines (such as the Union and Mammoth mines) into the Imperial Copper Company and the Silver Bell Mine.
- The Arizona Southern Railroad was built to connect the Silver Bell Mine to the Southern Pacific Railroad at Red Rock, facilitating transport of ore, supplies, water, and people.
- The Southern Arizona Smelting Company (Sasco) was formally organized on August 10, 1906. Construction of the smelter began in summer 1907 and was completed in February 1908.
The town was strategically placed roughly halfway between major mining areas and near the Santa Cruz River. At its peak, Sasco had a population of around 500–600 people. It featured a residential neighborhood, stores, saloons, a hotel (notably the Hotel Rockland), a jail (built of concrete), a power house that supplied electricity to the town, Silverbell, and the mine, and other amenities. The smelter employed about 175 men and processed significant amounts of ore—245,000 tons by 1910.
Operations and Challenges
Sasco functioned primarily as a smelting and milling town rather than a direct mining site. Ore arrived via rail from the Silver Bell Mine (about 12 miles southwest) and other areas, including near Picacho Peak. The smelter complex, power house, and related infrastructure were central to the community.
Despite early promise as one of the premier smelting towns in the Southwest, Sasco’s history was marked by instability:
- Financial difficulties for the DCA, including problems with other operations (e.g., in the Tombstone area), led to bankruptcy. The smelter closed around 1909–1911.
- In 1915, the American Smelting and Refining Company (ASARCO) acquired the Silver Bell Mine and briefly reopened the Sasco smelter, reviving the town temporarily.
Decline and Abandonment
The town faced a devastating blow during the winter of 1918–1919 when the Spanish Flu pandemic struck. It killed many residents, with numerous unmarked or plain concrete graves in the Sasco Cemetery attributed to the outbreak.
ASARCO closed the Silver Bell Mine and Sasco operations in 1921 to focus elsewhere. The post office, established on July 10, 1907, closed on September 15, 1919. In the early 1930s, amid falling copper prices, most buildings were demolished, and the railroad was removed. By around 1921 (or shortly after), Sasco was largely abandoned.
Today
Sasco is now a neglected ghost town site with visible ruins, including:
- Remnants of the smelter complex (a focal point, with graffiti and some remaining structures).
- Foundations of the stamp mill.
- The Hotel Rockland (made of volcanic stones).
- The concrete jail.
- Elevated railroad platforms.
- Other building foundations.
The Sasco Cemetery (northeast of the townsite, near the La Osa Ranch) is privately owned and generally closed to the public; many graves there are linked to the 1918–1919 flu. The site is accessible via dirt roads (high-clearance recommended, with potential Santa Cruz River crossing issues) from exits near Red Rock or Marana on I-10. It has seen use for recreational activities like paintball, leading to litter, shotgun shells, and graffiti.
Sasco stands out among Arizona ghost towns as a short-lived but ambitious smelting community rather than a typical mining camp. Its rapid rise and fall illustrate the boom-and-bust nature of early 20th-century Arizona mining, compounded by corporate finances, transportation dependencies, and public health crises. Ruins and historical accounts preserve its legacy as a footnote in the state’s copper industry history.