DG 'Rusty' Alderson,
TOAST President
Mostly 1830 -1930
Rusty's
All American
Stories
​
Not an official Metra Site
Gilded Age & Train Historian
Train Railfan
Historical Characters, Lincoln Family,
Frontier Arizona, Early Railroads
TOAST email: GAstorybook@gmail.com
FAVORITE
PLACES & STORIES
2 Tucson is often referred to as the "Old Pueblo" as it rivals St. Augustine, FL for the title of oldest U.S. city.
3a
3 Few people know that modern Tucson was founded by an Irishman, Hugo O'Conor, a Spanish mercenary from Dublin, Ireland.
4 Interestingly, sitting on the main entrance to Tucson is a statue of the 2nd to last person to invade the United States:
5 Tucson. Home to Davis-Monthan Air Force base, Tucson has a long history with airplanes. In 1910, a small group of citizens gathered in Elsyian Park along the Santa Cruz River in Tucson waiting patiently to see Charles "Birdman" Hamilton, fly an "aeroplane", the next transportation technology since the locomotive: Tap here for the story.
6. Green Valley. Following I-19 south for 30 minutes from Tucson, one can see a continuous sea of trees - over 100,000 pecan trees. In the 1950's a California cotton farmer moved to Green Valley and eventually chose to grow pecan trees rather than grapes.
6a
7. Tubac - where art meets history and shopping. In its early years the Spanish cited a Presidio (fort) here to protect the citizens from Apache attacks. Later, Charles Poston, known the father of Arizona, headed a mining company located in Tubac which quickly surpassed Tucson in population. Poston proclaimed "when a railroad is built in Arizona, Tubac would be on the main line". Tubac still doesn't have a railroad station.
In the 1940's two art teachers decided to move their studio here and establish a place for artists to paint the beautiful desert and mountain sceneries. Thus, once again, putting Tubac on the map. For Tubac's short history tap here
7a
7a. Tumacacori
Talbert T. “Tol” Pendleton, a former All American football player from Princeton and a member of the Eastern aristocracy, gravitated to the Texas oil business after World War I.
As he absorbed Texas culture, however, Pendleton must have realized that the ultimate symbol of Western aristocracy was a showcase ranch, not an oil derrick.
Taking advantage of plunging land prices during the Depression, Pendleton and his partner, F.M. Dougherty, bought out several other land owners.
By 1932, they were ready to form Baca Float Ranch, Inc.
For the next three decades, Pendleton lived the life of the gentleman rancher.
He imported Santa Gertrudis cattle from the King Ranch in Texas.
​
​Santa Gertrudis Lane became known as Santa Booze Lane.
​
​
​
8. Nogales. In 1882, a train from Benson connected with a train from Guaymas, Mexico in modern day Nogales. The train station actually straddled the border of these two towns named Nogales. Line City was the name of Nogales, AZ before being named Nogales.
9. Bisbee. A very productive mining town at one time, Bisbee has remade itself into a tourist destination. Located on a side of a mountain, this town's streetcar carried over a million riders annually when the Copper Queen mine was in its heyday. A hotel, with the same name, continues to draw tourists, only in part because some say it is "haunted". One of the town's main draws is it art shops.
​
9a The first baseball stadium, and still is use, was built in Bisbee.
A touring major league baseball team played here.
9b One of the historical events the town wishes never happened occurred when the mining company corralled most of its workers at gun point, put them on cattle cars, and sent them to New Mexico!
This was known as the Bisbee Deportation.
10 Nacozari, Sonora, south of Bisbee.
The U.S. has its railroad heroes, so does Mexico.
​
Jesus Garcia, a young railroad brakeman, jumped on a burning train full of explosives, moved it to safety, but perished when the train exploded.