A Portrait of Ajo, Arizona

March 14, 2025

A Portrait of Ajo, Arizona

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I’ve wanted to write this blog for a long time now. Joan and I have been coming to Ajo and southern Arizona for over 24 years. We both have a strong affection for the architecture that is common in the southwest. I have put together a collection of photos of some of our favorite local businesses and homes to show you, and I’ll add to this collections as we discover more interesting architecture.

But first let’s talk about Ajo the town. Accounts dating to the early 1800s note that the Ajo area had been prospected and mined by the native Indians, and Mexicans. (It was still a part of Mexico until 1853) After the Gadsden Purchase of 1853 the first commercially successful mine in Ajo was created by a consortium called the Arizona Mining and Trading Company.

They found the ore plentiful and rich, but were hampered by the lack of water and not having any nearby ore refineries. The ore had to be packed out to San Diego 330 miles away, on mules. From there it was hauled in ships to Swansea, England to be smelted. By 1856 the mine was again abandoned, the lack of water and the shipping costs were unsurmountable. The high grade ore of Ajo brought many investors over the next 44 years, some with moderate success, all to fail for the same reason. By 1915 the two main hurdles of mine development had finally been solved. The railroad agreed to extend a spur from Gila Bend to Ajo, and New Cornelia mine drilled a 650 foot deep well “with seemingly endless water”. Later wells dug in the area brought the total water available up to 4,550 gallons per minute! What made Ajo unique is that the mining company decided to build a family friendly townsite before bringing in the miners. Mine manager, John Greenway, wanted a clean, well organized townsite where families could feel at home (happy wife..happy life). To this end, water, power, and sewers were installed first, homes were then built and rented to the workers. Hospital, churches, theaters, grocery and dry goods stores were either owned by the mine or contractors operated them to mine standards. 1917 was the beginning of

large scale operations

Copy of the original town plat

The New Cornelia Mine Superintendent, John Greenway, hired architects from Minnesota to plan out a townsite and embarked on building the town of Ajo. The residential blocks were 270 foot squares which allowed for 10 houses per bock, Five lots down each side of the block with a 20 foot alleyway in between. Each individual home was on a lot that is 54 feet wide and 125 feet deep.

Curley School. Ajo, Arizona 2025

In 1919 the mine also started construction on a school building. The school had the capacity to grow larger as the mine brought in more families. By 1938 the school campus covered 7 acres of down town, and was serving 826 elementary students and 145 high school students.

The school was abandoned for 23 years after the mine closed in 1986. A renovation in 2007 by a charitable trust, remodeled the classrooms into apartments earmarked for artists, along with overnight accommodations (The Sonoran desert Inn), a coffee shop (Curley Coffee), gift shops, and a small restaurant.

The mine also built a beautiful downtown plaza in the Spanish Colonial Revival style, which opened in 1917. The plaza contained a grocery store, theater, train station, a library and several other businesses.

This one looks a little unloved- but stands resolute!

Each residential lot in the Ajo townsite had a 3 foot high chain link fence around all sides of the lot, a galvanized metal garage in the corner off the alleyway and a home with around 1000 square feet of floor space. Typically, 2 bedroom, one bath.

Many of the homes built for workers were modest wood frame homes. The picture above is one of the few homes that is more or less original. Due to the scarcity of lumber products and the remote location of Ajo, the mine frequently purchased “kit” homes from manufacturers which were built on site by company carpenters.

Nicely upgraded mine home in downtown Ajo, AZ

Here is an original adobe style home that was a common style used in “old town” Ajo. When the mine closed in 1985, most of the houses were sold, and the community services like water system, and sewer system, streets and alleys were converted to public utilities. While some of the houses are in very poor shape, many of the houses were renovated by their new owners into some very nice dwellings.

Somewhere in there is the kernel of the original mine house- very creative!

Remodeled Mine House

Here are some of our favorite houses, not all were originally mine houses.

The home in the photo above was clad in a synthetic stucco material at some time after it was first built. This is a very popular upgrade because it adds a little southwest flair and at the same time it adds exterior insulation to a marginally insulated house.

Another well cared for house and grounds

Another example of the adobe style home used by the mine for workers housing. This home is in an area that would have been built for management employees.

These next several houses are interesting, although not actually in the “mine town” of Ajo.

The house pictured above is in the neighboring town of Gibson, AZ. Gibson is another unincorporated town right next to Ajo, where families who were not directly working for the mine could have a home built. One of the hallmarks of the southwestern architecture is the walled courtyard.