People, Progress & Places in One Legacy Marker

 
To give you an idea of a research target for our Patagonia Heritage Tile Mural Project 2009 take a look at this historical marker for The Mowry Mine.
You'll note that the infamous Sylvester Mowry didn't appear on the scene here until 1859 although his name somehow got attached permanently to this mine that had been worked for centuries before by native labor and Mexicans. So-called "Anglos" wrote that history apparently and dominate our interpretation of what has come before. Mr. Mowry was a Confederate sympathizer during the American Civil War; he was imprisoned for being on the wrong side of that conflict.

The weather-beaten marker is mounted on a locally-quarried fragment of granite in the center of town at the intersection of Naugle & Third Avenue.

Certain facts in the progression of history are better represented than others, leaving gaps in a balanced legacy:

"Worked by NATIVE LABOR" ... We had "natives" here in Patagonia? Did we forget?

"under the direction of Jesuits" . . . Yes, it appears the Black-Robes did more than convert the natives to Christianity

"Later by Mexicans" . . . yes, but how about some more details? . . . and for how long before The Gadsden Purchase in 1853-54?

"Nearby Ghost Towns and Cemetery are reminders of frequent Indian raids" . . . You mean the mines went out of business due to attacks by Indians? HUH? and local residents couldn't defend their lives and properties against raids?
Reminders - for the purposes of accurate local history - should also include the Boom-to-Bust cycles of mining companies and external events outside Arizona.


Who's buried in the local cemetery who was killed by the Indians? Can that be verified? Where are the records and archives located?

And Patagonia was called "a sleepy town"???? . . . Somebody got that all wrong!
And, it appears just by the notations on this legacy marker, that it was never "a hidden paradise"...Not then and not now.

Please join the local working group for the Arizona Centennial Heritage Project - we've got a lot to do