San Rafael, is a

ghost town A ghost town, deserted city, extinct town, or abandoned city is an abandoned settlement, usually one that contains substantial visible remaining buildings and infrastructure such as roads. A town often becomes a ghost town because the economi ...

Pima County, Arizona Pima County ( ) is a County (United States), county in the south central region of the U.S. state of Arizona, one of 15 List of counties in Arizona, counties in the state. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 1 ...

, United States.

History

On November 24, 1865, San Rafael, then a ranching community, was the site of a raid, by a large Sonoran force of about 350 Opata volunteers under the command of Col. Refugio Tanori, an Opata leader commissioned in the Mexican Imperial Army, that left an American citizen wounded. It was believed to be an attempt to capture

Sonora Sonora (), officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Sonora (), is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the Administrative divisions of Mexico, Federal Entities of Mexico. The state is divided into Municipalities of Sonora, 72 ...

Governor Ignacio Pesquiera, who had fled the advance of French troops, taking refuge in

Arizona Territory The Territory of Arizona, commonly known as the Arizona Territory, was a territory of the United States that existed from February 24, 1863, until February 14, 1912, when the remaining extent of the territory was admitted to the Union as the ...

. The Volunteers left after news of 2 companies of 1st Battalion of Native Cavalry were headed their way.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:San Rafael, Arizona History of Arizona by location Pre-statehood history of Arizona Ghost towns in Arizona Former populated places in Pima County, Arizona Tohono O'odham Nation