Pearce, Arizona, and Sunsites, Arizona, are adjacent unincorporated communities in the

Sulphur Springs Valley The Sulphur Springs Valley is a valley in the eastern half of Cochise County, Arizona. The valley covers an approximated vertical rectangle west of the Chiricahua Mountains–Dos Cabezas Mountains complex. The Sulphur Springs Valley is the larg ...

Cochise County, Arizona Cochise County () is a county in the southeastern corner of the U.S. state of Arizona. It is named after the Native American chief Cochise. The population was 125,447 at the 2020 census. The county seat is Bisbee and the most populous city is ...

, United States. The two communities are often referred to as Pearce–Sunsites, Pearce/Sunsites, or Pearce Sunsites. Pearce is located between the Cochise Stronghold, Chiricahua National Monument, and the winter Sandhill Crane refuge of

Whitewater Draw Whitewater Draw, originally Rio de Agua Prieta, panish: river of dark water is a tributary stream of the Rio de Agua Prieta in Cochise County, Arizona. It was called Blackwater Creek by Philip St. George Cooke when his command, the Mormon Ba ...

making it popular for birders, history buffs, hikers, and climbers alike. At 4,400 feet of elevation, the area is also known for its milder summers which make it ideal for quality grapes and vineyards (recognized as an American Viticultural Area). Pearce is best known as a historic ghost town. Sunsites, founded in 1961, adjoins Pearce, and the Sunizona and Richland developments are nearby. All of these communities share the Pearce, Arizona post office and ZIP code, 85625. The 85625 ZIP Code Tabulation Area, which includes the four communities named plus a large surrounding rural area, had a population of 2104 at the 2000 census. and 1983 in the 2010 census. The Pearce–Sunsites economy is based on retirees and tourism.Pearce/Sunsites community profile
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Arizona Department of Commerce Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Four Co ...

Fittsburg was the site of the Commonwealth Mine and is located about one mile east of Pearce.Pearce and Fittsburg ghost towns
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History

Pearce is a mining ghost town named for

Cornishman The Cornish people or Cornish ( kw, Kernowyon, ang, Cornƿīelisċ) are an ethnic group native to, or associated with Cornwall: and a recognised national minority in the United Kingdom, which can trace its roots to the ancient Britons w ...

James Pearce, miner and cattleman, who discovered gold nearby at what became the Commonwealth Mine in 1894. The Pearce Post Office was established on March 6, 1896. The railroad station opened in 1903. By 1919, Pearce had a population of 1,500. The town declined in the 1930s and became almost a ghost town in the late 1940s when the mine closed for the last time. The Commonwealth Mine became one of Arizona's major silver producers. Over 1,000,000 tons of ore were produced from 1895 to 1942. There are about 20 miles of underground workings. The mine produced about $8 million worth of silver and $2.5 million in gold at a time when silver was priced around 50 cents an ounce, and gold was $20 an ounce. Sunsites was established in the 1950s and 1960s by New York lawyer Joseph Timan and his Horizon Land Company.

Historic sites

Pearce is the home of two properties on the National Register of Historic Places. The Old Pearce General Store opened in 1896. The store remained open as a tourist attraction after Pearce (almost) died, and remains open in 2009. Our Lady of Victory Catholic Church was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2004. There are a number of other historic structures still extant in and around Pearce, some still in use, others in ruins. EA Smith behind the wheel circa 1900

Climate

Pearce has a cold semi-arid climate ( Köppen: ''BSk'') with cool winters and hot summers.

Notable people

Burt Alvord Albert "Burt" Alvord (September 11, 1867 – after 1910) was an American lawman and later outlaw of the Old West. Alvord began his career in law enforcement in 1886 as a deputy under Sheriff John Slaughter in Cochise County, Arizona, but turne ...

, late 19th-century lawman in Pearce * Daniel Barringer (geologist), part owner of Commonwealth Mine *

Bill Downing Bill Downing a.k.a. William F. Downing (1860 – August 5, 1908) was a notorious outlaw during the Wild West era in Arizona. Downing had fled from the Texas Rangers posse who was after him when he came to Arizona. In Arizona, he was involved in th ...

, a notorious late 19th-century outlaw * Edward Landers Drew, Pinal County deputy sheriff buried in the Pearce Cemetery *

R. A. F. Penrose, Jr. Richard Alexander Fullerton Penrose Jr. (December 17, 1863 – July 31, 1931), better known throughout his career as R. A. F. Penrose Jr., was an American mining geologist and entrepreneur. He was from a prominent Philadelphia family of Cor ...

, part owner of Commonwealth Mine * Effie Anderson Smith, Arizona Impressionist painter of landscapes, and wife of mine manager A.Y. Smith

References

Sources and external links

Pearce Sunsites Chamber of Commerce

Google map of Pearce–Sunsites

Old Pearce Mercantile

includes photo gallery

{{authority control 1896 establishments in Arizona Territory Cemeteries in Arizona Former populated places in Cochise County, Arizona Ghost towns in Arizona Mining communities in Arizona Populated places established in 1896