San Simon River is an

ephemeral Ephemerality (from the Greek word , meaning 'lasting only one day') is the concept of things being transitory, existing only briefly. Academically, the term ephemeral constitutionally describes a diverse assortment of things and experiences, fr ...

river A river is a natural flowing watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, sea, lake or another river. In some cases, a river flows into the ground and becomes dry at the end of its course without reaching another body of w ...

, or stream running through the San Simon Valley in

Graham Graham and Graeme may refer to: People * Graham (given name), an English-language given name * Graham (surname), an English-language surname * Graeme (surname), an English-language surname * Graham (musician) (born 1979), Burmese singer * Clan ...

and Cochise County, Arizona and

Hidalgo County, New Mexico Hidalgo County ( es, Condado de Hidalgo) is the southernmost county of the U.S. state of New Mexico. As of the 2010 census, the population was 4,894. The county seat and largest city is Lordsburg. A bill creating Hidalgo from the southern part ...

. Its mouth is at its confluence with the Gila River at Safford in Graham County. Its source is located at .

History

The San Simon River was originally named by the Spanish, Rio San Domingo, had acquired various names, Rio de Sauz, Rio Sauz or Sauz River, Rio de Sonoca, Rio de Suanca or Suauca, San Simon Creek, San Simon Wash, and Solomonville Wash. In 1849, when Colonel

John Coffee Hays John Coffee "Jack" Hays (January 28, 1817 – April 21, 1883) was an American military officer. A captain in the Texas Rangers and a military officer of the Republic of Texas, Hays served in several armed conflicts from 1836 to 1848, including a ...

pioneered a new shorter cut off route from

Cooke's Wagon Road Cooke's Wagon Road or Cooke's Road was the first wagon road between the Rio Grande and the Colorado River to San Diego, through the Mexican provinces of Nuevo México, Chihuahua, Sonora and Alta California, established by Philip St. George ...

in the Animas Valley to

Tucson , "(at the) base of the black ill , nicknames = "The Old Pueblo", "Optics Valley", "America's biggest small town" , image_map = , mapsize = 260px , map_caption = Interactive map ...

by way of the Puerto del Dado (

Apache Pass Apache Pass, also known by its earlier Spanish name Puerto del Dado ("Pass of the Die"), is a historic mountain pass in the U.S. state of Arizona between the Dos Cabezas Mountains and Chiricahua Mountains at an elevation of . It is approximate ...

) and Nugent’s Pass,John P. Wilson, ''Peoples of the Middle Gila: A Documentary History of the Pimas and Maricopas, 1500s–1945'', Researched and Written for the Gila River Indian Community, Sacaton, Arizona, 1999, p. 111 the Cienega of San Simon, (on the river, 5 miles southwest of the mouth of Stein's Pass, and 13 miles up river from where the

Butterfield Overland Mail Butterfield Overland Mail (officially the Overland Mail Company)Waterman L. Ormsby, edited by Lyle H. Wright and Josephine M. Bynum, "The Butterfield Overland Mail", The Huntington Library, San Marino, California, 1991. was a stagecoach service i ...

crossed the river near modern

San Simon, Arizona San Simon is a census-designated place in Cochise County, Arizona, United States. As of the 2010 census, it had a population of 165. San Simon is located along Interstate 10, east of Willcox. The community has a ZIP code of 85632. History ...

), , became a water and camping place on the

Southern Emigrant Trail :''The Southern Emigrant Trail should not be confused with the Applegate Trail, which is part of the Northern Emigrant Trails.'' Southern Emigrant Trail, also known as the Gila Trail, the Kearny Trail, Southern Trail and the Butterfield Stage ...

''The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies'', Series I, Vol. L (Part I), United States. War Dept, U.S. Government Printing Office, 1897, pp. 121–122
/ref> With a diversion to Dragoon Pass in place of Nugents Pass, this became part of the original route of the San Antonio-San Diego Mail Line. The Butterfield Overland Mail followed a new route through Soldier's Farewell Stage Station, Stein's Peak Station and

Doubtful Canyon Doubtful Canyon was the name of two canyons in the Peloncillo Mountains, once considered in the 19th century as one canyon that served as the pass through those mountains. Today the canyon bearing the name Doubtful Canyon, is mostly in Cochis ...

until the beginning of the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states ...

when the attacks by the Apache in the Peloncillo Mountains made it too dangerous and travelers followed the old Hays route.

References

{{authority control Gila River Rivers of New Mexico Rivers of Arizona Rivers of Cochise County, Arizona Rivers of Graham County, Arizona Rivers of Hidalgo County, New Mexico

History

See also

References