Cerro Colorado is a

ghost town Ghost Town(s) or Ghosttown may refer to: * Ghost town, a town that has been abandoned Film and television * ''Ghost Town'' (1936 film), an American Western film by Harry L. Fraser * ''Ghost Town'' (1956 film), an American Western film by All ...

in southern

Pima County Pima County ( ) is a county in the south central region of the U.S. state of Arizona. As of the 2020 census, the population was 1,043,433, making it Arizona's second-most populous county. The county seat is Tucson, where most of the populatio ...

Arizona Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southwestern United States. It is the list of U.S. states and territories by area, 6th largest and the list of U.S. states and territories by population, 14 ...

. The town is located off

Arivaca Road Arivaca ( O'odham: Ali Wa:pk) is an unincorporated community in Pima County, Arizona, United States.Ari ...

, near Arivaca, and is best known for the massacre of mining employees by

Mexican Mexican may refer to: Mexico and its culture *Being related to, from, or connected to the country of Mexico, in North America ** People *** Mexicans, inhabitants of the country Mexico and their descendants *** Mexica, ancient indigenous people ...

outlaws and buried treasure.

History

Cerro Colorado was established around 1855 by

Charles D. Poston Charles Debrille Poston (April 20, 1825 – June 24, 1902) was an American explorer, prospector, author, politician, and civil servant. He is referred to as the "Father of Arizona" due to his efforts lobbying for creation of the territory. ...

, who owned the Sonora Exploring & Mining Company in

Tubac, Arizona Tubac is a census-designated place (CDP) in Santa Cruz County, Arizona, United States. The population was 1,191 at the 2010 census. The place name "Tubac" is an English borrowing from a Hispanicized form of the O'odham name ''Cuwak'', which ...

. The most prosperous mine in the area was the Heintzelman Mine, named after

Major General Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of a ...

Samuel P. Heintzelman Samuel Peter Heintzelman (September 30, 1805 – May 1, 1880) was a United States Army general. He served in the Seminole War, the Mexican–American War, the Yuma War and the Cortina Troubles. During the American Civil War he was a prominent fig ...

, who was the first president of the mining company and later grew famous during 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 state ...

. The post office was established on April 17, 1879, and closed on April 15, 1911. In 1861, fifteen Mexican and Native American men were killed after being buried alive in their shaft when the roof caved in. The men were deep within the shaft so no rescue was possible or attempted, this frightened the Mexican employees who felt the mine was haunted so they left and went home to

Sonora Sonora (), officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Sonora ( en, Free and Sovereign State of Sonora), is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the Federal Entities of Mexico. The state is divided into 72 municipalities; the ...

. Several

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

and American miners then became employed. When the Civil War began,

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land warfare, land military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight Uniformed services of the United States, U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army o ...

troops left the region to fight the rebels and the town became part of

Confederate Arizona Arizona Territory, colloquially referred to as Confederate Arizona, was an organized incorporated territory of the Confederate States that existed from August 1, 1861 to May 26, 1865, when the Confederate States Army Trans-Mississippi Depart ...

. Once again Cerro Colorado was surrounded by Apache land, leaving the settlement under constant threat. At about the same time in 1861, Charles Poston left the mine for business elsewhere, he left his brother John Poston in charge.

Cerro Colorado treasure

When Charles Poston left Cerro Colorado, the mining operations were constantly halted due to the Mexican employees who continually stole and took their plunder to Sonora. One day, Poston's

foreman __NOTOC__ A foreman, forewoman or foreperson is a supervisor, often in a manual trade or industry. Foreman may specifically refer to: * Construction foreman, the worker or tradesman who is in charge of a construction crew *Jury foreman, a head ju ...

, known only as Juanito, was caught heading back to Sonora with a load of stolen silver bullion, so Poston had him executed as an example to other thieving employees. The silver was never recovered and was reportedly buried by Juanito somewhere near the mine. Juanito's death only made the matter worse. Within the next few nights, Mexicans stole "''whatever they could''" and took the property to Sonora, where several Mexican outlaws heard the story of the buried treasure. The outlaws immediately headed into Arizona for the mine. Once there they won the support of the Mexican employees and destroyed the mine in hopes of finding the silver. After failing to find it they tortured and murdered John Poston and two German miners. As of 2023, nobody has ever found the treasure. When the massacre was over, the outlaws left for Mexico and the mine was rebuilt. By 1864 a walled stone

fort A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facere'' ...

was erected on a nearby hill and a

guard tower A guard tower is any military tower used for guarding an area. These towers are usually operated by military personnel, and are structures built in areas of established control. These include military bases and cities occupied by military forces. ...

was constructed in the town plaza. A few

adobe Adobe ( ; ) is a building material made from earth and organic materials. is Spanish for '' mudbrick''. In some English-speaking regions of Spanish heritage, such as the Southwestern United States, the term is used to refer to any kind of ...

buildings remain along with the concrete grave of John Poston, and his tombstone.

References

{{Pima County, Arizona Ghost towns in Arizona Former populated places in Pima County, Arizona Treasure of the United States Treasure in Arizona Arizona folklore 1855 establishments in the United States Forts in Arizona