 |
|
|
|
The above 'egroup' is an email type bulletin-board in which only members receive email from other members of Palominas eGroup. You use your existing address. I am also a member other egroups and this is a good way to exchange news and get questions answered or discussed. |
PALOMINAS PHOTO GALLERY - PAGE 8
Photos of Hereford, AZ - Then and Now
Just on the northern boundary line of the community of Palominas lies what used to be the town of Hereford. The current post office for Hereford is located about nine miles west of the original one, and Hereford itself is a sprawling unincorporated area with no town, just homes and 'manufactured' homes. The reason I am including its story and some photographs is because of the historical ties it has had with Palominas.
"Hereford, named after a territorial lawyer, Benjamin Hereford, was founded in 1880, and there were several small mines doing very well in the nearby hills until around 1902 when they started playing out. Like many other places along the San Pedro, cattle raising and farming took the place of the loss of the mines' productivity. The El Paso & Southwestern railroad put in shipping pens and some of these are still here. The community always had several rodeos each year and always drew people from far and wide. In 1904, the first Wells Fargo Station and Post Office were built.
Some of the most famous cattlemen held interests near Hereford. One was John Slaughter who moved to the San Bernardino Ranch 16 miles east of present-day Douglas in 1884. In 1885, Colonel William Greene moved his headquarters to Hereford and built one of the finest homes in the area. He also shipped most all of his cattle from Mexico and the United States from the shipping pens in Hereford. Frank Moson was another rancher who owned one of the finer cattle ranches in the county.
The old store at Hereford was owned and operated by P. J. Wetzel from 1914 to 1920; he also dealt in a lot of prospecting where he did the grubstaking and, unfortunately, things did not turn out so well for him. There is still cattle raising in the area and farming along the river. A few cattle corrals are still here along the Southern Pacific Railroad, but like so many other small communities in Cochise County and southern Arizona, Hereford has become another ghost town." (From Cochise County, Arizona, Past & Present by Ervin Bond)
 |
This is a reproduction of a Hereford post card produced around 1932. It pretty much includes the whole town which existed back then. There is nothing left of this town now, as it was bulldozed down over time. This photo is courtesy of Bisbee Mining and Historical Museum. (Click on photo) |
 |
 |
 |
| Date unknown
photo of the train depot in Hereford. This building was located east of the Post Office, on the other side of Hereford Road. Photo from the Tommy Stoner collection. |
The Hereford P. O., store and nightclub. Sometime after this photo was taken (date unknown), everything but the Post Office was dismantled. In 1962, there was a total of 78 mailboxes. | The ONLY standing structure in 2001 of the town of Hereford, and possibly a future museum - the Hereford School Outhouse! Except for a few stone blocks and a partial foundation, even the school is gone. |
 |
 |
| This 1962 photo shows the Post Office along Hereford Road, looking east. The train depot, torn down before 1962, would have been further east by the (unseen) tracks. | This 2001 photo shows that there is absolutely nothing left where the P. O. used to be, not even the old foundation. The location is the curve in the road after you come off of the bridge (heading east). |
 |
 |
|
Looking north along the tracks near where the depot and other buildings use to be (but mainly on the other side of the tracks). On the left, this 1962 photo shows a water tank and a pump tower still standing. On the right, a 2001 photo taken nearly at the same spot. The only remains of these structures left are parts of their foundations. |
|
Back To The Top Of The Page
Or,
Back To The Previous Page
Or,
To The Next Page