Mowry Mine

The silver here was dug by hand long before it made anyone rich. The Jesuits worked these veins with O'odham labor, then Mexican miners took over, all before the Gadsden Purchase moved the border in 1854. Sylvester Mowry, a West Point officer turned mine owner, bought the workings in 1856 and ran them hard; when the Civil War came, his lead went to the Confederacy, and the Union Army jailed him for it in 1862. A ghost town and a graveyard are what the boom left behind.

What the plaque says

Pioneer Producer of Silver and Lead, was worked by native labor under the direction of the Jesuits, later by Mexicans before The Gadsden Purchase. Was acquired by Sylvester Mowry in 1856. Provided some lead for the Confederacy. Nearby Ghost town and cemetery are reminders of frequent Indian raids.

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Tumacácori National Historical Park — 17 mi
  Arizona's first mission, on O'odham ground along the Santa Cruz River.

More markers nearby

• Patagonia Depot — steps away
• John Ward's Ranch — 3.4 mi
• Camp Crittenden — 8.8 mi
• Mission Guevavi — 13 mi