Tres Alamos

[rustycoinUT]

Located in Cochise County. It is located on the eastern flank of the Rincon Mountains east of the city of Tucson at the eastern end of the Redington Pass, which runs between the Santa Catalina Mountains and the Rincon Mountains.

In 1768 Spanish soldiers from the Presidio de Tucson farmed the area along the San Pedro River to supply food for the Presidio. Later, in 1830, Mexican farmers settled in the area, establishing more permanent farming operations and transporting their produce through the Redington Pass to Tucson with the protection of soldiers from the Presidio.

In 1860 the Soza family settled in the area and operated a prosperous cattle ranch. As other Mexicans immigrated from the south the community grew with the building of an adobe chapel called La Capilla de San Antonio de Padua de Lisboa. The community also had a gristmill and built a school for the children of the community.

In 1865 several Anglos from Tucson settled in the area as well. Though farming was productive, they found the Apache raids intolerable and abandoned the area after a few years

The Tres Alamos post office was established in 1874 to serve ranchers along the San Pedro River north of the town of Benson. The post office was eventually closed in 1886.