Copper was discovered in Morenci in and mining began the following year. Both towns have had a cyclical history of booms and busts, and today downtown Clifton is nearly abandoned, with most economic activity centered in Morenci. The area's largest employer is Freeport-McMoRan. Geronimo is said to have been born near the current site of Clifton, and well-known southwest impressionist artist Ettore DeGrazia was born in Morenci.
The closest town of any size is Safford, which is about a minute drive to the southeast. Morenci and Clifton are not known for haute cuisine, although it is possible to get a decent meal here. This city travel guide to Morenci is a usable article. It has information on how to get there and on restaurants and hotels.
The Morenci-Clifton district eventually became one of the largest copper producers in the world. Like many mining towns, Morenci was located on extremely steep terrain, not the usual place a town site would be located.
However, when thousands of laborers converge on a rich deposit, a city is born nonetheless. Interior of a hoist house - Morenci. Descriptions of Morenci paint a picture of a town so steep as to be downright precarious quote courtesy of Greenlee County :.
Built against the sides of Longfellow Hill, the vertical alignment of building construction gained the town the distinction as one of the most dangerous in the United States. Morenci Arizona As late as the deliveries to homes by shopkeepers were made by pack burro and ladder. Since there were no roads to speak of, but only foot and burro paths, cars were parked at the foot of the mountain, with the drivers forced to walk from that point on. Longfellow School at Morenci Sometime during the burro paths were widened by blasting to make it possible to bring a vehicle - even an automobile - into town.
Underground mining in Morenci was over by , and by development of an open-pit mine began. The pit would consume the entire town, and one of the West's most historic communities was lost forever. Western Mining History.
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