At the junction of Harshaw Rd. and the road leading to the Mowry Mine is a single gravesite for Orton Phelps.
Sylvester Mowry purchased the “Patagonia Mine Holdings” in 1860 and renamed the mine after himself. He expanded the mining operations and facilities, which thrived until the Civil War. The Union government arrested and imprisoned Mowry for treason. The charges were eventually dropped, but not before bankrupting Mowry. The mine was sold several times after Mowry’s death in 1871; the last recorded owner was the U.S. Mining and Smelting Company. The town of Mowry was destroyed by the Apaches during the Civil War but came back to life in the 1890s. Mining was the main source of employment and the town also promoted its location and climate as a tourist destination. [American Pioneer & Cemetery Research Project].
Orton Phelps (1853-1916), and his wife Marietta (1863-1953) moved to Arizona from California around 1897. The couple had two children, Georgia, born in 1890, and a daughter born in Pima County in 1898 who lived only three months. In 1899 Orton opened a delicacy store and lunch counter known as the Breaker at 118 West Congress Street in Tucson. His newspaper announcement noted: “I will supply families with roast chicken, baked fish, salads, baked beans, vegetables and homemade pies and cakes, coffee, milk, and iced tea.” [Arizona Daily Star, 7/22/1899].
In 1900 Orton was working as a “hotel keeper” in Tucson. By 1902 the family had relocated to Mowry. Initially Orton operated a saloon but later established a group of “tent houses” for the tourist trade. “Mr. and Mrs. Phelps are the very pink of hospitality and do much to make the stay of their patrons both pleasant and agreeable. Fresh eggs, bread and milk can always be had, and these things go far towards making life in the wooded hills both healthy and attractive.” [Arizona Daily Star, 10/2/1910]. The tents also provided longer-term housing for locals. Teacher Anna H. Fortune boarded with the Phelps during her tenure at the Mowry school. [Arizona Republic, 4/26/1953].
Orton was elected Justice of the Peace for Mowry in 1906 and served as the Mowry postmaster from 1907 to 1912. He was one of two Mowry election clerks in 1912 and testified in a lawsuit concerning the relocation of the designated voting place. [The Oasis, 2/24/1912].
In 1915 the Phelps sold their property and cattle and moved to the Mowry Mining Company’s “house on the hill.” Orton focused on managing Mowry Mining’s extensive properties. [Border Vidette, 5/29/1915]. Orton and Marietta also owned mining property and operated a blacksmith shop.
In December 1908, Georgia Phelps met James Lester Cole, a machinist from Tucson, at a dance in Patagonia. They were married by Georgia’s father four weeks later after threatening to elope. [Arizona Daily Star, 1/23/1909].
The marriage was short-lived and in 1913 Georgia married Samuel P. Boucher, a local miner who later became a deputy sheriff in Douglas. Boucher patrolled the highway between Douglas and Bisbee on his motorcycle, enforcing the 30mph speed limit. [Bisbee Daily Review, 7/26/1919]. He was a regular participant in local motorcycle races.
Orton was 63 when he died in 1916 after a short illness; Marietta remained in Mowry until 1922 when she moved to Georgia. Sam and Georgia also relocated to Georgia about 1935 and later moved to Texas with Marietta.