Sasco, Arizona — A Lost Smelting Town
Sasco, named after the Southern Arizona Smelter Company, was a bustling company town built in the early 1900s to support the booming copper mining industry near the Silver Bell Mountains. Founded by Frank M. Murphy and his Development Company of America, Sasco once thrived with 600 residents, a powerful smelter, stores, saloons, and even electric power.
But despite its promise, financial troubles and the devastating Spanish flu pandemic in 1918–1919 led to the town’s rapid decline. By 1933, most buildings were torn down, and the railroad dismantled. Today, you can still visit the ruins — the old smelter, jail, and Hotel Rockland — though the area has become more of a rough-and-tumble spot for shooting and paintball.
The nearby cemetery holds many victims of the pandemic, a silent reminder of Sasco’s turbulent past.
