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By John Blake, Pimeria Alta Historical Society and Museum
The Pimería Alta Historical Society and Museum is embarking on another collaboration. This time, our partner is the Jewish American Society for Historic Preservation. The project? A bilingual metal monument honoring the Russian-Jewish immigrant Jacob Isaacson, who established the first store in Nogales. The monument will be installed near the museum, and we hope to have it in place in time for a Hanukkah celebration.
Jacob Isaacson (1853–1928), a Jewish itinerant peddler, was born in Gulding, Russia. He was one of the first settlers and founders of Nogales, arriving in 1880. He had learned that the Sonora Railway from Guaymas, Sonora, Mexico, and the Arizona & New Mexico Railway from Benson, Arizona Territory, would meet at Nogales. Isaacson homesteaded a plot of land with his older brother, Isaac, where they built a mud hut that became a general store. Jacob was named U.S. Postmaster on May 31, 1880, and the new community became known as Isaacson.
Isaacson grew to about 150 people, with two stores and ten saloons. Small as it was, the town was regarded as a city of the future. Much to Jacob’s dismay, Isaacson was renamed Nogales (“walnut trees”) on June 4, 1883, following a petition from its citizens to the U.S. Postmaster General. Shortly thereafter, Jacob left the town for which he is credited with founding. Traveling by horse-drawn wagon with jingling bells attached, Jacob carried merchandise to peddle in his new home of Los Angeles.

Participants in the Hands-On Historic Adobe Preservation Workshop at the Historic Pennington House in Tubac’s National Historic District helped restore the old adobe building that has been at the center of Tubac community life for over 175 years. New owners, Diane Janssen and Kirk Gilliam, invited the community again to participate in sustaining this Tubac Heritage Treasure. They sponsored a series of adobe restoration workshops that helped participants learn skills to restore adobe buildings while helping to preserve the Historic Pennington House. After two days of training, the participants demonstrated their newly acquired adobe brick-making and preservation skills Friday, Oct. 24 during the Anza 250th Commemorative activities.

The Historic Pennington House adobe preservation workshop team. From left to right: Top Row Richard Bowen, Kirk Gilliam, Rick Espe. Middle Row. Steve Piepmeier, Diane Janssen, Anna Marie Spain, Rondi Kutz. Bottom “Ya-Ya” Castro, Jessica Castro. Far Right, Instructor Alex Lim.
Photo by Steve Piepmeier

This updated exhibit is a tale of twos. Showcasing two revolvers, sharing the story of two brothers – John and William Wrightson – all translated into two languages.
William is remembered for directing the Santa Rita Silver Mining Company while John served as ranch supervisor in Tumacácori. The exhibit also investigates two separate accounts of John’s temperament. John was found murdered by vaqueros, or cowboys, close to the Tumacácori mission in 1859. John is buried where St. Ann’s Church stands today – right here.
Visit this exhibit located next to the 1859 printing press that William is credited with bringing to town.
Thank you to Jeffrey and James Edward Phillips, descendants of John Wrightson, for donating the 1851 Colt Navy and Allen & Wheelock side hammer revolvers. Thank you also to Rick Collins for providing extensive research and guidance and to Donna Leonard for assisting staff with exhibit installation.

The Pimeria Alta Museum is housed in the Old Nogales City Hall which was constructed in 1914. The museum provides information on the history of the Pimeria Alta and welcomes visitors to the border area.
The Pimeria Alta Historical Society (PAHS) was formed in 1948, when a group of 28 concerned citizens got together to preserve the rich and exciting history of the area. Since its inauguration, the mayor, and city council of Nogales have supported the society, turning over the first floor and basement of the Old City Hall to PAHS for use as a museum in 1980.

Experience our history at The Tubac Presidio Museum and Historic Park. Come see the location of the 1752 Spanish Presidio (fort), the Griffin Museum where exhibits bring to life the millennia of human history of this region, the oldest printing press in Arizona, the 1800s Rojas adobe row house, several interpretive gardens and the 1885 schoolhouse that served the community until 1965. Located in the heart of historic Tubac, we are the first state park in Arizona and a must-see when visiting. For more information and a calendar of events, visit www.tubacpresidio.org
MAY HOURS:
Sunday: 9am-3pm
Monday: Closed
Tuesday: 9am-3pm
Wednesday: 9am-3pm
Thursday: 9am-3pm
Friday: 9am-3pm
Saturday: 9am-3pm .

Tumacácori Mission sits at a cultural crossroads in the Santa Cruz River valley. Here O’odham, Yaqui, and Apache people met and mingled with European Jesuit and Franciscan missionaries, settlers, and soldiers, sometimes in conflict and sometimes in cooperation. Follow the timeworn paths and discover stories that connect us to enduring relationships, vibrant cultures, and traditions of long ago.

By Germán Quiroga, The Patagonia Museum
The Patagonia Museum, a member and volunteer-supported nonprofit organization, is dedicated to preserving, collecting, and exhibiting the history and culture of eastern Santa Cruz County. The Patagonia Museum proudly stewards the historic schoolhouses in Patagonia and Lochiel.
The schoolhouse in Patagonia, which houses the museum, served students for 100 years and is the longest continuously utilized elementary school building in Arizona from 1914 to 2014. The Lochiel Schoolhouse a one-room adobe nestled on the fringes of the San Rafael Valley, was built before 1905 and serves as a respite for travelers and tour groups today.
Besides hosting regular and by-appointment visiting hours at The Patagonia Museum, the organization sponsors a guest speaker series in conjunction with member meetings at the Patagonia Public Library, conducts quarterly highway cleanups along Highway 82 near Patagonia, maintains U.S. flags on veteran’s gravesites at the Patagonia Cemetery, and collaborates with local organizations and individuals to keep our history alive.
Call for hours # 520. 343. 5641
Patagonia photos by Diane Jewkes



1149 W Frontage rd
Plaza de Anza, rio rico, AZ
520-394-7745
Call ahead to confirm they are open.

web: rioricohistroicalsociety.org
WELL WOTH THE VISIT !
Please consider donating to help pay for their costs.
501 (c) #3 non profit.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=98kkS1HG5lw
This film was directed by local Tubac Director Frances Causey. She is an Emmy award-winning documentary filmmaker, journalist, and TED contributor with 15 years experience as a Senior Producer at CNN and previous work hailed as a New York Times Critic's Pick.
On January 21, 2026 the Santa Cruz County Supervisors voted to approve a Right-of-Entry to the U.S.Customs and Border Protection to review property just north of the current “temporary” checkpoint on I-19 by Tubac. Concern was expressed by the community about the implications and the potential of a much expanded and permanent checkpoint and encouraged the Santa Cruz Valley Citizens Council to address the matter with the County. This letter was written following a meeting with the SCVCC Board representatives and the County Manger and Supervisor Davis at their request. They planned to discuss the matter with our Congressional delegation in Washington, D.C. this week and develop a “plan of action” following their trip."
For details, connect with the local advocacy group Santa Cruz Valley Citizens Counsel.
This letter is on the History Page at bottom.

Miguel Grijalva Artist & Project Manager and his family. His wife was the model for the woman in the river. This beautiful Mural was painted by Rio Rico High school students after school. It represents the culture of the Hohokam people and the beauty of the valley and river. Beautiful night with beautiful people at TCC last night.


Upcoming Events & Tours
Álvaro Enrigue, Now I Surrender
Álvaro Enrigue will discuss his bold, visionary novel that reimagines the history of the Apache Wars and the surrender of Geronimo. Both historical and fictional, this work radically recasts the story of how the West was “won.” This is a free event, $10 suggested donation. Click to register
Wednesday, October 14, 10-11:30am
Lydia Otero, Storied Property: María Cordova's Casa
Lydia Otero will discuss this powerful look at the intersection of urban renewal and the erasure of Mexican American history. Centered on a historic home in Tucson’s center, the book highlights themes of displacement and investigates how history is written and who gets remembered. This is a free event, $10 suggested donation. Click to register
Wednesday, November 11, 10-11:30am
Alberto Ríos, Every Sound Is Not a Wolf
Arizona’s inaugural Poet Laureate shares a collection that finds the extraordinary in the everyday, weaving together memory and the borderlands of the Sonoran desert. This is a free event, $10 suggested donation. Click to register
Wednesday, December 9, 10-11:30am
Carrie Gibson, El Norte: The Epic and Forgotten Story of Hispanic North America
Carrie Gibson will discuss her sweeping historical account that chronicles the Hispanic influence on the North American continent from the Spanish arrival to today. This is a free event, $10 suggested donation. Click to register

The Arizona Daily Star reported Sunday, Aug. 23 on federal plans to expand the temporary Border Patrol checkpoint on Interstate 19, near Amado, into a much larger, permanent checkpoint facility adjacent to the highway
Here’s what you need to know:
https://tucson.com/news/local/border/article_522a9569-d127-4396-8b22-85faa9c5e927.html