JOSEPHINE PEAK

The altitude of Josephine Peak is 8474 feet.  It is named for Josephine Pennington, daughter of an early Tucson Pioneer and sister of Larcena Pennington Page who made history when she survived a kidnapping by a band of Tonto Apaches.  The peak was given its name by George Roskruge who surveyed Southern Arizona in the early 1890s.  He also named Josephine Saddle and Josephine Canyon for Josephine Pennington.  Roskruge never gave a reason why he decided to honor her.  Although the Pennington name was well known, Josephine had never been in the public eye and had returned to Texas when she was only 16 years old.  If Roskrudge wanted to honor the Pennington name, Larcena would probably have been a more logical choice but it wouldn’t have had as nice a ring to it.

Josephine Peak became a location used by the US Army in their effort to subdue the Apache.  Anglo presence in the Santa Cruz Valley began to increase in the 1850’s after the treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo ended the war with Mexico and all of Arizona north of the Gila River was ceded to the United States. Tucson and the Santa Rita Mountains remained under Mexican control but as a result of the California Gold Rush of 1849, southern Arizona became increasingly important for its all season pioneer trail to California.  In order to assure continued access to the pioneer trail, the portion of Arizona south of the Gila to the present international boundary was acquired by the US through the Gadsden Purchase of 1854.  The Tucson Presidio continued to be manned by the Mexican Army until the US Army was able to take over in 1856. 

Until the mid 1850s, the Apache had not paid too much attention to the Anglo-Americans, preferring instead to prey on their traditional Mexican foes.  Then the Apache began to find it easier to raid in Arizona rather than travel down into Mexico.  After a group of Americans joined forces with a party of Mexicans and ambushed a band of Apaches, war was declared on the Americans.  In 1856, the US Army established Camp Moore near Calabasas, about 10 miles south of Tubac, to help defend settlers and miners from the Apache.  About 5 months later, Camp Moore was relocated to the headwaters of Sonoita Creek near present day Patagonia and renamed Fort Buchanan.  Fort Lowell was built in Tucson in 1860.  US troops departed Tucson for the Civil War in 1861 and Fort Buchanan was abandoned.  With the soldiers gone, the Apaches ranged at will through the Santa Cruz Valley.

After the end of the war, Fort Crittenden was established in 1867 near the site of Fort Buchanan and US Forces also reoccupied Fort Lowell.   The Army’s job now was to bring the Apache under control and confine them to reservations.  The Army had a need for rapid communications with their various outposts in their campaign against the Apache.  One of the ways they used to achieve this was the heliograph.  The heliograph is a signaling apparatus that reflects sunlight with a movable mirror to flash coded messages.  The Army purchased a number of heliographs in Europe and shipped some to Arizona.   Old Baldy (Mt. Wrightson) was initially used as a relay point but the heliograph was soon moved to Josephine Peak which was more accessible but still provided the necessary line of sight.  When General Miles replaced General Crook in April 1886, he significantly expanded the use of the Heliograph.   He directed the Signal Corps to operate Heliograph Stations on 30 mountain peaks in Southern Arizona, New Mexico and Old Mexico.  When the Army stopped using the Heliographs, Josephine Peak lost it’s military utility and it is now just a great destination to hike to.

Additional Material: GVHC Library File 39