Silverbell and Sasco

Sasco

Sasco is located about 15 miles southwest of Red Rock. The post office was established in 1907 and discontinued in 1919. The town was named after the Southern Arizona Smelting Company. At it's peak, Sasco had 600 residents, stores, saloons, and hotels. Sasco was also a daily stop on the Arizona Southern Railroad line. Today, remains of Sasco include concrete foundations of the smelter and other buildings, the Rockland Hotel, and a concrete building believed to have been the jail.

 

The Rockland Hotel

 

Silverbell

Silverbell was born in 1904. It is located 24 miles west of Marana. The town had a population of 3000 and was one of the more prominent mining camps in the southwest. Silverbell gained notoriety for its lawlessness. But its success was tied to copper and when copper prices fell and the Sasco smelter was dismantled in 1934, Silverbell floundered. A new town, Silver Bell, was established in 1948, approximately 4 miles southeast of the old Silverbell. Today, nothing remains of the original Silverbell and only a few concrete foundations mark the site of the modern town.

 

One of two cemetaries at Silverbell