Home Vineyards

Hear area old timers describe what it was like in the "good 'ol days."

Take some time to enjoy the historic Cady Hall And Public Library. Listed on the State Register of Historic Places, the Patagonia Public Library is the perfect place to read, relax or check your email.
 


Patagonia Opera House

The Opera House, built by Tom Gardner in the late twenties, was first opend as a movie theater. It was also used for elections, candidate speeches, traveling show and occasionally for funerals and skating events!

In its hey day, entire families would gather at the Opera House bringing meals and dancing to a five piece orchestra late into the night. It was quite the scene!

Later the building was used for school dances, plays and graduation. At Christmas, a big tree was put inside and decorated.

Eventually, the Opera House was purchased by the neighbors and torn down. They had always worried that its wood walls would burn down and be too much for the local Volunteer Fire Department to handle.

Photo and content courtesy of Louise Stevens Easley and her book "And Then There Was Patagonia."

From Thriving Mines to Eclectic Art in a Naturalist's Paradise

Patagonia's founder was Rollin Rice Richardson, a Pennsylvanian who made his money in oil investments. Richardson purchased the San Rafael de la Zanja land grant in 1880 and three years later followed his friends into business with the San Rafael Cattle Company. Rollin founded Patagonia in 1896, and named it after himself. But in 1899 when residents petitioned the post master general for a post office, they decided to also change the town's name to Patagonia, after the mountain range that towers over the valley.

Mining was the mainstay of Patagonia residents, since rich ore and other minerals were discovered in the Patagonia and other surrounding mountain chains. While Patagonia became a bustling hub, other mining towns sprung up around its outskirts: Harshaw, Duquesne, Mowry, and Washington Camp were successful settlements located to the east and southeast.

With strong competition between railroads and a corporate imperative to reach the Pacific Coast, the New Mexico and Arizona Railroad built a railway straight through the heart of Patagonia, past the spot where the Town Hall (formerly the railroad depot) now stands. With the railroad in place, Patagonia was connected to the rest of America's train routes and became an important commercial center in Santa Cruz County. Hotels, boarding houses, an opera house, restaurants, and bars were built to serve the burgeoning population. The town was inhabited by Hispanic, Anglo, and Chinese residents. Patagonia had its own newspaper in 1912, and christened an elementary school on 1914.

But when the mines went south, so did the town's boom days. The last ore was shipped in 1960, and in 1962 the rail line was closed down. The rails were removed and the railroad right-of-way was dedicated as a park. The old depot became Town Hall. Walnut trees were planted in the park by Charles Mapes and a gazebo was built by Louis Valenzuela, son of a Patagonia pioneer family. Although the railroad and bustling mining town is just a memory, the hard lives of those who lived it will always be remembered.

The area's wide open grasslands are surrounded by a half dozen mountain ranges, and flanked by two protected ranches: the third generation, family-owned Babacomari and the Empire Cienega Ranch State Park Annual events center around horse shows, wine tastings, and events at the County Fairgrounds, located just south of the crossroads at Hwy 82 and Hwy 83. The Santa Cruz County Fair (last weekend in September), Sonoita Quarterhorse Show (the oldest in the nation), and the Sonoita Rodeo (Labor Day weekend) are just a few examples.