Ajo City Guide

Faced with the prospect of becoming a dusty ghost town, Ajo remade itself and ultimately prospered as a quiet retirement community. Today, it is also a popular tourist destination and jumping-off point for attractions in the vicinity. The town is centered around a Spanish Colonial-style plaza, topped with a red-tiled roof, and garnished with palm trees and bench-lined walkways. Visitors will find a number of intriguing shops and restaurants under the plaza's covered arcade. Like other scenic parts of Arizona, Ajo attracted Hollywood's eye and won a starring role as a Mexican town in the 1972 film Pocket Money with Paul Newman and Lee Marvin.

ATTRACTIONS

• The New Cornelia Mine, located in the old St. Catherine's Indian Mission, offers a lookout and a historical museum which houses artifacts and mementos from Ajo's past (520-387-7746).
• Cabeza Prieta National Wildlife Refuge covers 860,000 acres and lies west of Ajo.
• Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument, 36 miles south of the town, is a magnificent reserve of wild desert and home to the unique Organ Pipe Cacti (520-387-6849).

• The Plaza

The heart of the community, the graceful plaza was built in 1917 under the direction of John Greenway's wife Isabella. The Spanish Colonial Revival style town square features a center park surrounded by retail shops, a post office and restaurants accented with two mission-style churches. The Catholic Church was built in 1924 and the Federated Church in 1926.
• Curley School

Ajo's Curley School was built in 1919 and can be seen from the Plaza. The structure is of Spanish style architecture which harmonizes with the rest of the town.
• Greenway Mansion

Located on Indian Village Road across from the Lookout Point, this beautiful mission-style home was built by John Greenway for his wife Isabella. Greenway died soon after its completion.
• Cross on 'A' Mountain

Isabella Greenway took a floral cross that the employees of the New Cornelia Mining Co. had made for her husband's funeral and had it encased in concrete and carried to the top of the highest mountain in Ajo. She could view it from her home and the employees could view it from their homes. Visible for miles, it is possible today to hike up to the cross.
• Ajo Historical Society Museum

Located in the old St. Catherine's Indian Mission (at the end of Indian Village Road), the museum houses many artifacts and mementos from Ajo's past. The displays include a complete blacksmith shop, a dentist's office and an early print shop.
• New Cornelia Open Pit Mining Lookout

A panoramic view across nearly two miles of open pit mine is available from the Mine Lookout on Indian Village Road. Notice the difference in the colors of the soil. A video and display of the mining operations can be seen at the visitor center, open from October through May.
• The Train Depot

Built in 1915, the Ajo Depot served the Tucson Cornelia, Gila Bend railway.

• Click here to see Ajo close up.