Aravaipa, Arizona: The Site of Arizona's Worst Massacre

Aravaipa, Arizona is a ghost town and massacre site in Graham County, at the junction of Aravaipa Creek and the San Pedro River. The Camp Grant Massacre of 1871 is one of the defining atrocities of the American frontier — a vigilante attack on unarmed Apache families who believed they were under the protection of the United States Army.

01What Happened at Aravaipa?

In the spring of 1871, Lieutenant Royal Whitman, commander of Camp Grant, created a refuge along Aravaipa Creek for nearly 500 Aravaipa and Pinal Apaches. The Apaches, led by Chief Eskiminzin, had surrendered voluntarily and been promised safety. They set up camp about five miles east of the military post and began planting barley.

Meanwhile, in Tucson, a vigilante group calling itself the Committee of Public Safety formed under William S. Oury and Jesus Maria Elias. The committee blamed every Apache raid in southern Arizona on the Camp Grant Apaches — despite evidence that the attacks came from other bands. On April 28, the vigilantes left Tucson and marched to Aravaipa Creek.

They attacked at dawn on April 30. The killing was rapid and one-sided. Whitman's troops found and buried 125 bodies afterward. Twenty-nine Apache children were captured and sold into slavery in Mexico.

02The Trial

President Ulysses S. Grant called the massacre "purely murder" and demanded prosecution. A trial was held in Tucson in December 1871. The jury deliberated for nineteen minutes and acquitted all defendants. No one was ever convicted.

The acquittal shocked the Grant administration and contributed directly to the federal government's decision to establish the reservation system in Arizona — the "Peace Policy" that created the San Carlos and Fort Apache reservations.

03What Happened to the Site?

Camp Grant was abandoned in March 1873, two years after the massacre. The land along Aravaipa Creek and the San Pedro River — traditionally farmed by the Aravaipa Apaches for generations — was claimed by non-Indian settlers. The Apaches who returned after the massacre were relocated north to reservations.

The name "Aravaipa" persists as a geographic designation: Aravaipa Creek, Aravaipa Canyon (now a BLM Wilderness Area), and the ghost town site itself.

04What Remains of Aravaipa Today

The Camp Grant site is an archaeological location in Graham County. Aravaipa Canyon, upstream from the massacre site, is a BLM Wilderness Area known for its riparian habitat, desert bighorn sheep, and multi-day backpacking. Permits are required.

The massacre site itself is on private land. Brown University maintains the Aravaipa Digital History Project documenting the massacre and its aftermath. The University of Arizona Press published "Massacre at Camp Grant" by Chip Colwell-Chanthaphonh, the most comprehensive academic treatment.

For visitors, Aravaipa Canyon Wilderness is the accessible public land nearby. The historical context of the place — that this beautiful desert canyon was the site of one of the worst atrocities in Arizona history — is part of what makes Aravaipa more than a hiking destination.