Across America, from big cities to small towns and rural hamlets, there are many stories of challenges, historic events, courageous people, tragedy, and success. Some of the best and most exciting tales may not be well known. Such is the case for the towns of Clifton and Morenci, Arizona. They survived labor strikes, rising and falling copper prices, devastating floods, outlaws and lawlessness, gambling houses, and saloons. All this added to the lore that these towns were some of the roughest communities in the West. Today, after 143 years of mining, Freeport-McMoRan's Morenci copper mine is the largest in North America. Expansion has required new homes in Clifton-Morenci, a modern library, and recreational facilities. Residents are proud of their communities.

The strike that paralyzed the mining camps of Clifton and Morenci during 1915–16 and gained nationwide attention was one of the most remarkable that ever occurred in the West. During an era when physical violence, death, and property destruction were almost accepted elements of Western labor difficulties, this walkout was peaceful. With few exceptions, law and order continually predominated. This, then, is the seldom-seen side, a positive side, to a state's labor history. Coming at a time when western labor was purging itself of radicalism and recharting its goals, the Clifton-Morenci strike may well have been that "milestone" in organized labor's groping for recognition in the West. Violence did not erupt- this notable absence of bloodshed thereby making the strike unique in that time of industrial turbulence. Kluger's answer to the question of why and how peace prevailed is significant reading. Strikers and managers hurled charges at each other, but both sides showed restraint when it came to action. When negotiations reached an impasse, Gov. George W. P. Hunt moved to prevent the managers from importing strike-breakers. At the same time, the Department of Labor entered the situation, and the rise in copper prices and loss of wages made a settlement desirable for both sides. When the mine whistles blew on January 26, 1916, to signal the end of the strike, the repercussions of the events of 1915 were still to be felt. Author Kluger traces how the strike affected working conditions, wages, and the cause of unionism in the district. Overall, he provides insight into feelings concerning the fears of management regarding unionism, and labor's manner of making itself heard during these years. Western historians, labor historians, and all those concerned with labor relations will recognize the importance of this highly readable work.

This book traces the history of the area's mineral discoveries by cavalry troops in the 1860s, to when copper miners at the Morenci area mines worked with a shovel in one hand and a gun in the other to protect themselves from outlaws and from Geronimo's Apache band, and then on to the bad economic times of the Great Depression.

World War II would bring on a great expansion in both the output and method of copper mining with a shift from underground tunnels to an open pit mine which became the largest copper producer in North America. In 1996, that Morenci Open Pit Mine would set the world-record for mine production.

A brief description of volcanic rocks and ore deposits of Teritary age in southwestern New Mexico.

Holding the Line, Barbara Kingsolver's first non-fiction book, is the story of women's lives transformed by an a signal event. Set in the small mining towns of Arizona, it is part oral history and part social criticism, exploring the process of empowerment which occurs when people work together as a community. Like Kingsolver's award-winning novels, Holding the Line is a beautifully written book grounded on the strength of its characters. Hundreds of families held the line in the 1983 strike against Phelps Dodge Copper in Arizona. After more than a year the strikers lost their union certification, but the battle permanently altered the social order in these small, predominantly Hispanic mining towns. At the time the strike began, many women said they couldn't leave the house without their husband's permission. Yet, when injunctions barred union men from picketing, their wives and daughters turned out for the daily picket lines. When the strike dragged on and men left to seek jobs elsewhere, women continued to picket, organize support, and defend their rights even when the towns were occupied by the National Guard. "Nothing can ever be the same as it was before," said Diane McCormick of the Morenci Miners Women's Auxiliary. "Look at us. At the beginning of this strike, we were just a bunch of ladies."

This book provides information on where gold, and silver were mined in the Western United States. The book provides various map references locating the mineral sources, the amount that was mined from each district, what minerals are associated with that district and any history on that district.