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Early Oracle Prospector (© OHS)
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Albert Weldon ventured to the northern Catalina highlands some time in the 1880s to seek gold with two friends. The first among them to discover a vein, he decided to name his claim after a clipper ship – called The Oracle – that had carried him to safety through a violent sea in 1876. The town of Oracle has attracted adventurers and survivors ever since. |
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“Buffalo Bill” Cody and friends (© OHS)
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William F. Cody (aka “Buffalo Bill”) owned a mining claim in Oracle. He is seated behind the driver with his friend and former Indian scout, William 'Curly' Neal.
Neal was a pioneer Oracle citizen and proprietor of the famed Mountain View Hotel, as well as the owner of an important stagecoach line and thousands of head of cattle (see more below).
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Guests in front of the Mountain View Hotel
(Curly Neal & Buffalo Bill Cody top center,
Annie Box 4th from right) (© OHS)
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Perhaps Oracle’s most illustrious couple, William ‘Curly’ Neal and his wife, Annie Box Neal, built the Mountain View Hotel in 1895. Overseen by Annie, the Mountain View attracted visitors from far and wide, many of whom came for the health benefits of Oracle’s fresh air and temperate climate. It was the second Oracle establishment to cater to a well-to-do clientele suffering from respiratory ailments (the other was the Acadia Ranch, now home to the Acadia Ranch Museum).
Both Curly and Annie were descended from Cherokees and African Americans and both counted at least one grandparent who had survived the infamous “Trail of Tears”. Annie in particular was renown for her extraordinary hospitality and for the many acts of charity she performed throughout the community.
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Steward Family House (© OHS)
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This two story adobe mansion was built in the late 19th century by the Steward family, one of Arizona's leading philanthropic families. Among other acts of charity, the Stewards donated the funding to build the first astronomical observatory at the University of Arizona, as well as the first library in Oracle.
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For more history on our area, click here.
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