Brief History of Oracle

A few key moments from our colorful past...

Oracle Prospector

Albert Weldon survived a violent sea, thanks to “The Oracle”, a clipper ship built in Bath, Maine around 1876.

In her honor, he named his first gold mine here in this small community high in the mountains north of Tucson. It has attracted adventurers and survivors ever since.

“Buffalo Bill” Cody and friends

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, a pioneer Oracle citizen and proprietor of the famed Mountain View Hotel (see below).

Guests in front of the Mountain View Hotel
(Curly Neal & Buffalo Bill Cody top center,
Annie Box 4th from right)

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.

This two story adobe mansion was built in the late 19th century by the Steward family, which was one of Arizona's leading philanthropic families.

They donated the first astronomical observatory at the University of Arizona and the first library in Oracle.


For a more detailed history of our area, click here.


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