Bring a Memory, Share a Story.
Calling all Douglasites, past and present:
We are a non-profit group, all volunteer, associated with the Wall of Faces, the veteran’s museum at the Gadsden Hotel. We are collecting the untold stories of everyday life in Douglas, Arizona. Bring us your memories, your photos, your scrapbooks! We want to hear from you! We would love to welcome you into our office on Tenth and G Avenue. For now, we can talk on the phone, or Zoom, or by other means. This is what we are looking for: stories of the old days, family trees, when your family arrived in Douglas, and why, and where they came from, where you worked and shopped and went to school, and anything else you would like to tell us.
Our Mission
Our mission is to collect the untold stories of Douglas through collaborative community conversations, preserving the voices, memories, and lessons of our elders through oral and video recordings and making our discoveries available to the public.
To serve as a repository and archive for historical material relating to Douglas, Arizona.
To serve as a community resource for other individuals and groups seeking to record histories and do research for their own purposes.
Photo is of Maria Jesus “Chita” Unzueta, circa late 1940s in Pirtleville, AZ. Photo courtesy of Ginny Jordan.
History
Douglas was founded in 1901 to house smelters to serve the copper mines in Bisbee and Nacozari, Sonora. Three hundred workers followed, most were of Mexican descent and many arrived from jobs in other regional mines and smelters. Others worked on the railroad. Many more crossed the border during the Mexican Revolution. These families are at the heart of our project.
Our focus is on ordinary working people, who settled here and prospered although their work was perilous, precarious, and subject to the global copper market. We believe it is important to document both discrimination and traditions of resilience.
Photo of International Avenue, Douglas, Arizona, circa early 20th century. This was the international border! Photo courtesy of Mark Rivera Collection.
WELCOME HOME!
Our office is located in the Gadsden Hotel, 11th Sreet and G Avenue, Douglas, Arizona.
Contact Us!
Address
c/o Pirtleville Community Action Network
Gadsden Hotel
457 11th Street
Douglas, Arizona 85607
Hours
We are open by appointment and try to be in the office on Tuesdays.
Email
douglasproject2021@gmail.com
Our office is located in the Gadsden Hotel, 11th Sreet and G Avenue, Douglas, Arizona.
Contact Us!
Address
c/o Pirtleville Community Action Network / Gadsden Hotel / 457 11th Street / Douglas, Arizona 85607
Hours
We are open by appointment and try to be in the office on Tuesdays.
Email
douglasproject2021@gmail.com