San Simon was the location of the San Simon Station of the Butterfield Overland Mail on the San Simon River between Apache Pass and Stein's Peak Stations. It was a later relay station established to provide water and change horses on the route.
In September 1880, Southern Pacific's rail line construction from the west reached San Simon and started rail service. Once a junction was made in March 1881 with eastern rails in Deming, New Mexico, the line became the second transcontinental rail route across the United States. San Simon was within Pima County until Cochise County was formed out of the eastern half of Pima in February 1881.
Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021). How TownRatings grades history →
From Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock) and the USGS Geographic Names Information System. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
