Pantano, Arizona

Pantano, Arizona
Populated place
The railroad crossing and water tower in Pantano.
Pantano, Arizona
Coordinates: 31°59′59″N 110°34′46″W / 31.99972°N 110.57944°W / 31.99972; -110.57944Coordinates: 31°59′59″N 110°34′46″W / 31.99972°N 110.57944°W / 31.99972; -110.57944
Country	United States
State	Arizona
County	Pima
Elevation	3,553 ft (1,083 m)
Population (1922)
• Total	~500
Time zone	Mountain (MST)
Post office opened	July 2, 1880
Post office closed	1952

Pantano (English: "Marsh") is a populated place located in eastern Pima County, Arizona, near the town of Vail. It was originally a mail and stagecoach stop named Ciénega Station, after the nearby Ciénega Creek, and later grew into a small railroad town with the arrival of the Southern Pacific in 1880.

Ciénega Station was established by the Butterfield Overland Mail company in 1858. Built over the site of a Hohokam village, the station and later town went by many names over the years, including Pantano Station, Marsh Station, Tulleyville, and Empire. In the early days, hostile Apaches were a constant problem. The wife of Granville Henderson Oury described her journey through the area in 1861: "We are traveling through country which has always been infested by Indians, and very recently they have committed depredations and horrible atrocities on this very road. Our party is very small and there would be no escape for us if a party of Apaches were to attack us. We all realize this and are trusting to some good fortune or fate to get us through safely."

One morning in 1867, a pioneer named W. A. "Shotgun" Smith and three of his companions were attacked by Apaches at the station. All three of his friends were killed, but with his shotgun Smith managed to shoot down several of the hostiles and force the rest to withdraw at noon. According to Edward Vail, who owned the nearby Vail Ranch, the Pantano Cemetery is "filled with graves of men killed by Indians."

The Pantano railroad station and the town of Pantano were not established until 1880, when the Southern Pacific entered Pima County and began building along the south side of Ciénega Creek. The original townsite was chosen for its favorable location to build a depot and other railroad facilities. The location also attracted private businesses and settlers, who built several warehouses and homes, a small store with a blacksmith, and a carpenter's shop. Seventy-five people were living in Pantano in 1880, and in 1887 severe flooding forced them to relocate the town to the northern side of the creek.