You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles
YUMPU automatically turns print PDFs into web optimized ePapers that Google loves.
Sitting for the camera in early Globe<br />
BY DAVID SOWDERS<br />
Assistant Editor<br />
In late 2020, this faded<br />
picture of eight<br />
mounted cowboys in<br />
the streets of Globe was<br />
discovered in the Arizona<br />
Silver Belt offices. The<br />
photographer’s identity is<br />
unknown, but some of the<br />
men pictured became prominent<br />
Gila County ranchers.<br />
According to Guy and<br />
Donna Anderson’s 1976<br />
book, “Honor the Past…<br />
Mold the Future,” the photo<br />
was taken at the corner of<br />
Cedar and Broad Streets in<br />
1883.<br />
Among the eight cowboys<br />
was John C. Gibson,<br />
fourth from left in the photo.<br />
Born in Llano County,<br />
Texas in 1867, Gibson<br />
came from a ranching family<br />
who made the move to<br />
Globe around 1878. After<br />
cowboying for several area<br />
ranches and working for the<br />
Superior and Boston Mine,<br />
he bought several spreads<br />
including the JI Ranch east<br />
of Superior. By 1920 his<br />
land stretched from Pinal<br />
Creek to below Superior,<br />
and from Mineral Creek to<br />
Haunted Canyon.<br />
Marion Horrell, fifth<br />
from left, was part of another<br />
well-known ranching<br />
family that included his<br />
brothers Ed and C.W., with<br />
outfits north of Globe and<br />
in the Pinto Creek area.<br />
Behind the men stands<br />
Globe’s original Methodist<br />
church, St. Paul’s Methodist<br />
Episcopal (now St.<br />
Paul’s United Methodist). It<br />
all started in 1879 with Rev.<br />
J.J. Wingar, who walked 35<br />
miles from the town of Pinal<br />
to conduct services. A<br />
church building was dedicated<br />
in 1880 and served<br />
congregations until it was<br />
torn down in 1927. The<br />
current building was dedicated<br />
in 1928 and still holds<br />
the original bell, known as<br />
“God’s Alarm Clock.” In<br />
1883, when the cowboys<br />
posed for their photo, the<br />
church’s minister was Rev.<br />
William George.<br />
24 <strong>Gateway</strong> to the Copper Corridor <strong>2022</strong>