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  In 1539, Fray Marcos de Niza and his guide Esteban passed through the area on an expedition for Coronado. Coronado himself, with other Spanish explorers, later passed through the area near Benson. Even the famous Father Eusebio Kino is known to have passed nearby.

In 1846, the Mormon Battalion passed just south of Benson on their way to California. They were under the command of Captain Philip St. George Cooke. In the lush valley, a herd of bulls (abandoned over 10 years earlier) roamed the area. They were fierce and halted the Battalion for a few days. After getting through the wild bulls with no losses, Capt. Cooke dubbed what just happened as the Battle of Bull Run, the same exact name of a Civil War battle 20 years later, and no way related.

13 years later, in 1859, a bridge was built over the San Pedro River about a mile north of present day Benson. This made way for the Butterfield Overland Mail Route which established a station here next to the river as well. First called the San Pedro Station, it was later referred to as Ohnesorgen Station (after man who ran the station since 1871 and opened a toll bridge across the river). With the discontinuation of the Butterfield Overland stage route in 1861, as well as both the prevailing Civil War and Indian War, the station was abandoned and later used as a fort.

In 1880, the transcontinental Southern Pacific Railroad arrived in Benson. They city was founded this same year. Benson was named after Judge William B. Benson, a friend of the president of the Southern Pacific. Other railroads soon followed the Southern Pacific through Benson, including the El Paso & Southwestern (from Benson to Tucson) as well as the Sonoran Railroads (from Mexico to Benson). Benson quickly became a major transportation hub, and with the rest of Cochise County booming, mining equipment, ore, and other supplies were passing through Benson to Tombstone, Bisbee, Fairbank and Contention City. In 1882, a rail line was built from Benson to the milling town of Contention (just north of Fairbank).

Being a bustling railroad town, other businesses and accommodations quickly sprang up. This allowed Benson to thrive and survive the Great Depression. Today Benson is still alive and well and has a population just under 5,000 people.

Benson is definitely a neat place to visit. Close by are the San Pedro Riparian Management Area, Cochise’s Stronghold, 2 of the 18 abandoned Titan II Missile Sites (on private property) in southern Arizona, and the amazing Kartchner Caverns State Park. Benson is sometimes called the “gateway to the land of Cochise,” and with all it has to offer, we believe this saying is very true.

Overlooking Benson from the I-10 Kartchner Caverns State Park, just south of Benson.