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railroad also built permanent bunkhouses, a house for the foreman, a depot, a water tank, tool shed, and many other buildings. Also in Middelton was a turntable for the railroad, a tram station, the powerhouse for the DeSoto Mine, a Wells Fargo and Western Union office, and a post office. The post office was established on May 8, 1903 by George Middleton. In 1904, Middleton had about 75 people and the DeSoto had about 100 people. By 1905, Frank Murphey was on the board of directors of the Arizona Smelting Company, which owned the DeSoto Mine. In 1908, the company operating the DeSoto Mine went bankrupt and many of the buildings were boarded up including two saloons that moved out of Middelton. A mine watchman and a few railroad employees remained in the ghost town. The ore of the DeSoto had proved it was not sufficient enough quality to maintain such large operation. However, when World War I began, the demand for copper grew greatly. This made the DeSoto profitable to re-open. With the tramway reconditioned, life returned to the towns of Middelton and the DeSoto. The only business in town was a small store owned by James P. Cleator for the railroad warehouse. In 1916, the post office was re-established but was Called Ocotillo with Pearl Orr as the postmaster. In 1917, a schoolhouse was built with a maximum enrollment of 14 kids! At this time, during World War II, Ocotillo claimed about 200 citizens. However, as other mines in the Bradshaw’s in the ‘20’s, the DeSoto Mine was discontinued in 1922. The DeSoto had produced about $3,250,000 in ore. In 1925 the Ocotillo post office was discontinued and in 1926, the railroad tracks were removed between Middelton and Crown King. In 1932, the railroad removed all the tracks from Middelton leaving only a few tram towers standing.
It is amazing how only ore piles and a few tram parts remain at the DeSoto and in Middelton, only a sign of railroad tracks that once passed through there are left.