Fry, Arizona
Fry, Arizona Working Test
Coordinates: 31°33′25″N 110°17′42″W / 31.557°N 110.295°W
Fry (GNIS FID: 4869) is a populated place within the city of Sierra Vista, Arizona which is located in Cochise County, Arizona.
The elevation of Fry is 4,600 feet above mean sea level.[1] Census statistics are included within demographic data for residents of Sierra Vista, Arizona. It has also been called Garden Canyon, Overton, FryTown,and "The White City.".[2][3]
History[edit]
1878 Spanish a settlement called Papingo is recorded in this area. Around 1878 the area called Overton, contained two Ranches selling established specifically to sell produce and meat to Camp Huachuca by two Scottish Army Veterans. [4] Carmichael Ranch was established by Bill and Margaret Carmichael, on the eastern boundary of Fort Huachuca with a claim filed 1910 where the community was called Overton, after the general store and unofficial post office but as of 1909 the railroad called it Garden Canyon Post office.[3][5][4]Fry and Easton had visited in Early 1912 and filed homestead claims. In January 1913 Oliver and Elizabeth Fry, family arrives along with family friend Everett Easton at the Huachuca Siding in Huachuca City. Fry and Easton had visited in Early 1912 and filed homestead claims. Fry's homesteaded claim was from the old main gate to Buena, but north of Fry Blvd and Easton claimed the same but south of Fry Blvd Which was the unnamed dirt road leading to the railroad station at Lewis Springs.[6] In 1915 Buena community was located West of the Hwy 90 and 92 intersection. The area of Overton was still sometimes referred to as Garden Canyon after the sawmill in the nearby canyon. [3]
"It became a boom town of tents and ramshackle buildings filled with prostitutes and sleazy bars," Post Commander, Col. Hardy, "a small rather sordid town. As the post grew with the influx of soldiers from other army establishments, so did Fry." [4]Some post officials compared Fry with Tombstone in the latter's heyday, but noted that Fry was probably tougher. The place was a 'natural' for trouble. Brawls were frequent and knifings were not uncommon."[7][3]
The Fry cemetery started as their own family cemetery, but was the only cemetery to always allow the poor and contains numerous unmarked unknowns to be buried there for low or no cost, from the local area as well as Fry Settlement.[6][8]
In attempt to reform its tawdry reputation, in around 1915, attempts were made to change the name to Buena, then later Overton then Garden Canyon to no avail as locals still called it Fry or Frytown because of the well known Saloon and Bordello[9][7] referred to as "the white city".[3] Margaret Ziegan bought the building and land on December 1911 that would become the first Post Office. Soon after she married Bill Carmichael[5] and they ran the building as a store and post office. In 1915 Buena community was located West of the Hwy 90 and 92 intersection. Fry's homesteaded claim was from the old main gate to Buena, but north of Fry Blvd and Easton claimed the same but south of Fry Blvd Which was the unnamed dirt road leading to the railroad station at Lewis Springs. The area was referred still referred to as Garden Canyon after the sawmill in the nearby canyon but was named Overton. The red light district, containing several saloons and bordellos, was located nearby was referred to as “The White City” or “Hook” from 1942-1945, but was on the Fry Ranch claim. Located within the boundaries of Fry or FryTown was a large community housing area where Buffalo Soldier's who lived off base lived with their families, as there was a huge shortage of on base housing before and after WWII.The same year the original Fry store / post office burned down under suspicious circumstances.[8][3] In 1927, it was officially dedicated as Fry Post Office[3]. In 1934 Lillian Fry[5] became postmaster and in 1936 she moved the post office to the second location, 433 E. Fry Blvd. When the base was expanded the 1956 because of the Cold War it was decided in another re-branding that parts of Fry were incorporated as Sierra Vista to promote a family friendly attitude and encourage families to relocate there because there was not enough on base housing. Coincidentally in 1956 the Fry store / post office burned down.[7]
Post commander Col. Hardy managed to convince a black entrepreneurial group from Chicago to establish an amusement center in the small town of Fry in an attempt to lure soldiers away from coarser amusements.[6] The resulting "Green Top" was designed by the noted black architect, Paul Williams, of Los Angeles. Opening in 1943 it was known for its green asphalt covered, domed oval roof and reportedly cost the government $100,000 for construction and included a mural entitled, 'New Peace With Victory' by William E. Scott. The 120ft long mural was located behind the bar. At the time it was was one of the longest in the country. Rumor has it, that World Heavyweight Boxing Champ Joe Louis Barrow was a silent partner at the GT. No hard liquor was served, but beer was on tap. Consumption of beer at the 'Green Top' amounted to about two-and-half (train) carloads of draft beer monthly."[7][4][3] Due to the housing shortage on base, the "Green Top" was used as living quarters for some 25 black officers and their wives. The space had been designed for use by employees, but so critical was the housing situation that rooms were assigned to division personnel, African-American Officers and families rather than Green Top workers.[7][6][3]
Mr. Jack Sabin, who moved to Sierra Vista in 1954, from an Oral History interview in 2005: "Just prior to reopening the Fort in the '50s there, the Green Top Cafe was in there, the Green Top building burnt down. That was the building Joe Lewis supposedly had built for the troops. It was a big building, it was just 1x4s and tar-paper on the outside.The building burnt down in late '54 or early '55. Roy Brockbank acquired the property and built a shopping center on the same location. The Green Top Apartment building was rebuilt twice, the third time it burned, it was demolished. 1963 McLellan's was built on that same location."[7][8] The last tenant was Premier Beverage House located at 256 W. Fry Blvd, but as of Aug 24, 2014 it is again vacant.
The Military Inn (MI) was located on the corner of Fry Blvd and Carmichael Ave. The MI was known for having fantastic food and entertainment, "with 's seven foot wall to hold their dances under the stars," Courtesy The Bellantoni Family, and imported entertainment acts regularity booked there.[7][8][10]
1955 Tony Giacoma, manager of Geronimo Theater submitted plans for a drive-in theater but it was not completed until 1958.[7][10] The the Geronimo Drive-In was located on Theater Drive[10][11]. It's only local competition was for the movie theater on Wilcox drive. "The drive-in was known for accidentally being sent a first run copy of the original "Star Wars" movie in 1977. The distributor was not aware the drive in was not a regular theater and tried to recall the movie but the owner refused and had many sold out showings and corresponding concessions with many emergency trips to Tucson to restock according to my family members who worked there and my own recollections. At one point the popcorn machine broke and they were driving to Tucson, or Phoenix, for truckloads of pre-popped popcorn." [12]
References[edit]
- ↑ "Fry Populated Place Profile / Cochise County, Arizona Data". arizona.hometownlocator.com. Retrieved 2018-02-04.
- ↑ "GNIS Detail - Fry". geonames.usgs.gov. Retrieved 2018-02-04.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 3.7 3.8 Jackson., Price, Ethel (2003). Sierra Vista : young city with a past. Charleston, SC: Arcadia. ISBN 0738524344. OCLC 53882709. Search this book on
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 Smith, Cornelius C (1983). FORT HUACHUCA: The story of a frontier post. U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, D.C. 20402: U.S Government Printing Office: Superintendent of Documents,. Search this book on
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 1937-, Bailey, Lynn R. (Lynn Robison), (2000). Cochise County stalwarts : a who's who of the territorial years : merchants, miners and millmen, ranchers and farmers, hostelers and restaurateurs, bankers, attorneys and judges, contractors, freighters, stage line operators and blacksmiths, saloonists and gamblers, marshals, sheriffs and constables, printers, lumbermen, postmasters, journalists, educators, politicians and promoters, and a few badmen and outlaws, who made an impact, thrown in for flavor. Chaput, Donald. Tucson, Ariz.: Westernlore Press. ISBN 0870261126. OCLC 46826073. Search this book on
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 "Journey to Cochise County: Explore the lives and Stories of those who have make Cochise County their home". The Cochise County Historical Journal. Cochise County Historical Society along with the Smithsonian Museum to accompany the Main Street traveling exhibit "Journey Stories" February 22-April 5, 2014. Volume 45, Number 1. Spring/Summer 2015. Check date values in:
|date=(help) - ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 7.4 7.5 7.6 7.7 "Sierra Vista, AZ History". sierravistahistory.blogspot.com. Retrieved 2018-02-04.
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 Hein, Jac (1983). Early Sierra Vista; its People and Neighbors. Collected from the Sierra Vista Herald-Dispatch and the Bisbee Review from April 1980 Sunday Column Edition through 1992. Sierra Vista, AZ, USA: Banner Printing Center. Search this book on
- ↑ "About Cochise County and Sierra Vista Arizona". TDY 123. Retrieved 2018-02-04.
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 A pictorial history of Sierra Vista, Arizona : more than a city, a way of life. Tritz, Judith,. [Place of publication not identified]: Pediment Pub. 2006. ISBN 1597250589. OCLC 74175599. Search this book on
- ↑ "Geronimo Drive-In in Sierra Vista, AZ - Cinema Treasures". cinematreasures.org. Retrieved 2018-03-14.
- ↑ Ambre P, Sierra Vista resident, her personal childhood recollections and family experiences in Sierra Vista in the 1970's.
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