Ray, Arizona

Ray, Arizona

The small town of Ray, Arizona, located in the south central portion of Pinal County was founded in 1870. The original founders were most likely a group of copper miners operating a small mine in this copper rich area. One of the miners, Mr. Bullinger, is said to have named the town Ray, after his daughter, Ray Bullinger. By 1909 The Arizona Hercules Copper Company had purchased the rights to the mine and constructed the town as a company town. As the mining operation grew, the mine changed ownership a number of times being purchased by Kennecott Copper Corporation in 1933. At that time the copper mine was operated only as an underground mine but stripping of the surface areas began in 1948 and in 1952 digging of what was to become a huge open pit mine was started. Underground mining operations ceased in 1955.

The town of Ray consisted of one short main street with small businesses on both sides of the street. Ray had a hospital, an elementary school consisting of grades 1 through 8 and eight classrooms. By 1954, another small building was constructed and a Kindergarten was added to the curriculum. Ray High School was a short walk from the elementary school.