Gila County, Arizona Genealogy

Gila County is located northeast of Maricopa and Pinal Counties in Arizona. It contains some of the early settlements in Arizona going back to the 1870s.

Globe is named for a large silver nugget that was the size of a schoolhouse globe, and is known historically for silver mining although copper smelting is done nearby in Miami only a few miles away.

Payson is the largest town today, its name came from a situation where the town needed a post office and a congressman was reported to have said that if they named the town Payson they would get a post office. The second town that took up the dare was Payson, Utah.

Other towns include Pine, Roosevelt, and Claypool. Defunct localities include 'Motel Point' where a motel once stood just yards northeast of the present-day Roosevelt Dam.