The story of Alto begins sometime after the arrival of the Spanish
Jesuits in southern Arizona in the 1690s. Sometime later, missionaries from
Tumacacori discovered the rich silver veins of Alto while out exploring the hills to the east of their village. Although historical research does not support this claim, the Spanish were known to have started work on the original
Salero Mine just a few miles away. In 1875 Joseph Goldree opened the Gold Tree Mine in the Alto area, which led to the establishment of a mining camp at the foot of the mountain.
Apache raids were a constant threat in the early years and as a result it wasn't until after the turn of the century that a town really began to take shape. A post office was first opened in 1907 in the home of a local pioneer named Josiah Bond, who was a former mining engineer, the local
justice of the peace, school teacher, and poet. Alto's population was 25 in 1940. ==Gallery==