The History of Cochise and the Cochise Hotel
The Sulphur Springs Valley was the land of Kachise, the famous Apache Indian Chief who protected his home territory with bloodshed. In 1880 the Southern Pacific Railroad pushed it's way across the southwest, building section stations at regular intervals along the track line. The station built at the intersection of Croton Spring road was named Cochise, after the Indian warrior. Cochise station consisted of a few railroad cars as housing and employed mostly Irish and Chinese. In the mid 1880's an entrepreneur of 28 years old, John J. Rath, who worked as a telegraph operator at Fort Bowie, became interested in the Cochise area and became the camps railroad agent. He dug a well and convinced the Southern Pacific to build a proper railroad depot. John Rath founded the town of Cochise and erected a modern Inn called the Hotel Rath, soon to become, The Cochise Hotel. Learn about its illustrious history on the pages below.
Cochise History
