Photo by Mike Bibb: Workers remove old trusses and roof decking from Our Lady Mission of Guadalupe Catholic Church in Solomons. Protective plywood panels cover large stained-glass windows.
digit Mike Bibb
After decades and decades – no one seems to know how long – Solomon’s Mission Our Lady of Guadalupe has finally received a new roof.
The current roof, with its drooping trusses and dilapidated decking, is believed to have been constructed around 1912, when the third, current church was built.
I believe the roof has been re-roofed in the last few years. Unexpectedly, with the exception of the drooping roof supports, the trusses and decks appeared to be original with minimal decay, according to workers.
Water leaks, dry rot, birds, and summer heat can typically cause considerable damage over 100 years or more.
Current church officials had previously determined that a new roof was needed and funds were raised for that purpose. But like many things, the COVID pandemic and rising material costs stalled the effort for several years.
A quick search of the Church’s website reveals that the Church’s history spans nearly 150 years in relation to the community. Church property was transferred to the Catholic Church in 1876 by Solomonville merchant Isadore E. Solomon.
Solomonville was called Pueblo Viejo by early Hispanic settlers. Also, this small town he was the county seat of Graham County from 1873 to 1915.
A small Chapel of Our Lady of Guadalupe was built in early 1878 and the first mass was held on May 3, 1878.
Over three years from 1887 to 1891, a larger church complex was built and consecrated in 1891 under the direction of Father Vandermeesen.
Also in 1891, Our Lady of Guadalupe was ordained as a parish and served as the mother parish of St. Joseph of Roseburg, New Mexico. Holy Cross of Morenci. Saint Rose of Lima, Safford. Saint Angelus of the world. Wilcox’s Sacred Heart.
This was a time when traveling between different communities often took a day, two, or more. Automobiles and smooth highways had not been invented. Horse-drawn carriages and carriages were the main means of transport.
In 1899, the Gila Valley Grove & Northern Railroad completed a branch line and began freight service from Bowie’s Main Line, through the Gila Valley, over the San Carlos Apache Reservation and into the Grove Miami mining area. A similar branch was built from Roseburg to the copper mining community of Clifton Morenci. It is my understanding that in the end some basic passenger cars were provided.
Interestingly, one of GVGNR’s original locomotives was called Jupiter and participated in the Golden Spike Ceremony at Promontory Summit, Utah. The final “Golden Spike” or “Last Spike” became a symbol of the completion of the United States’ first transcontinental railroad on May 10, 1869.
The railroad company still operates as the Arizona Eastern Railroad (AZER).
Remember, Arizona and New Mexico were still territories.
Unfortunately, also in 1891, a devastating fire destroyed the church. It was later rebuilt through the efforts and spirit of the parishioners.
A few years later, in 1894, the San Jose Mission was built a few miles east of Solomons to serve the growing San Jose area. Closed after 60 years. Bishop Moreno rededicated this mission as a House of God in 1985.
Another fire in 1911 destroyed the wooden floors and some of the wooden statues in the main altar of Our Lady of Guadalupe.
The following year, in 1912, the existing church, designed by Don JoaquÃn Figueroa, was rebuilt a third time using hand-made adobe bricks.
Again, according to the roofing workers, the wooden trusses and various other boards and planks used in the construction of the church were made from wood harvested at Mount Graham and manufactured at local sawmills. is believed to have been obtained from
In 1937, Saint Rose of Lima, Safford, was designated a separate parish.
The “White Sisters”, also known as the Sisters of Saint Dominic’s Eucharistic Missionary, came to Our Lady of Guadalupe and Saint Rose of Lima in 1961 to assist with the cathetical program.
1981 was 450th Anniversary of the apparition of Our Lady of Guadalupe to Juan Diego on Tepeyac Hill, Mexico. Our Lady of Guadalupe Catholic Her Mission of Solomons was dedicated to the shrine by Bishop Moreno of the Diocese of Tucson.
A small Catholic mission in Solomons, Arizona has a long history in Graham County, but its continued preservation is a testament to the insight and determination that certain parishioners and visitors appreciate history. It is the testimony of the current parishioners. Donations and upkeep needed to maintain and maintain the church for another 100 years.
