Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition/Tucson

TUCSON, a city in Pima county, Arizona Territory, United States, is situated in 32° 13′ N. lat. and 110° 53′ W. long. at an elevation of 2403 feet above the sea, upon the Santa Cruz river and on the Southern Pacific Railroad, about 70 miles from the Mexican frontier. The surrounding country is arid and barren, except where it has been fertilized by irrigation. The climate is exceedingly hot and dry. The principal industries of Tucson, besides stock-rearing, are connected with mining, as it is a supply point for mining districts in the neighbouring mountains and has several smelting works. The population, which in 1860 was 915, in 1870 3224, had grown by 1880 to 7007, and in 1887 was estimated to number nearly 10,000. About one-half are of foreign birth, a large proportion being Mexicans. Tucson is one of the oldest settlements in the United States, having been founded as a Jesuit mission by the Spaniards in the 17th century.