Phone with Windmill, Redington – 7/16/2016

The payphone in Redington. July 2016.
The phone in Redington. July 2016.

Near the San Pedro River, between Redington and Cascabel Road, at the edge of Redfield Canyon, across from the Carlink Ranch, in the ‘town’ of Redington, with the top of a windmill visible over the trees and protected by a cholla stands a lonely phone. There are roads, homes and ranches  along the San Pedro River so I suppose the phone makes a certain kind of sense – but mostly it just seems strange.

Crossing the San Pedro River on the way from Redington Road to the town of Redington and the Carlink Ranch. July 2016.
Crossing the San Pedro River on the way from Redington Road to the town of Redington and the Carlink Ranch – cows in the distance. July 2016.

The Redfields settled in the San Pedro River Valley in the 1870s when Apache Raids were a concern and soldiers traveled from Fort Lowell over Redington Pass to protect residents. In 1879 the Redfields petitioned for a post office to be established, but the site could not be named after a living person so the name ‘Redington’ was used instead of Redfield. In the late 1880s Henry Redfield sold his ranch and moved to Benson – the ranch was eventually acquired by the Bayless family who had established the Carlink Ranch 1884. The Carlink Ranch is still operating today, run by descendants of William Bayless. The Post Office operated until 1940 and at one time the town had both a school and a general store.

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