Benson, Arizona
Encyclopedia
Transportation
Benson AirportBenson Municipal Airport (Arizona)
Benson Municipal Airport, Arizona The airport is located about 3 miles NW of the city of Benson, Arizona, and 30 miles East or Tucson International Airport The airport was opened in November 1999.- Facilities and aircraft :100LL & Jet-A Fuel...
is located 3 miles north west of the city.
Benson is served by Interstate 10 to the north, which travels directly to downtown Tucson
Tucson, Arizona
Tucson is a city in and the county seat of Pima County, Arizona, United States. The city is located 118 miles southeast of Phoenix and 60 miles north of the U.S.-Mexico border. The 2010 United States Census puts the city's population at 520,116 with a metropolitan area population at 1,020,200...
.
It is also served by State Route 80, which has its western terminus at Interstate 10. It heads south east from the city.
Amtrak
Amtrak
The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, doing business as Amtrak , is a government-owned corporation that was organized on May 1, 1971, to provide intercity passenger train service in the United States. "Amtrak" is a portmanteau of the words "America" and "track". It is headquartered at Union...
provides passenger rail service at 105 E. 4th Street
Benson, Arizona (Amtrak Station)
The Benson, Arizona is located at 105 East 4th Street in Benson, Arizona, USA.Benson is a flag stop on the Sunset Limited, combined with the Texas Eagle as it passes through Benson 3 days a week: Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday westbound; Monday, Thursday and Saturday eastbound...
; freight railroads serving Benson are the Union Pacific Railroad
Union Pacific Railroad
The Union Pacific Railroad , headquartered in Omaha, Nebraska, is the largest railroad network in the United States. James R. Young is president, CEO and Chairman....
and the San Pedro and Southwestern Railroad.
In old west history
The railhead in Benson was used by the Earps in March, 1882 to send the body of Morgan EarpMorgan Earp
Morgan Seth Earp was the younger brother of Deputy U.S. Marshals Virgil and Wyatt Earp. Morgan was a deputy of Virgil's and all three men were the target of repeated death threats made by outlaw Cowboys who were upset by the Earps' interference in their illegal activities. This conflict eventually...
after his assassination in Tombstone, Arizona
Tombstone, Arizona
Tombstone is a city in Cochise County, Arizona, United States, founded in 1879 by Ed Schieffelin in what was then Pima County, Arizona Territory. It was one of the last wide-open frontier boomtowns in the American Old West. From about 1877 to 1890, the town's mines produced USD $40 to $85 million...
to the Earp family home in Colton, California
Colton, California
Colton is a city in San Bernardino County, California, United States. The city is located in the Inland Empire region of the state and is approximately 57 miles east of Los Angeles. The population of Colton is 52,154 according to the 2010 census, up from 47,662 at the 2000 census.Colton is the...
. The next day, the same station was used as the terminal to send Virgil Earp
Virgil Earp
Virgil Walter Earp fought in the Civil War. He was U.S. Deputy Marshal for south-eastern Arizona and Tombstone City Marshal at the time of the Gunfight at the O.K. Corral in the Arizona Territory. Two months after the shootout in Tombstone, outlaw Cowboys ambushed Virgil on the streets of...
and his wife away from Tombstone, on the same route. Accompanying them were five guards: Wyatt Earp
Wyatt Earp
Wyatt Berry Stapp Earp was an American gambler, investor, and law enforcement officer who served in several Western frontier towns. He was also at different times a farmer, teamster, bouncer, saloon-keeper, miner and boxing referee. However, he was never a drover or cowboy. He is most well known...
, Warren Earp
Warren Earp
Baxter Warren Earp was the youngest brother of Wyatt, Morgan, Virgil, James, and Newton Earp. He was not present during the Gunfight at the O.K. Corral. After Virgil was maimed in an ambush, he joined Wyatt and was in town when Morgan was assassinated. He helped Wyatt in the hunt for the outlaw...
, Doc Holliday
Doc Holliday
John Henry "Doc" Holliday was an American gambler, gunfighter and dentist of the American Old West, who is usually remembered for his friendship with Wyatt Earp and his involvement in the Gunfight at the O.K. Corral...
and two others. After the murder of Frank Stilwell
Frank Stilwell
Frank C. Stilwell was an outlaw Cowboy who murdered at least two men in Cochise County during 1877-1882. For four months he was a deputy sheriff in Tombstone, Arizona Territory for Cochise County Sheriff Johnny Behan...
near the Tucson, Arizona
Tucson, Arizona
Tucson is a city in and the county seat of Pima County, Arizona, United States. The city is located 118 miles southeast of Phoenix and 60 miles north of the U.S.-Mexico border. The 2010 United States Census puts the city's population at 520,116 with a metropolitan area population at 1,020,200...
train terminal that evening, Virgil left on the train for California and his five guards used the night-freight train back to Benson before proceded back to Tombstone to start what later become known as the Earp vendetta ride
Earp vendetta ride
The Earp Vendetta Ride, lasting from March 20 to April 15, 1882, was a manhunt for outlaw Cowboys led by newly appointed Deputy U.S. Marshal Wyatt Earp. He was searching for men he held responsible for maiming his brother Virgil, the Tombstone Marshal and Deputy U.S. Marshal, and assassinating his...
.
Media references
- This city was one of the filming locations for ParamountParamount PicturesParamount Pictures Corporation is an American film production and distribution company, located at 5555 Melrose Avenue in Hollywood. Founded in 1912 and currently owned by media conglomerate Viacom, it is America's oldest existing film studio; it is also the last major film studio still...
's 1994 film Pontiac MoonPontiac MoonPontiac Moon is a 1994 adventure film directed by Peter Medak, and produced by Robert Schaffel and Youssef Vahabzadeh.The film stars Ted Danson as Washington Bellamy, a "pigheaded" science teacher in a small California town, and Mary Steenburgen as his wife Katherine. Danson was also one of 3...
. - "Benson, Arizona" is the name of the theme song to the movie Dark StarDark Star (film)Dark Star is a 1974 American comedic science fiction motion picture directed by John Carpenter and co-written with Dan O'Bannon.-Backstory and plot:...
. - In a tip of the hat to Dark Star, the AvengersAvengers (comics)The Avengers is a fictional team of superheroes, appearing in magazines published by Marvel Comics. The team made its debut in The Avengers #1 The Avengers is a fictional team of superheroes, appearing in magazines published by Marvel Comics. The team made its debut in The Avengers #1 The Avengers...
crossoverFictional crossoverA fictional crossover is the placement of two or more otherwise discrete fictional characters, settings, or universes into the context of a single story. They can arise from legal agreements between the relevant copyright holders, or because of unauthorized efforts by fans, or even amid common...
story Operation: Galactic StormOperation: Galactic Storm"Operation: Galactic Storm" was a 19-part comic book crossover storyline which ran through Marvel Comics' Avengers related titles - Avengers, Avengers West Coast, Captain America, Iron Man, Thor, Wonder Man and Quasar - between March and May 1992.The storyline, which involves the Avengers...
, which is about a war between alien races, commences here. - "Benton, Arizona" is the fictitious Arizona town that Humphrey Bogart's character, Vincent Parry, transits by bus on his way to Peru through Mexico in the 1947 Bogart & Bacall film Dark PassageDark PassageDark Passage is a novel by David Goodis which was the basis for the 1947 film noir Dark Passage.-Plot:Vincent Parry, convicted of murdering his wife, escapes from prison and is taken in by Irene Jansen, an artist with an interest in his case...
. In reality, this would have been "Benson, Arizona".
External links
- Benson Public Info Site
- City of Benson
- The Benson/San Pedro Valley Chamber of CommerceChamber of commerceA chamber of commerce is a form of business network, e.g., a local organization of businesses whose goal is to further the interests of businesses. Business owners in towns and cities form these local societies to advocate on behalf of the business community...