Canelo, Arizona facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Canelo, Arizona
Ghost town
The Canelo Cowboy Church, a former schoolhouse built in 1912.
Canelo, Arizona Location in Arizona Show map of Arizona Canelo, Arizona Location in the United States Show map of the United States
Country	United States
State	Arizona
County	Santa Cruz
Elevation	4,990 ft (1,521 m)
Time zone	UTC-7 (MST (no DST))
Post Office Opened:	August 22, 1904
Post Office Closed:	1924

Canelo is a ghost town located in southeastern Santa Cruz County, Arizona. It sits between the Canelo Hills and the northern part of the Huachuca Mountains. You can find this historic spot along Turkey Creek, right on Arizona State Route 83. It's about 10 miles (16 km) north of Parker Canyon Lake.

Today, Canelo still has several old buildings. These buildings are important enough to be listed on the National Register of Historic Places. They include a one-room schoolhouse and a United States Forest Service ranger station.

What's in a Name? The Story of Canelo

The name "Canelo" comes from a Spanish word. It's a different way to spell "canela," which means "cinnamon" in English.

The town got its name from the nearby Canelo Hills. When you look at these hills from the south, they have a light brownish color. This color reminds people of cinnamon. The name was first spelled "Canille," then changed to "Canela," and finally became "Canelo."

Canelo's Past: A Look Back in Time

The Canelo area was first settled in the late 1800s. Captain Joe Parks arrived in 1882 and made his home along Turkey Creek.

Early Days and the Post Office

A post office didn't open in Canelo until 1904. Robert A. Rodgers, a local Forest Ranger, was the first postmaster. He was also the person who named the small town.

In its busiest years, around the 1920s and 1930s, Canelo had a general store, a post office, a schoolhouse, and several homes. Robert's wife, Annie, took over the post office in 1906. Later, in 1910, another pioneer named Addie Parker became the postmaster. All three of these early residents are buried in Black Oak Cemetery. This cemetery is about 2 miles (3.2 km) northwest of the town.

The Canelo Schoolhouse

The Canelo School was built in 1912. It taught local children until 1948. This building is now listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

For a time, from 2006 to 2016, it was home to the Canelo Cowboy Church. Over the years, the schoolhouse has also been used for other things. It served as a community center, a country store, and even a funeral home. It helped with burials in Black Oak Cemetery, which opened in 1917.

Black Oak Cemetery is special. It allows local pioneers to be buried there for free. A pioneer is anyone who lived in the Canelo area before December 1952. It's also free for those who already have family buried in the cemetery.

The Canelo Ranger Station

The Canelo Ranger Station was built in 1932. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1993.

There are five historic buildings at the site. These include the ranger station office, a home, a garage, a pumphouse, and a barn. All of these buildings were made from adobe brick. They were built by members of the Forest Service and the Civilian Conservation Corps in the early 1930s.

The ranger station is still used by the Forest Service today. It is no longer open for visitors to tour.

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