Arizona’s Temple to the Sun

Pyramid of Arizona

With the thought of Arizona, Saguaros and red walled canyons may come to mind. One may think of intense heat and scorpions, or perhaps even the brief sighting of javelina in your headlight beam on some remote desert road. But it is rare that pyramids, tombs, and temples to the sun would come to mind. There is a place in Arizona that are all three.

Just outside of Florence, Arizona, a fair sized hill exists called Poston Butte. At first glance it appears to have a perfect triangular tip, but this is no natural wonder. It is a man-made pyramid. Now, when I say pyramid, I mean no comparison to the size and age of those of Giza or South America. It is, nevertheless, a pyramid serving as a temple to the sun in the middle of Arizona. But, before I say anything more about that, I would like to say a little about the man entombed within.

Father of Arizona

Charles Poston

Charles Debrille Poston was a native of Kentucky, born in 1825. There he passed the bar and married before heading out to the California Gold Rush. In subsequent years he would fill roles as a miner, promoter, explorer, soldier, politician, writer, and conservationist. He was instrumental in opening up the mines in what would become Southern Arizona. He was also known for negotiating peace with the local Apache’s.

In 1863, he went to Washington DC and met with President Lincoln. He lobbied the President and Congress for the land he called Arizona to become a U.S. Territory. He noted that the mineral wealth of Arizona would benefit the Union cause in the ongoing Civil War. On March 12^th, Lincoln signed the Arizona Organic Act. Poston was appointed Superintendent of Indian Affairs. The following year he won election as Arizona’s first delegate to the US House of Representatives. This was short lived however, as he was defeated the following election and out of a job by 1866. Still, Poston was regarded as “The Father of Arizona.”

A decade later he returned to Arizona as the Registrar of the United States Land Office, in Florence. It was at this time he started to envision a type of temple to the sun on nearby Primrose Hill. Construction began on top of an older Native American structure, but Poston ran out of money for the project. Not only was his financial situation getting bleak by this time, but he was also becoming known as odd and eccentric to many.

He attempted to raise funds to complete the project, even writing the Shah of Iran. All efforts failed and Charles Poston began to fade into obscurity. By the 1890’s he was in continued financial decline and many would say a mental decline as well. He spent the last of his years gabbing and spinning repeated yarns that people grew weary of hearing. It was his wish to someday be entombed in his “temple,” however he died penniless and was buried in a pauper’s grave in Phoenix in 1902. Arizona would receive statehood ten years later.

Redemption of Arizona

Luckily, Poston had surviving friends and acquaintances in high places. In 1925, on what would have been his one hundredth birthday, his remains were exhumed from the pauper’s grave and moved to Primrose Hill. His temple to the sun had been completed as a 14-foot-high pyramid. His body was placed inside, and the tomb sealed. More than 1500 people attended this reburial, including the first Governor of Arizona, George Hunt, who incidentally is entombed in a pyramid of his own at Papago Park in Phoenix.  As a final tribute, the name of the hill was changed from Primrose Hill to Poston Butte.

A steep hike

For almost a hundred years this temple has stood high over Florence as a notable landmark, although few know of the man within. It is a windswept lonesome height, but also a beacon to hikers and explorers. Parking just off the Hunt Highway, there are two paths to the zenith. An abrupt, steep, and rocky incline leads a little over a half mile up. There is also an easier trail that winds around and is only a few hundred yards longer.

A great view

Either way, it is a fantastic view of desert, farmland and the town of Florence in the near distance. The epitaph on the pyramid reads: Charles D. Poston  Erected by the territory 1907.

Poston Butte is only one of many things to see in the Florence area. Visit https://www.florenceaz.gov/area-attractions/ for more exciting places and events.

If you like reading about pyramids in strange places, I have some information about a Wyoming pyramid in a previous post at https://outerrealmz.com/road-through-weirdness/

Photo Credit: Arizona Historical Society Libraries and Archives/Tucson