Garces was located on the east side of
the Huachuca mountains,
about eight miles west of Hereford. So named after Garces National Forest
which is now the Coronado National Forest.
Post Office established April 12, 1911. In it's heydey, Garces had
several businesses including a meat market, shop(s), boarding house,
schoolhouse and more. The town population at it's peak was around
200. This town is no longer in existence and few remains are left,
just a bit of rubble here and there. Garces was named after the
Friar Francisco Garces who was a Spanish Catholic missionary priest who
became the first European to meet the Mojave Indians in 1775, who then
went with him on his journey to the coast. His route later became
known to the pioneers as the "Mojave Road".
This town initially was a mining camp
know as Reef, if you hike into the area you will see a geological
feature that gave it this name. The towns name was then changed to
Palmerlee in the early 1900's. And then finally to Garces.
