Meet the Marin Family: Homesteaders Circa 1880

This article is part of our continuing series by the Oro Valley Historical Society. Future OVHS articles will appear on LOVE every other Thursday.
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Francisco Marin marries Mercedes Ruelas
Francisco Marin was born in 1847 in Tucson. At a young age, he was captured by Apache Indians and spent three years in the Sierra Madre Mountains until he was able to escape.

Francisco married Mercedes Ruelas in 1876 when he was 29 and she was 22 years old. They had five children; one son and four daughters.

Circa 1880, he established a ranch on the west side of North Oracle Road. It was located opposite of the present day Catalina State Park entrance and one mile north of Steam Pump Ranch. He homesteaded 160 acres of property and received full title in 1908.

Francisco owned and operated several stagecoach stations on the Tucson-Oracle run. One was at the base of Marin Hill presently the area between Catalina State Park and Tangerine Road. The Marin Hill station was a good watering and switching point for horses and stagecoaches before continuing north due to the steepness of the terrain.

On the 1902 General Land Office survey plat map of the area, the Marin property was referred to as the “Mexican Ranch."  The Marin property was purchased by the parents of Buster Bailey in 1920.

Mercedes died in 1913 followed by Francisco in 1923. At the time of their deaths, they lived on Carmen Street in Tucson.

Teodoro Marin
Teodoro was born in 1880 and was the son of Francisco and Mercedes. He established a 160 acre homestead near his father’s property at the entrance to Catalina State Park and gained title to it in 1913. During his lifetime, Teodoro worked as a rancher, as a stagecoach driver, and for the Southern Pacific Railroad. He died in Tucson in 1961.

Members of the Marin family still reside in the Oro Valley area.

Source: Claiming the Desert: Settlers, Homesteaders and Ranchers in Oro Valley, Arizona 1865-1965 by James A. Williams. (This book can be purchased through the Oro Valley Historical Society at the Pusch House Museum or on Amazon.)
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WE WANT YOU! The Oro Valley Historical Society is a 501 (c) (3) non-profit volunteer organization, whose mission is “To promote research, preservation, education, and dissemination of historical information related to the greater Oro Valley area."  We invite you to become a member or volunteer. Visit us at ovhistory.org and help keep Oro Valley history alive!

We are currently looking for enthusiastic volunteers who are interested in becoming docents at the Pusch House museum and for Steam Pump Ranch tours. Training sessions are being scheduled in October. We hope to hear from you. Contact: Teri at tcolmar@comcast.net