A man-made swimming pool in Arizona that is now more than 140 years old remains open to the public, a reminder of how long pools have offered relief from the state's intense summer heat. The existence of pools that predate Arizona’s admission to the Union highlights how early communities sought ways to cool off and gather during hot months.
The facility, now in operation more than a century after it first opened, represents a rare continuity in public recreation. While many recreational venues have come and gone, this pool has endured and continues to be available for swimmers seeking respite from the heat.
Early municipal pools served not only as places to swim but as centers for community activity. Historic images show large crowds and swimmers at early Arizona pools, illustrating how these public pools were gathering places for residents in an era before widespread private pools or air conditioning.
Historic photograph of swimmers and a large crowd at an early Arizona municipal pool, illustrating community gatherings at the state's long-standing public pools.
Through the mid-20th century, public pools remained focal points of summer recreation. Photographs from that period capture busy facilities with lifeguard chairs and numerous swimmers, underlining their ongoing role in community life across decades.
Mid-20th-century image of a busy public pool with a lifeguard chair and numerous swimmers, showing continued recreational use of Arizona's older pools.
The longevity of this more-than-140-year-old pool reflects the practical importance of public aquatic spaces in Arizona, where cooling off has long been a daily concern for residents. The facility’s continued operation links present-day visitors with generations who used similar public pools before the state itself was formed.
As the summer months approach each year, pools across the state again become places where people of all ages seek relief from the heat. This particular pool stands out for its age and the fact that it continues to welcome swimmers decades after it was first built.
The pool is Tombstone's municipal swimming pool, built in 1883 by A.J. Mitchell and Otis Spring with natural spring overflow. It remains free to the public and open daily from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., letting visitors swim in the same spot as territorial-era residents. This is documented in recent videos by Desert Sky Adventures.
The City of Tombstone is running a Tombstone City Pool Restoration Project to fund lifeguard equipment, ADA accessibility upgrades and outdoor furniture; the city advertises that donations can be made online, dropped off at City Hall (613 E. Allen Street) or mailed to City of Tombstone, PO Box 339 — and directs questions to City Clerk Charissa Presti.
Contemporary 1883 newspaper reports and local histories describe the original natatorium as being built at the north end of Fifth Street, billed in the Arizona Weekly Citizen as a ‘‘bath house,’’ fed by water from the Huachuca Water Company and constructed with an ‘‘immense reservoir’’ in a roughly 80-by-125-foot building.
Local historical accounts note the facility was later reopened in 1924 and has continued to operate in various forms since then, underpinning its long-running role in Tombstone community life.