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All the United States Arizona Florence Tom Mix Monument

Tom Mix Monument

At an isolated roadside rest area stands a monument marking where famous Western star Tom Mix died in 1940.

Florence, Arizona

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Rick Brown
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Tom Mix Monument.   rickbbiking / Atlas Obscura User
Sign along AZ Highway 79.   rickbbiking / Atlas Obscura User
Tabletop of Tom Mix memorabilia.   rickbbiking / Atlas Obscura User
Memorial marker.   rickbbiking / Atlas Obscura User
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About

Situated midway between Florence and Oracle Junction, Arizona, deep in the heart of the Sonoran Desert, is a remote roadside park containing a monument to cowboy, actor, and Western star Tom Mix.

About a 100 yards or so to the south of the marker, on October 12, 1940, Mix wrecked his Cord automobile in the nearby wash while driving at a high speed.The crash cost him his life, though accounts from the time vary as to the exact cause of his death.

Mix's fans were heartbroken, and decided to erect a monument to their beloved star. Ever since, this monument has caught the eye of motorists passing by on Arizona State Highway 79; there's even a geocache placed at the site in the Western star's honor.

One of the covered picnic tables next to the monument displays memorabilia about Mix, copies of newspaper accounts of his death, and a register for guests to sign. Just down the road (to the south), the desert wash where Mr. Mix died is aptly named Tom Mix Wash.

Related Tags

Celebrity Roadside Attractions Monuments Memorials Cowboys Crash Site

Know Before You Go

The monument and roadside park is located on the west side of Arizona State Highway 79 (a.k.a. Pinal Pioneer Parkway) between mile markers 115 and 116.

Community Contributors

Added By

rickbbiking

Edited By

Ysabet, cyccommute

  • Ysabet
  • cyccommute

Published

February 15, 2019

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Sources
  • https://www.pinalcentral.com/florence_reminder_blade_tribune/entertainment/tom-mix-monument-still-a-popular-stop-for-tourists/article_15eb6564-3335-561c-8dcf-e59d86ddb78f.html
  • https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/silent-film-star-tom-mix-dies-in-arizona-car-wreck-brained-by-suitcase-of-death
  • https://tucson.com/morguetales/tales-from-the-morgue-adios-tom-mix/article_e855bc0e-8c0f-11e6-8d76-27ff9f7d9a46.html
Tom Mix Monument
AZ Highway 79
Florence, Arizona
United States
32.821495, -111.20348
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