ARIZONA STRONGHOLD VINEYARDS
COCHISE COUNTY
1500 North Page Springs Rd. Cornville, AZ 86325 928.639.3004 www.AZstronghold.com
ARIZONA STRONGHOLD VINEYARDS
A history of people and place
Year 2008
Arizona Stronghold Vineyards lies between the
massive mountains Dragoon and Chiricahua. The
most prominent edifice, and the source of our
name, lies on the eastern flank of the Dragoons –
the Cochise Stronghold.
For fifteen years, this rugged natural fortress was the home and base of operations for the mighty Chiricahua
Apache Chief, Cochise. Cochise and about 1,000 of his followers, 250 of which were fighting men, sought
refuge within the maze-like rocks of the Stronghold. Sentinels, constantly on watch from the towering
pinnacles of rock, could spot their enemies in the valley below and sweep down without warning. No one
within a hundred miles was safe from these attacks and few would dare venture into the jaws of the
Stronghold.
Historical accounts document Cochise constantly warring with Mexican troops that were encroaching upon
Apache homelands. They also suggest that he gave very little heed to burgeoning white settlements until he
attended a meeting (under the white flag of truce) in 1861 with the U.S. military to deny charges that one of
his people had abducted a white child. The commanding U.S. officer ordered the six attending chiefs seized
and bound because they would not confess. One was killed and four were caught as they resisted arrest.
Cochise cut through the side of the tent and fled, suffering multiple bullet wounds. Within weeks, all white
settlements for miles and miles were laid waste to avenge the hanging of the chiefs that hadn’t escaped. War
had begun with the dishonorable whites.
Soon afterward military posts in the area were abandoned as troops were recalled to take part in the Civil war.
This falsely convinced the Apache that they needed only to fight to prevent whites from settling in their lands.
Cochise and Mangas Coloradas