A Short History of Rocky Point

In 1826, retired British Royal Navy Lt. Robert William Hale Hardy explored Bahía de Pinacate, the large bay just up the

coast from Puerto Peñasco, in search of pearls and precious metals. He named the area Rocky Point, or Punto Peñasco in

Spanish, inspired by the solidified lava formation at what is now the Cholla Bay community, and so it was identified for the

next one hundred and ten years.

During the early 1920’s Americans traveled from Tucson, Phoenix, Gila Bend and Ajo to fish for the enormous marlin

abundant in the nearby waters. For fisherman who traveled up the gulf via boat, Rocky Point provided the ideal place for

refuge from storms thanks to the hill which the fishermen called Colina de la Ballena (Whale Hill) and the tranquil estuaries.

However, with no fresh water readily available, there were no permanent residents in the area.

During Prohibition in the US (1920-1933) bars, clubs, hotels, and casinos sprang up along the US border with Mexico,

offering thirsty Americans beer and liquor and, in some cases, women and gambling as well. Seeing an opportunity, John

Stone, a businessman who owned the Hotel Cornelia in Ajo, decided to build a hotel and casino nearer to the sea to combine

the money-making potential of fishing with that of alcohol. He dug a well for potable water 20 kilometers from the coast near

what today is Agua Zarca on Hwy 8, recruited fishermen with their families who were willing to risk living in harsh conditions,

and the town was born.

John Stone installed roulette, cards, and dice tables at the Stone Hotel, and sold water from his well. He also established

an airport and airline with direct flights to Phoenix and Tucson. The now-defunct airport site was much nearer to the current

downtown Puerto Peñasco than the present-day airport, and today is built over with houses.

In 1927, along with his friend Sofus Janssen, John Stone built a second hotel in the Old Port area that is the oldest building

still standing in the town. Every wall in the small hotel, known today as Posada La Roca, is made of volcanic rock that had

flowed as lava from the Pinacate volcano many thousands of years earlier. It is this hotel that is rumored to have been a

hideout for the gangster Al Capone.

Unfortunately, the end of Prohibition in 1933 severely reduced the number of visitors to the area. Soon the brave souls who

settled the town in the 1920’s were stranded when John Stone had a falling out with them and left town after burning his

casino to the ground and blowing up his well, which was the only source of drinking water for miles around, leaving the

townspeople to depend on whatever water could be carried by truck from Sonoyta.

Punto Peñasco struggled until one day in 1936. The small town was suffocating in the midday heat when three automobiles

arrived in the village. General Lázaro Cárdenas, president of the Republic of Mexico, stepped out of one of the vehicles and

was shocked by the sad spectacle of men and women who appeared to be alive only through a miracle, living in caves,

tents, or out in the open, dirty and nearly naked.

The president and his men climbed up Whale Hill, and from there he began to plan an enormous wharf where cargo vessels

would tie up, a railroad that would unify Baja California with Sonora and the rest of the country, and a highway to the United

States. As part of the project, he renamed the area Puerto Punta Peñasco. However, over time, Americans reverted to the

name Rocky Point, and Mexicans dropped the ‘Punta’, leaving the town to be called Puerto Peñasco.

By 1940, the wharf at Puerto Peñasco began operations, the water well and Posada La Roca were rehabilitated, and the

urban development of the town had begun. Meanwhile, construction of the Sonora - Baja California railroad was underway.

The first stage involved the construction of the rail line from Mexicali to Puerto Peñasco, which was completed in 1941. The

second stage continued the line from Puerto Peñasco to Benjamin Hill, a town about 90 miles south of Nogales where there

was a junction connecting the Sonora - Baja California and South Pacific Railways.

The railroad spurred the growth of Puerto Peñasco, transforming it into a burgeoning village with new residents, largely

supported by the shrimping industry and railway jobs. Passenger service was two trains a day: a first class express and a

local second class run, one going each way. In 1952, Puerto Peñasco became its own municipality, and by the 1980s, it

had evolved from a fishing community into a destination for tourists including, in a throwback to its origins during Prohibition,

Arizona college students taking advantage of the lower legal drinking age.