Oracle is a small, unincorporated, Arizona mountain town founded in 1880. Its population is approximately 3500, not including cattle, horses, and wild critters. The town is located in Pinal County 30 miles north of Tucson city limits.

Oracle is at an elevation of 4500 feet on the northeastern slopes of the Santa Catalina Mountains. The hilly countryside is covered with mesquite, emory and gray oak, cat-claw acacia, bear grass, prickly pear and cholla cactus. There are large outcroppings of rock known to geologists as Oracle Granite. The diverse wildlife includes hawk, quail, road-runner, coyote, javelina, deer, rabbit, bobcat, and an occasional mountain lion or bear.

The story of how Oracle got its name begins with Albert Weldon of New Brunswick, Canada. Weldon made the trip to the Western United States around South America aboard his uncle's ship, The Oracle, built in Bath, Maine and launched on October 3, 1876.

In 1878, Albert Weldon, Jimmy Lee of Ireland, and Alex McKay of Scotland joined forces to prospect for gold and silver. Starting from Tucson, they began to explore the north side of the Santa Catalina Mountains.

Weldon, Lee and McKay staked claims in 1878. Weldon and Lee, who discovered the first mine, named it The Oracle. According to McKay, interviewed some 50 years later, Weldon had been impressed by the sea-worthiness and good fortune of his uncle's ship in withstanding the fierce storms usually encountered on a voyage around Cape Horn.

McKay built the first house in the area in 1878 and discovered the Christmas and New Year mines. When the Apache Mine opened on Apache Peak south of what is now Oracle, the increase in traffic caused the town to grow.

Two post offices opened in 1880. The American Flag Ranch was the first post office serving Oracle and is Arizona's oldest existing territorial post office building. A second post office opened a few months later at Acadia Ranch. Edwin S. Dodge, who owned Acadia Ranch, wanted to use the name Acadia, but that name was rejected as promoting a commercial business and Oracle was selected instead. Thus the town of Oracle was named after its first mine, and indirectly, after a ship.

Oracle, like many small rural towns, is plagued by fanciful stories about the origins of its name. For example, one story is that Oracle would have been named American Flag if only some government agency had not rejected a two-word name. But the Post Office accepted the two-word name American Flag, and that post stop closed in 1890 because the town developed around the competing Oracle post office. For those who would prefer a town name of American Flag, that post office was just in the wrong place.

Derived from Oracle Historical Society archives with the assistance of Tom Thompson, 2003, and in part from writings by Casey Thorp, 1995.

For information on Oracle history or about people who used to live here, contact Evaline Auerbach who publishes the Oracle News Email.