Arizona is a unique place full of stories, folklore and Wild West chicanery. From KJZZ’s Original Productions, Untold Arizona explores some of the stories you probably haven’t heard about the Grand Canyon State.
Untold Arizona: Season 3
S3 E10 | Feb. 21, 2020
The Baron of Arizona
Less than 20% of Arizona is privately owned. In a sense, it belongs to everyone. No one person can claim this land. But one man got awfully close — the Baron of Arizona. →
S3 E9 | Feb. 20, 2020
La Llorona
Many people in the Southwest claim they have seen La Llorona or the weeping woman, from the Rio de Flag in Flagstaff all the way down to the San Pedro River near Tucson. →
S3 E8 | Feb. 19, 2020
Arizona Earthquakes
Arizona’s mountains, cinder cones and lava fields attest to the state’s wild geological youth. But those with an ear to the ground know the state’s seismic days are far from over. →
S3 E7 | Feb. 18, 2020
Studio Mariposa
Three years ago, Bisbee artist Gretchen Baer opened a small art center just steps from the border in the quiet town of Naco, Sonora. Now, every Tuesday the little studio bursts into life. →
S3 E6 | Feb. 17, 2020
'Off Grid' In Cochise County
How can you live a frontier lifestyle long after the frontier has closed? In 2020, it involves solar panels, composting toilets, and rainwater harvesting. Meet some off-gridders in Cochise County.→
S3 E5 | Feb. 14, 2020
Guadalupe
The town of is wedged between I-10 and Tempe. If you’ve never visited, you’ve most likely zoomed past it. This story is about the community, their history and their future. →
S3 E4 | Feb. 13, 2020
Curling In The Desert
Ever since the U.S. won Olympic gold in 2018, the sport of curling has been gaining in popularity. But long before that, curling has thrived from a devoted following right here in the desert. →
S3 E3 | Feb. 12, 2020
University Mascots
Even in defeat, the University of Arizona team "fought like wildcats." The history of the wildcat name — and the mascots for Arizona’s two other state universities — are more than a century in the making. →
S3 E2 | Feb. 11, 2020
Bass Fishing Paradise
San Pedro de la Cueva is about as remote a corner of vast, sparsely populated Sonora as there is. Nevertheless, Arizona and other U.S. bass anglers have been heading there for decades. →
S3 E1 | Feb. 10, 2020
Immaculate Heart
The story of a church in Phoenix with roots going back almost as far as Arizona’s statehood. It's a sanctuary built out of a history of hardship for Phoenix’s Hispanic community. →
Untold Arizona: Season 2
Episode 13 | April 12, 2019
Bullfighting In Nogales
In the 1950s and '60s, Arizona tourists and Hollywood stars filled the stands to see some of the world’s most famous bullfighters. →
Episode 12 | April 11-12, 2019
Ancient Ground Stones
People of have been living in the Southwest for thousands of years. This is evident in the ground stones they left behind. →
Episode 11 | April 11, 2019
'Oklahoma!' In Arizona
The 1955 movie-musical "Oklahoma!" was actually filmed in the San Rafael Valley, a small patch of land in southern Arizona. →
Episode 10 | April 10, 2019
3 Flooded Towns
In the mid-1960s, the waters of a massive dam in northern Mexico flooded three small towns in Sonora, displacing their residents. →
Episode 9 | April 10, 2019
Cross-Border Shooting Inspires Art
How one street artist commemorated the killing of Jose Antonio Elena Rodriguez, a Mexican teenager who was shot by a Border Patrol agent. →
Episode 8 | April 9, 2019
DouglaPrieta Co-op
Hidden away in a dusty neighborhood just south of the Arizona border, a group of women are creating a sustainable community for themselves. →
Episode 7 | April 9, 2019
Ancient Origins Of Rivers
The Verde, the Gila, the Salt — without these rivers, life in Arizona would be unthinkable. Scientists are still piecing together their mysterious origins. →
Episode 6 | April 8, 2019
Worlds Of Words
The largest collection of global children’s literature in the country and the second largest in the world is in Tucson →
Episode 5 | April 5, 2019
Arizona's Metric Highway
Interstate 19 in southern Arizona is the country’s only continuous highway that lists distances in kilometers, not miles. →
Episode 4 | April 4, 2019
Pastry That Crosses Borders
A well known treat in Sonora — but not as well known outside of it — is the coyota, a flat, flaky pastry stuffed with sweet filling. →
Episode 3 | April 3, 2019
The Colonia Of Rillito
“Rillito’s a good town, but it’s a forgotten town. It’s a good community. But if you on the freeway and you blink, and you driving by, you miss it." →
Episode 2 | April 2, 2019
The Curley School
A historic school in Ajo has been preserved into affordable artists housing and creatives are flocking to the desert to live there. →
Episode 1 | April 1, 2019
Two Guns Ghost Town
During Route 66’s heyday, families drove cross country on the "Mother Road" and took in a variety of roadside attractions. In Arizona, many stopped halfway between Flagstaff and Winslow at a spooky ghost town. →
Have an untold story of your own? Be part of the conversation — contribute using the hashtag #UntoldArizona on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, or join our Facebook group to hear from others who love the beauty and wonder of the Grand Canyon State.
Untold Arizona: Season 1
Due South | Feb. 14, 2018
Wrong Guy's Remains
Historians have been uncertain whether the body of the famed Basque explorer for the Spanish Crown was actually who everyone assumed it to be. A single clerical error led to a centuries old mystery in northern Mexico. →
Offbeat Places | Feb. 14, 2018
Parrot Sanctuary
If you drive north from Benson long enough you’ll reach the tiny community of Cascabel. In recent years, hundreds of new residents have flocked there, to a haven for parrots in need of a home. →
Second Chances | Feb. 13, 2018
Boy Scouts Behind Bars
Scout Troop 4 is made up of inmates at the Adobe Mountain School, a secured facility for juvenile offenders, just north of Phoenix. →
Second Chances | Feb. 13, 2018
Tepary Beans
Arizona’s earliest residents grew teparies for thousands of years, but in recent history, the beans were at risk of shriveling into obscurity. →
Ground Work | Feb. 12, 2018
Laguna Dam
We all know Hoover Dam, and you might know about the Imperial or other dams that manage the Colorado River. But the very first completed dam on the Colorado was the Laguna Dam. →
Ground Work | Feb. 12, 2018
Mining In Skull Valley
Skull Valley was originally settled as those going West came to find metals in the ground. Those mines helped build the towns, and all of them are long gone — except for one. →
Ground Work | Feb. 9, 2018
Unearthing Turquoise
To Arizonans turquoise is the stone of belt buckles, artists, galleries - and a rich Native American cultural heritage. Trace turquoise’s story from its archaeological past to it uncertain future. →
Historical Clashes | Feb. 9, 2018
El Tiradito
In Tucson’s Barrio Viejo evidence of the city’s Mexican heritage is everywhere. Visitors come to eat tacos, to admire adobe architecture, and if they know where to go, they can make a wish too at El Tiradito. →
Historical Clashes | Feb. 8, 2018
Pleasant Valley War
The Pleasant Valley War exploded out of a feud between two families. Historians have tried to document exactly what happened, but ran into misinformation campaigns designed to protect those involved. →
Offbeat Places | Feb. 7, 2018
Elvis Chapel
About a mile from the Superstition Mountain sits a white, wooden chapel with a unique connection to the King of rock 'n' roll. →
Offbeat Places | Feb. 6, 2018
Dateland
If you have ever driven to San Diego, chances are you've seen billboards for the “world-famous date shakes” in the tiny town of Dateland. But Dateland is home to more than just date shakes. →
Due South | Feb. 5, 2018
A Sweet And Sour History
Almost two centuries ago, the United States fought a gruesome war against Mexico and annexed a vast territory that includes Arizona. What does Arizona mean to Mexico nowadays? →
Reporting: Matthew Casey, Rodrigo Cervantes, Mariana Dale Christina Estes, Nicholas Gerbis, Bret Jaspers, Jimmy Jenkins, Casey Kuhn, Michel Marizco, Laurel Morales, Stina Sieg, Will Stone, Sarah Ventre
Editor: Mark Moran
Digital: Sky Schaudt, Jackie Hai, Jean Clare Sarmiento, Kaleigh Shufeldt
Graphic Design: Ambar Favela, Justin Stabley