During the Chiricahua Apache Campaign from 1861 to 1886, cavalry troops on maneuvers camped at a permanent water source known as Soldiers Hole. W. C. Sanderson and Ambrose Lyall struck artesian water nearby in 1883. In 1892, a twelve-battery stamp mill was erected and a post office was established under the name Descanso, meaning a haven of rest. A school was built that Mormon settlers also used for their church. When the railroad bypassed Soldiers Hole in 1909, its usefulness came to an end.