{"id":2015,"date":"2026-06-13T15:33:36","date_gmt":"2026-06-13T15:33:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/?p=2015"},"modified":"2026-06-13T15:33:36","modified_gmt":"2026-06-13T15:33:36","slug":"the-wild-story-behind-how-sierra-vista-got-its-name","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/?p=2015","title":{"rendered":"The wild story behind how Sierra Vista got its name"},"content":{"rendered":"
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TUCSON, Ariz. (13 News) – The city of Sierra Vista is celebrating a major milestone this year as it turns 70 years old. While the community has come a long way since its incorporation in 1956, few people in southern Arizona know the wild, backdoor story of how the city actually got its name. <\/p>\n

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Before it was known as Sierra Vista, the community outside Fort Huachuca was called \u201cFry.\u201d The name honored the Fry family, who were among the first homesteaders to settle in the area in the early 1900s.<\/p>\n

For decades, the family name served as the town\u2019s identity. The Fry family ran the local general store and the first post office, which is the exact reason why the city\u2019s main thoroughfare is still called Fry Boulevard today.<\/p>\n

But as the town moved toward official incorporation in 1956, local leaders wanted something new. <\/p>\n

\u201cThey asked people for suggestions for names, and people put some in,\u201d said Elizabeth Wrozek, president of the Sierra Vista Historical Society.<\/p>\n

Longtime resident Nola Mae Walker suggested the name \u201cSierra Vista\u201d after gazing at the beautiful Huachuca Mountains from her porch. Her idea made the final ballot alongside \u201cFry\u201d and a few other ideas. <\/p>\n

The name suggestions were then mailed to registered voters, and Walker was tasked with collecting and storing the returned voter postcards.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe had them all in a drawer, and she just hadn\u2019t gotten around to looking through them yet,\u201d Wrozek said. \u201cAnd then the incorporation committee, which she was a part of, went up to Phoenix to submit their paperwork.\u201d<\/p>\n

The committee did not realize they would receive immediate approval. When they did, they called Walker from Phoenix with an urgent problem.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey called her and said, \u2018We don\u2019t have a name, what name won?\u2019 And she hadn\u2019t counted them yet,\u201d Wrozek said. \u201cAnd she said \u2018Sierra Vista\u2019 … and that was it.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Sierra Vista officially became the name of the newly incorporated town on May 26, 1956.<\/p>\n

For decades, Walker kept the secret that she never actually tallied the votes. The truth finally came out in 2006 during the city\u2019s 50th birthday celebration.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe story was out, and she knew it,\u201d said Former Sierra Vista Mayor Thomas Hessler. <\/p>\n

In an effort to clear her name, Hessler reached out to Walker\u2019s son with an idea.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t know if your mom would like this or not, but I have an idea,\u201d Hessler recalled. \u201cWhy don\u2019t we summon her to a city council meeting, and I\u2019ll read her a proclamation dissolving her of all her crimes.\u201d<\/p>\n

Knowing his mother had carried the guilt for years, Walker\u2019s son loved the idea. On July 13, 2006, Hessler signed a playful, highly unofficial pardon for the \u201ccrime\u201d of falsifying a public contest.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t even know if what I did was legal,\u201d Hessler joked.<\/p>\n

While the resolution brought laughs to most, a few residents were not happy by the news.<\/p>\n

\u201cMost people didn\u2019t bat an eye,\u201d Wrozek said. \u201cWe do have some people who have said afterward, once it came out that Nola hadn\u2019t counted, who were very upset, who said, \u2018I knew it!\u2019 and are still alive and upset about it today. But for the most part, it\u2019s just one of those quirky stories our residents really enjoy.\u201d<\/p>\n

Seven decades later, Sierra Vista stands as a city with a name born out of a little bit of panic, a beautiful mountain view, and a secret kept for half a century.<\/p>\n

Read more Pima County Treasurer Brian Johnson resigning<\/a><\/p>\n<\/section>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Once called \u201cFry,\u201d the community held a naming vote during incorporation in 1956, but the ballots were never counted.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2014,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2015","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-interesting"],"yoast_head":"\nThe wild story behind how Sierra Vista got its name - Tucson Moving Report<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/?p=2015\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The wild story behind how Sierra Vista got its name - Tucson Moving Report\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Once called \u201cFry,\u201d the community held a naming vote during incorporation in 1956, but the ballots were never counted.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/?p=2015\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Tucson Moving Report\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-06-13T15:33:36+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tucsonmovingreport.com\\\/?p=2015#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tucsonmovingreport.com\\\/?p=2015\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tucsonmovingreport.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/71841c7d449e6ab1ace6bce2f5277255\"},\"headline\":\"The wild story behind how Sierra Vista got its name\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-06-13T15:33:36+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tucsonmovingreport.com\\\/?p=2015\"},\"wordCount\":632,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tucsonmovingreport.com\\\/?p=2015#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tucsonmovingreport.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/30b4d4d1aafedd6cb3fe74049c6b953f.avif\",\"articleSection\":[\"Interesting\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/tucsonmovingreport.com\\\/?p=2015#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tucsonmovingreport.com\\\/?p=2015\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tucsonmovingreport.com\\\/?p=2015\",\"name\":\"The wild story behind how Sierra Vista got its name - 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