According to local tradition, the original Salero Mine was first worked by Spanish Jesuits in the 18th century, sometime after their arrival in what is now southern Arizona in the 1690s.

One day, according to the story, the priests at the nearby mission of Tumacacori were expecting a visit from the Bishop of Sonora, so they had a large feast and a specially-crafted salt cellar made of silver from their mine prepared in his honor.

[2][3] A partnership of six men, including William Wrightson, Gilbert Hopkins, Samuel Robinson, Raphael Pumpelly and Horace C. Grosvenor,[2] formed the Salero Mining Company of Cincinnati, Ohio, in 1857.

Several of the miners were killed in Apache raids, including Wrightson and Hopkins, for whom the two tallest peaks in the Santa Rita Mountains were named.

Steps to stabilize and preserve the deteriorating adobe buildings have been taken and the townsite remains closed to the public to protect it from vandals.