Cochise County, Arizona
county in Arizona, United States
Cochise County ( koh-CHEESS) is a county in the southeastern corner of the U.S. state of Arizona. It is named after Cochise, a Chiricahua Apache, who was a key war leader during the Apache Wars.
Its population was 125,447 at the 2020 census. The county seat is Bisbee and the most populous city is Sierra Vista.
Cochise County includes the Sierra Vista–Douglas, Arizona metropolitan statistical area. The county borders southwestern New Mexico and the northwestern Mexican state of Sonora.
History
In 1528, Spanish explorers Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca, Estevanico, and Fray Marcos de Niza survived a shipwreck off the Texas coast. Captured by Native Americans, they spent eight years finding their way back to Mexico City, via the San Pedro Valley. Their journals, maps, and stories led to the Cibola, seven cities of gold myth. The Expedition of Francisco Vásquez de Coronado in 1539 using it as his route north through what they called the Guachuca Mountains of Pima (Tohono O'odham) lands and later part of the mission routes north, but was actually occupied by the Sobaipuri descendants of the Hohokam.
The public source identifies “Cochise County, Arizona” as county in Arizona, United States. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Cochise, County and Arizona.
Why this record matters
A short description can identify a subject without explaining its stakes. For “Cochise County, Arizona”, the useful work is to connect “county in Arizona, United States” to the records capable of establishing context and consequence.
Place names and jurisdictional language are key evidence: both can reveal earlier catalogue descriptions and overlooked record series. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 16, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q58774. VIAF identifies the subject as 136035066. The Library of Congress control number is n80004233. Authority coordinates are 31.881, -109.754. 5 of 6 selected statements include explicit references; 2 carry qualifiers and 1 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 2020, 1528 and 1539.
Modern boundaries and familiar names can conceal earlier jurisdictions or structures that do not align with the present site. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Treat names, boundaries and functions as historically changeable. Maps, plans, inventories and administrative records can clarify what the place meant at different dates.
- Historic place names
- Jurisdictional context
- Routes into maps and plans
Contemporary maps, plans, listed-building records, estate papers and the responsible local or national archive.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Cochise County, Arizona”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Cochise County, Arizona primary sources, Cochise County, Arizona archive and Cochise research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Cochise County, Arizona”?
- Which authority defined the place, boundary or structure at the relevant date?
- Which earlier names or jurisdictions may reveal additional records?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Cochise County, Arizona” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.