In 1912, nine-year-old Jim Reidy moved with his parents from New York City to southern Arizona after doctors advised his Irish immigrant mother to relocate to the desert climate to improve her chances of surviving tuberculosis.
In 1924, Catherine Chapman moved to Tucson from southern Illinois by train due to health issues. She met Jim Reidy at church in Tucson, and they married in 1927. Catherine, an outdoor enthusiast, became interested in acquiring land through the Homestead Act.
Catherine and Jim Reidy established a homestead in the Tortolita Mountain foothills, living in a small adobe house on 40 acres near the intersection of La Cholla and Moore Road. Their land later became part of the La Cholla Airpark, Rancho Vistoso, and Stone Canyon Golf Course. They accessed the homestead via a trail from Oracle Road at Steam Pump Ranch or from the Casa Grande Highway (now I-10) using Camino de Mañana to Moore Road.
Catherine had a keen interest in the desert’s birds and wildlife. She learned to tan and cure rattlesnake skins from a fellow homesteader, using them to craft wallets, belts, hat bands, and vests. She also developed a formula to bleach vertebrae bones for jewelry. Snake heads were packaged in pickle jars and sent to a zoological supply house, meat to a Florida packaging company, and gallbladders to a Chinese pharmaceutical firm in San Francisco. The fat was turned into snake oil, popular among trainmen for easing stiff necks. Rare rattlesnakes were donated to Chicago’s Museum of Natural History, where they are still displayed.
The Reidy family lived on their homestead from 1929 to 1934 before moving to town when their sons, Jim and Dan, reached school age.
Catherine’s rattlesnake business thrived, earning her the title “The Rattlesnake Queen of Arizona” after a Movie Tone News reel showcased her work worldwide. Tourists flocked to meet her and view the live rattlesnake pit in her backyard, making her a major Tucson attraction. The business eventually closed due to her declining health.
The couple had three more children—Pat, Cathy, and Roxy.
After 52 years of marriage, Jim passed away in 1979, and Catherine followed in 2000.