Globe Arizona was established in 1876 and originally was made famous by the discovery of Silver.However it was the subsequent discovery of copper which really put the town on the map.
 According to a 1909 article in The Border, which featured Globe that year, there were over 35 mines operating in the hills surrounding Globe, the most famous being the Old Dominion Mine It was a time of great promise and growth in the area and much of Globe's Historic Downtown District was built between 1905 - 1916 with notable buildings such as the Gila County Court House,(now known as the Center for the Arts), Max Lantins Men's Store (now the Globe cafe apartments), The Trust Building (formerly the Pioneer Hotel which burned in 2005, the Murphy Hotel, (now the old Tonto Hotel which is undergoing private restoration), and the Old Dominion Hotel which burned to the ground in 1981.

Globe's history is wrapped in mining and cattle with generations of families still living and working in the community which was home to their great grandparents. Unlike many mining communities throughout Arizona which dried up and blew away when the price of copper fell so low it didn't afford a living wage, Globe, Arizona never quite gave up. The presence of the Smelter and the SX/EW plant (electrowinning) continued to provide a valuable service to the mining industry and  a source of jobs for the local area.

Today Globe has just over 7000 residents and it's main industry continues to be mining, government and schools, although tourism is a valuable addition to the area, especially with the addition of an excursion train served by Arizona Eastern Railway. The Copper Spiike began operating in December 2008 and runs December thru May out of the old Train Depot at the south end of Broad Street. It will be pulled by a Steam Engine next year, and run round trips between Globe and the Apache Gold Hotel & Casino in San Carlos.