Bisbee, Arizona is in the southeastern corner of Arizona. It is near the Mexican border town of Naco. Bisbee was founded as a copper, silver and gold mining town in 1880. A byproduct of copper mining yielded high quality turquoise along with numerous other minerals.
Copper Queen Mine
Bisbee copper mining operations ceased in 1975. The town rediscovered itself in tourism. Tours started at the Copper Queen Mine in 1976.
The tour lasted about an hour and a half. They made a couple of stops, giving the opportunity to explore the mine while the guide, who worked the mine, gave a lot of history about mining life.
They showed how holes were chiseled into the stone, dynamite set, and life underground.
Including the necessities of life. The older miners actually liked the job of emptying the shitter because it was less strenuous!
Bisbee
Starting in the 1960’s, Bisbee became an attractive climate for artists and hippies.
We had lunch at the Copper Queen Hotel.
The town has a hilly terrain. Old Bisbee is walkable, has numerous coffee shops, bars, and art galleries. Its considered one of the quirkiest cities in the USA but has also earned the title of Best Historic Small Town.
Fairbank, Arizona
Its a ghost town and was the closest rail stop to Tombstone. Later it was important to Bisbee during the copper mining boom. Fairbank had a general store, school house, a butcher shop, restaurant, saloon, Wells Fargo office, railroad depot, and a stage coach station.
By the 1970’s the town was deserted and the Post Office closed. In 1986, the BLM took over the town. Some of it has been restored, giving a look back what everyday life was like during the Tombstone heyday. Those desks look like the ones we had in elementary school.
Another amazing Arizona sunset!
