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    Bisbee
    Bisbee
    Bisbee
    Ebook202 pages47 minutes

    Bisbee

    By Ethel Jackson Price

    ()

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    About this ebook

    In the early 1900s, it was the largest city between St. Louis and San Francisco, bustling with the raw material of Wild West legends. Bisbee s infamous Brewery Gulch once supported 47 saloons and was considered the liveliest spot between El Paso and San Francisco. By the 1970s, opportunists had relieved Bisbee s Mule Mountains of billions of pounds of copper, 102 million ounces of silver, 2.8 million ounces of gold, and millions of pounds of zinc, lead, and manganese. The ore reserves were depleted, and when the last pickaxe struck plain old dirt, a mass exodus of miners collapsed the real estate market. But the lure of cheap land was a magnet for retirees, hippies, and artists. Boarding houses were converted into charming bed and breakfasts. Antique stores, galleries, cafes, and restaurants replaced the saloons. These days, a vibrant and eclectic community of ranchers, politicians, and free spirits; a well-preserved architectural and historic heritage; and the most perfect year-round climate make Bisbee, the county seat, a one-of-a-kind gem.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherArcadia Publishing
    Release dateAug 25, 2004
    ISBN9781439614266
    Bisbee
    Author

    Ethel Jackson Price

    Local historian and writer Ethel Jackson Price has gathered a fascinating collection of images from both military and museum archives to tell this landmark�s singular story. Also the author of community histories of Bisbee and Sierra Vista, Price effectively presents readers with the trials and the accomplishments, the hardships and the pride of the men and women who dedicated themselves to the service of their country and created the unique legacy of Fort Huachuca.

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      Book preview

      Bisbee - Ethel Jackson Price

      you.

      INTRODUCTION

      Bisbee, Arizona, is—at an official altitude of 5,520 feet (5,300 feet in some places)—often called "the other mile-high city." It is also a strangely unique survivor.

      It all began with the accidental discovery of cerussite, a natural lead carbonate whose presence indicates that copper or silver may exist nearby. How had Coronado missed it during his noisy exploration of the area, a cumbersome event involving more than 1,000 people and 1,500 head of livestock? Did he expect shiny, refined minerals to be lying around waiting for him? Did he understand what he was looking for?

      In spite of (or because of) his bumbling expedition, the treasure stayed hidden for more than 300 years after Coronado passed by. The rugged Mule Mountains quietly protected their secret, permitting only the occasional flash of a very fleeting smile to tease an adventurer.

      One thing is certain. Until the late 1870s, few white men ventured into the Mules; of the bravely independent (or foolhardy) souls who heeded their Lorelei, most were never seen again. They simply disappeared. How many? Why? What happened to them? No one knows. Stories were told, of course, stories of what to expect if captured by the Apaches. It would be, they said, an incredibly agonizing fate, ending in termination long after one wished for it. Soon, a darkly forbidding mystique took hold, a growing mystique surrounding the sharp peaks and craggy gulches that formed the Mules.

      A new army post called Camp (later, Fort) Huachuca had been established in March of 1877, but it was 28 miles to the west. The young fort’s assigned purpose was to protect both the Santa Cruz and the San Pedro Valleys. Nothing was said of the Mule Mountains. So on an unusually hot day in May 1877—ten years before an earthquake devastated what is now southeast Arizona—a group of 15 brave men set out from Fort Bowie. Only 15—not the unwieldy group that formed the Coronado expedition!

      Why did they do it? Because several Apaches had escaped the prison-like fixed boundaries of the hated reservation where they’d been sent and—political borders meaning nothing to them—were reportedly on the way to Mexico. The Mule Mountains, with their steep canyons and heavy thickets, would be a good place for the escapees to try eluding capture.

      Lt. John Anthony Rucker and his scout, Jack Dunn, were made of sturdier stuff than most. Under a hot sun, the 15 sweating men (dressed mostly in wool uniforms) and their strong mounts crossed the Sulphur Springs Valley. After unsatisfactory stops at a spring or two, they found themselves in the cooler Mule Mountains where they searched inch by seeming inch for signs of recent passersby. The tiniest thing would serve—a small broken twig, a bruised blade of grass, a scratched rock. It was meticulous work.

      In late afternoon, the men decided to make camp and resume scouting the next day. Dunn went in search of potable water. He found it near the base of what is now Castle Rock and filled several canteens to take back. Along the way, the sharp-eyed scout unexpectedly found signs of mineral deposits; upon his return, he duly reported his findings. Camp was quickly broken and moved to the springs at Castle Rock.

      Rucker and Dunn wisely kept their counsel. The area was still part of Pima County (Cochise County didn’t exist until 1881) so the men had to wait until they could visit Tucson to file a claim, full knowing that once word got out, others would come. It did, and eventually the whole of Bisbee would evolve.

      The strangely unique community of Bisbee would be built on—and sometimes into—the mountainsides, on land that has at one time or another been part of Mexico, part of the Territory of New Mexico, part of the Confederate States of America, and part of the Territory of Arizona. It survived Indian wars, rampaging fires, devastating floods, and a dark day in history known as ‘the Deportation.’ Its major focus would change from the wild-and-wooly prestatehood days of mining (with a Brewery Gulch ‘tenderloin district’ rivaling San Francisco’s) to that of a more colorful 1960s-ish art colony, settling finally in being today’s tourist destination.

      Bisbee is actually a string of communities joined together by roadways, politics, and industry. Once, there were communities called Bakerville, Briggs, Cochise, Don Luis, Galena, Huachuca Terrace, Jiggerville, Johnson Addition, Lowell, Ragtown, Saginaw, South Bisbee, Tintown, Third Addition, Upper Lowell, Warren, and Winwood Addition. A few still exist where they started but, on paper, they’re all Bisbee. Some were simply absorbed by the mines and no longer exist. Others were literally moved—lock, stock, and barrel—to make way for the industry’s behemoth equipment, roadways, and land needed for open-pit mines

      Unfortunately, most visitors of today see only Old Bisbee (aka: downtown). Some travel a short distance from downtown to see the Lavender Pit—and no, Lavender is not a color—without knowing they’ll see the Sacramento Pit first. Some go on to visit the Warren District or Lowell; fewer continue into Tintown, San Jose, and other parts of Bisbee.

      Now, it’s time to

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