Escapees January-February 2024

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Another great attraction is Goodenough Silver Mine. After putting on a hard hat, guides explain silver mining before taking small groups into the mine, where guests can still see streaks of silver in the cave-like walls. The process had to be carried out by candlelight. Men often worked together to conserve the allotted candles' lives by one man holding a chisel and the other man hammer ing the chisel into the hard rock. Although several hundred silver mines in and around Tombstone were being worked, few were successful. However, Goodenough was very prosperous. The Bird Cage Theatre, opening in 1881, was said to be “…the wildest night spot between Bason Street and the Barbary Coast,” by the New York Times . For eight years, the theater operated 24 hours a day. More than 140 bullet holes remain in the building. It is rumored that 26 people met their end at the Bird Cage. The owners shut the doors and left everything in the theatre when it closed, creating a time capsule and an excellent fi rst-hand look at the city’s past. So, what happened to Tombstone’s silver mining operation? At fi rst, mining was done toward the surface, but as the mines went deeper, the shafts reached the water table in 1881. Two massive Cornish pumps were brought in. Tombstone’s prosperity would also fl uctuate with the national economy and the price of silver. In 1889, mining operations virtually ceased after the pumps failed and the price of silver fell. In 1902, E.B. Gage reopened the mines. This second mining boom would last longer than the fi rst, 1902–1923. During this period, the railroad came to Tombstone. Once again, the city became a national and international sensation. By 1923, the mines closed on a corporate level forever. Tombstone became a sleepy little town in the high Sonoran Desert. Books, comics and Hollywood brought Tombstone back into the public eye, including the 1993 movie, “Tombstone” and the 1994 movie, “Wyatt Earp.” As the locals say, it’s, “the town too tough to die.” Bisbee Further along U.S. Route 80 is Bisbee, with its fascinating history. In 1877, the government sent a reconnaissance detail of US army scouts and cavalrymen to the Mule Mountains to search for renegade Apaches. What civilian tracker Jack Dunn found instead were signs of lead, copper and possibly silver. Prospectors’ fi rst mining claims would later become the city of Bisbee. Like Tombstone, prospectors and speculators scurried into the Mule Mountains hoping to strike it rich. Numerous ore bodies led Bisbee to

become known as the “Queen of the Copper Camps.” Bisbee proved to be one of the richest mineral sites in the world, producing nearly three million ounces of gold and more than eight billion pounds of copper, plus lead andzinc. By the early 1900s, Bisbee had become the largest city between St. Louis and San Francisco. With more than 20,000 people, Bisbee was one of the most cultured cities in the West. Along with Bisbee’s cosmopolitan character, however, there was a rough edge to the mining camp with its saloons and brothels. In its heyday, nearly 50 saloons lined the streets. Bisbee is a beautiful city with century-old buildings lining the sides of the mountains, as well as the valley in the center of town. The area remained an active mining community until the mid-1970s. When the mine closed, many mining employees and their families left to pursue work elsewhere. An in fl ux of artists found Bisbee’s historic district an attractive, inspiring and inexpensive location to settle and pursue their artistic endeavors. An excellent place to acquaint yourself with this history is the Smithsonian-af fi liated Bisbee Mining and Historical Museum. Exhibits offer an in-depth look at the lives of the miners and settlers in this unique area of the Southwest. Another must-see is the Queen Mine. Out fi tted in a hard hat, miner’s headlamp and a yellow slicker, thousands of visitors descend into the mine, heading underground and back in time. Tours offer a fascinating, up-close experience of the underground world of the miners. Tour guides, retired Phelps Dodge employees, lead guests 1,500 feet into the mine and recount mining days, techniques, dangers and drama. Just up the road is the Lavender Pit Mine. It is a quick but interesting stop where you can take in the vast open pit mine that made Bisbee what it is today. Douglas One last stop on your U.S. Route 80 tour is Douglas, on the US and Mexican border. In the 1700s, the Spanish established the San Bernardino garrison nearby. Such fi gures as Geronimo, Cochise, Wyatt Earp and cattle-ranching baron, John Slaughter, also played a part in the region’s past. In the late 1800s, the areas open, grassy lands made Douglas the perfect place for the region’s most promi nent cattle ranchers. The entire valley is well-known for its rich agriculture, which remains an essential part of the local economy. The city was founded in 1901 as a smelter site for the thriving copper mines in Bisbee. It has a rich military history dating back to the 1800s and the US Cavalry,

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ESCAPEES Magazine January/February 2024