About 25 minute drive south from Tombstone on route 80 is the mining town of Bisbee, Arizona
Bisbee, like Tombstone has its roots in mining. Bisbee was founded in 1880 and is nestled in the Mule Mountains about 11 miles from the border of Mexico.
The mines in Bisbee produced gold, silver, copper and turquoise. In 1917 open pit mining was introduced in Bisbee to meet the high demand for copper during World War I. (Ref., Wikipedia)
The Copper Queen Mine ended all operations and closed its doors for good in 1975. Today the Copper Queen Mine has become a tourist attraction with daily mine tours of portions of the mine. There is a museum containing the history of mining in Bisbee as well as a historic section of the town. Come along as we explore Historic Bisbee…
All photos in this post were taken by the LTV owners on our tour.
The Copper Queen Mine, Bisbee, ArizonaLeisure Travel Van (LTV) parking in Bisbee.Part of the town of Bisbee nestled in the Mule Mountains in southeast Arizona.Bisbee sits on the continental divide.Copper Queen MineLTV owners – Mary & Jon Williams taking the mine tour.Where the mine tour begins.Bisbee survives on historic tourism.LTV owners and leaders of the Southwest Roadrunners Leisure Travel Van Club -Towney and WendyThe town of Bisbee was named after Judge Dewitt Bisbee, one of the financial backers of the Copper Queen Mine.The mine tour.The honey wagon! Toilet used by the miners working deep under ground in the mine.The train used to bring ore out of the mine.LTV owners – Marge & Bill Coakley taking the Copper Queen Mine tour.City streets of Bisbee.LTV owner – Paulette Rezendes taking the mine tour.LTV owners – Cynthia & Ed Doyle on the Copper Queen Mine tour.Storefront in downtown Bisbee.Open-pit copper mine closed in 1975. This open-pit mine is over 900 feet deep.The road around the pit mine.A tribute to our military at the edge of the open -pit mine in Bisbee.
Bisbee also has a hotel called the Copper Queen Hotel, built between 1898-1902, it has been said that the hotel is haunted. I can neither confirm or deny this claim. However, MaryAnn and I did spend a few nights in the hotel back in 2009, didn’t see any ghost…
(The picture above is of the Pecos River in southwest Texas.) My name is Terry C Barber, I am a disabled veteran, retired military and retired pastor. MaryAnn’s a retired special education teacher. Our Next Chapter, the open road – we call it “the Barber Road.” You're invited to join us as we explore North America in our Leisure Travel Van with two Shitzu pups.
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