bisbee arizona was a major copper producing center built on the steep canyon slopes
east of the mule mountains the area's mines produced large quantities of malachite and
other minerals bisbee is 92 miles southeast of tucson and 11 miles north of the mexico border
it is one of the world's richest mineral sites resulting in what was once the largest city
between st louis and san francisco bisbee's unique history attracts thousands of tourists every year
it also boasts of having the best climate year round by the locals it is one of the few cities
in arizona where you can get a taste of all four seasons the copper queen mine located in what is
now called old bisbee is a popular tourist stop when visiting the historic town today we discover
the rise and fall of bisbee arizona i'm your host ryan socas and you're watching it's history
today we will discuss the rise and fall of bisbee arizona and the many hardships that ensued the
type of hardship one can best protect themselves against with a good life insurance policy knowing
that history repeats itself these stories always move me so i ensure were possible a task made easy
by our sponsor policy genius since 2014 policy genius has helped over 30 million people shop for
insurance and has placed over 120 billion dollars in coverage policy genius helps relieve the stress
about paying too much and helps ensure you're getting the right plan at the best rate so how
does it work well policy genius is your one-stop shop for finding and buying the insurance you need
getting started is simple just click the link in the description or head over to policygenius.com
it's history and answer a few questions about yourself their proprietary technology makes it
easy to safe you can compare personalized quotes from top companies to find the lowest price and
coverage you need in just minutes you could save 50 percent or more on life insurance by comparing
quotes with policy genius their licensed experts will help you understand your options and ensure
you apply for the right policy policy genius works for you not the insurance companies so
you can trust them to offer unbiased advice and help you navigate every step of shopping and
buying insurance when you are ready to apply the policy genius team will handle the paperwork and
scheduling for free so head to policygenius.com it's history to get your free life insurance
quotes and see how much you could save let's start off with a curious idea since the 1860s
mining prospects were often abandoned due to hostilities with the fierce apache tribes these
circumstances resulted in prospectors working in conjunction with the military it was the troops
themselves that made mineral discoveries this was the case with the initial findings in the mule
mountains of southeast arizona that would later be the site of the great copper camp of bisbee
in 1877 a reconnaissance detail of army scouts and cavalry men was sent to the mule mountains
to search the area for renegade apaches jack dunn a civilian tracker found signs of mineralization
indicating the presence of lead copper and possibly silver the first mining claim was staked
in what would later become the city of bisbee the filing of this claim sent prospectors and
speculators scurrying to the mule mountains in hopes of striking it rich the initial settlement
was called mule gulch but was later renamed in honor of dewitt bisbee a san francisco attorney
and one of the financial backers of the copper queen mine ironically mr bisbee is said to
have never made the trip to see his namesake town bisbeemind in the late 1870s was a camp
of just a few hundred people the town was eclipsed by its neighbor to the north tombstone which grew
to be a boom town with thousands of residents tombstone's silver mines initially allowed for
more rapid growth than bisbee but it would not be long before copper was king in arizona and
bisbee would become one of the greatest mining cities of the west mining in the mule mountains
was quite successful and bisbee proved to be one of the richest mineral sites in the world
producing nearly 3 million ounces of gold and more than 8 billion pounds of copper not to mention
silver lead and zinc the phelps dodge company entered the bisbee mining scene in 1881 with the
purchase of the atlanta claim in 1885 the company merged the atlanta with the copper queen mine and
the operation would become the second largest producer of copper in the nation during the
last two decades of the 1800s bisbee experienced rapid growth with the success of its copper mines
and the arrival of the railroad in 1889 however bisbee was described as being a dirty
smoke-filled camp drunkenness and violence were common before 1900 bisbee had up to 50 saloons
and gambling halls and houses of prostitution trash was thrown in the streets and open sewage
pits added stench to the already noxious air the carcasses of animals laid in the streets
disastrous floods became a common occurrence with little vegetation to slow the cascading water
during the summer's monsoon season at the turn of the century demand for copper continued to rise
and bisbee continued to grow the frontier town would soon transition into one of
the great industrial cities of the west and conditions in the city would improve accordingly
there are several mines in bisbee the most popular are the copper queen mine and the lavender pit the
lavender pit was located near the famous copper queen mind and was named in honor of harrison m
lavender who was the vice president and general manager of phelps dodge corporation the lavender
pit opened in 1950 produced through to 1974 and brought a total of 86 million tons of ore
averaging about 0.7 copper or about 600 000 tons of copper produced leaving gold and silver as
byproducts about 256mg tons of waste were stripped but a portion of this was acid leeched for
additional copper because of the host rock this pit has much steeper sides than other open-pick
copper mines in the southwest this pit covers an area of 300 acres and is 900 feet deep however
the copper queen mine has a pit of 435 feet deep in 1917 a dynamite charge blew off the top rock
of the crown and dredges were worked to excavate the pits ore bodies by 1931 the pit floor was too
narrow for dredges to work in so the ore was taken out by carving the walls into lower mine levels
between 1917 and 1931 the mine which covers nearly 35 acres yielded 20 million tons of ore with over
2 000 miles of tunnel the mine ranks as one of the five largest underground mines in the world the
copper queen mine was responsible for the growth of the surrounding town of bisbee in the 1880s so
it's safe to say that in the early 1900s this was the most productive copper mine in arizona
from 1899 the town's population grew to around four thousand in 1902 the population stood
at about eight thousand naturally with prosperity came an increased population and the need for
sanitation clean water medical care building codes and fire protection a city charter was approved on
january the 9th 1902 and the city of bisbee was incorporated then a temporary city council was
formed and went to work on these sorely needed civic improvements in 1910 the city population
reached 25 000 people and so the cochise county seat was relocated from tombstone to bisbee
in 1929 copper was now big business and the city of bisbee needed upgrades to accommodate
the influx of miners and their families a sewer system was built in 1908 eliminating the problem
of open waste pits a pipeline was created to bring fresh water from springs six miles away replacing
the need to haul water to town manually many of the ram shackle buildings from the 1880s and 1890s
were being replaced by substantial buildings constructed of brick and stone electrical and
telephone services were expanded to most parts of town in 1908 a streetcar line was built
between bisbee and the town of warren as most families arrived in bisbee the desire and will to
clean up the city only increased by 1910 gambling and prostitution had even been outlawed in 1917
open pit mining was successfully introduced to meet the copper demand during world war one
the onset of world war one caused a dramatic rise in the price of copper a high quality turquoise
promoted as quote bisbee blue became a byproduct of copper mining while increased commodity prices
were generally seen as a positive development in western mining towns the reality was that miners
were expected to work harder and sometimes more extended hours often for the same pay
the influx of new miners to the booming mining town would drive up the cost of living further
exacerbating the grievances of thousands of miners working in the district a strike
was inevitable in may of 1917 the miners unions one of which was affiliated with the radical
industrial workers of the world presented a list of demands these demands were ultimately rejected
around 3 000 miners began to strike on june the 27th the strike was peaceful but the mine owners
feared that the industrial workers of the world members would start trouble even though less than
20 percent of the strikers at bisbee belonged to that union considering what was at stake
the bisbee mines decided to take unprecedented action against the striking miners essentially the
company conducted a trial run of deportation on july the 10th 67 miners of the industrial workers
of the world were rounded up and deported the deportation at bisbee would be much greater making
it the most significant action ever taken in the west on july the 12th 1917 a posse of 2 200 men
led by the sheriff dispersed through the streets of bisbee in the early morning hours
the posse had a list of strikers and regular citizens who were thought to be symbolic to
the industrial workers of the world around 2 000 men were arrested some of them were local business
owners the sheriff offered the men an opportunity to denounce the industrial workers of the world
and end the strike so they could return to work about 700 men accepted this offer the remaining
1286 detained men were forced onto 23 railroad cattle cars by gunpoint the train carrying the
strikers traveled east to columbus new mexico where the strikers were to be unloaded officials
in columbus protested having the men dumped in their town so the train turned around and traveled
back to herman's new mexico where it eventually unloaded the men these men spent over 12 hours
on the train much of the time in 90 degree heat they were given little or no water and no food
with almost 1 300 penniless men stranded in the desert new mexico had a crisis to deal with
the governor of new mexico washington ellsworth lindsay contacted president wilson and asked for
assistance federal troops were sent to escort the deportees to columbus where they were housed in
tents for two months until september the 17th in october 1917 president wilson appointed a
commission to investigate the labor disputes in arizona this level of deportation was most
undoubtedly illegal and without authority in law be it state or federal people involved
in the deportation were arrested but no one was convicted unfortunately none of the deported men
were allowed to return to their homes or jobs the bisbee deportation of 1917 was not only a pivotal
event in arizona's history but also affected labor activities throughout the entire country
during almost a century of mining 8 billion pounds of copper 102 million ounces of silver 2.8 million
ounces of gold and millions of pounds of zinc lead and manganese was produced but by 1974
ore reserves had been depleted and by december the unavoidable closure of mines and bisbee
were announced the town desperately had to survive the loss of its only industry
after world war ii a new residential suburb was built out of the canyon about four miles from the
old town most businesses and many residents moved there leaving many historic buildings
to fall into disrepair when the mining boom ended the population dropped to less than six
thousand this sent bisbee's real estate market into collapse the resulting cheap property
attracted retirees hippies and others who began restoring old bisbee leading to its establishment
as an official historic district fortunately the historic homes and buildings in bisbee attracted
preservation-minded people actor john wayne was a frequent visitor to the town and partnered in real
estate ventures early in bisbee's transition from a mining economy this repopulation kept bisbee
alive and helped preserve many of the town's most historic structures and old miners homes and this
is a very unique thing to bisbee most boom towns absolutely deflate once the boom ends but in
bisbee there was a short transition of going from a mining industry to that of a retiree community
and a busy tourist destination what might have become another dilapidated former mining camp has
regained much of its splendor and is one of the best preserved historic mining towns in the west
the city of bisbee now includes the satellite communities of warren lowell and san jose with
the former two being consolidated into bisbee during the early part of the 20th century warren
was arizona's first planned community it was designed as a bedroom community for the more
affluent citizens since the end of mining in the 1970s warren has seen a steady decline
in its standard of living however the residential neighborhood still houses a significant portion of
the population that includes city hall lol was at one time a sizable mining town located just
southeast of old bisby all that is left today is a small portion of erie street along with
evergreen cemetery these days lowell is considered by most residents to be more of a place in name
only lastly san jose on the southern side of the mule mountains is the most modern of the city's
subdivisions as mountains do not restrict it it has had the newest growth since the late 1990s
also in the 1990s additional people were attracted to bisbee leading it to develop such amenities as
coffee shops and live theaters many of the old houses have been renovated and property values
in bisbee now significantly exceed those in the area the historic city of bisbee is known
as old bisbee and is home to a thriving downtown cultural scene this area is noted for its
architecture including victorian style houses and an elegant art deco county courthouse old bisbee
is compact and walkable because its plan was laid out for a pedestrian scale before the automobile
bisbee is a culturally rich community that includes an active and varied population
bisbee retains its welcoming spirit offering visitors a rich mix of art music history
architecture outdoor activities dining ghost tours and nightlife the smithsonian affiliated
bisbee mining and historical museum has welcomed educated and entertained more than half a million
visitors over recent decades the world famous queen mind tour offers a fascinating up-close
experience of the underground world of miners who carved their community and a living out of bedrock
yearly events like the bisbee 1000 bisbee pride festival and bisbee historic homes tour
draws crowds from across the region and across the globe ongoing highlights include monthly bisbee
after five art walk and a weekly farmer's market the town has become a well-known artist community
whose architectural and historical heritage has been preserved the city has transformed itself
into the ideal spot for tourism bisbee is known as an artist community and thrives on tourism thanks
to its citizens efforts to restore the historic district but it still holds on to its roots
mining saw a slight resurgence around 2007 when freeport mcmorgan copper and gold bought out the
bisbee mines bisbee's population is at about 5 200 today a fraction of the former boom days
and some might say that modern tourists arrive to the town because of its eloquent charm and
preserved buildings but i would argue to the contrary recalling a vision of bisbee with
open-pit sewers and animal carcasses in the streets the essence of this type of foundation
can't simply be whitewashed and hence we could all agree the town is beautiful but it's the town's
scars that make it mysterious and mystery is what draws in the tourists thanks for watching
everyone hit that subscribe button for new videos every thursday and saturday consider
becoming a channel member by clicking join and until next time this is ryan socash signing off