Old and new photos of historic Bisbee, Arizona
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Rick Wiley
Photo editor
- Updated
Bisbee, Ariz. was founded in 1880, as the Copper Queen Mine churned out copper, gold, silver and high-quality minerals. The town is named for Judge DeWitt Bisbee, one of backers of the Copper Queen Mine.
According to the Bisbee Visitor Center, "8 billion pounds of copper, 102 million ounces of silver and 2.8 million ounces of gold along with millions of pounds of zinc, lead and manganese were produced."
Excavation of the adjacent Lavender Pit Mine began in the early 1950s, but that ran its course and Phelps Dodge ceased mining operations in the both the shaft and pit mines in 1975.
The town is now a haven for artists and a destination for tourists. The Copper Queen Hotel was restored. The Queen Mine Tour offers tourists a personal view of mining deep underground. There are plenty of festivals and activities during the cool months.
The Warren-Bisbee Railway opened March 12, 1908, attracting a huge crowd to downtown Bisbee.
The O.K. Trail in Bisbee, Ariz., ca. 1903.
Bisbee's Brewery Gulch, no date. (Opie Rundle Burgess papers, 1880-1943)
The Orient Saloon, Bisbee (circa 1903) by photographer W.E. Irwin. A faro game running full blast. Old timers say: "Them dam good days have gone forever." Caption: Man standing at left is Anthony E. "Tony" Downs, part owner of The Orient; seated is the case keeper Jack Granzhorn; man in derby sitting at corner of table just beyond the case keeper is Orient musician M.E. Doyle; right behind Doyle, standing with derby is Dutch Kid; just to the right of Dutch Kid, with light-colored soft felt hat is Sleepy Dick; the porter (also a "hop head" or opium addict); against the wall, seated in the chair is the lookout, Pegleg Johnson; just behind the lookout is A.S. Bassett, Bisbee Review printer; Johnny Murphy is the dealer; and the man wearing the silt tie at right is Isaac "Smiley" Lewis, clerk at The Orient and also known as a gambler and an opium addict.
Hermit Saloon, Bisbee, no date.
Roulette game at The Orient Saloon in Bisbee, 1907.
The El Paso & Southwestern Railroad at Bisbee.
Undated photo of a steam engine nicknamed "Geronimo" for hauling ore in Bisbee, Ariz.
Delivery wagons in front of the Copper Queen Store in Bisbee, Ariz., 1903.
On June of 1917, 3,000 miners walked off their jobs at the Copper Queen Mine at Bisbee in support of 400 of their fellows who belonged to a union, Industrial Workers of the World (IWW - "wobblies"). The following month, at the behest of the mine operators, Cochise County Sheriff Harry Wheeler, a former Arizona Rangers captain, led a posse comitatus of 2,000 men through the streets of Bisbee, arresting more than 2,000 individuals considered "undesirable." Mine-purchased machineguns stood at the ready as those in custody were herded to a local ballpark - there given an opportunity to return to work. Those refusing, 1,186 of them, were loaded aboard waiting El Paso and Southwestern railway boxcars. They then were "deported" to the vicinity of Columbus, N.M., where they were held for two months. After release, few ever returned to Bisbee.
Undated photo of coasters with wire spoked-wheels in Bisbee, Ariz.
Undated handout photo of the women's Southern Arizona Auto softball team from Bisbee.
Bisbee, Ariz., as seen from Bucky O'Niel Hill in 1892. The canyon at center of the photo is present-day Brewery Gulch.
Bisbee, Arizona copper mine, 1920
Bisbee in the early 1880s, with the Czar shaft at left.
Bisbee residents turn out for a parade honoring Serbian volunteers headed for the Balkan War in 1912.
J. Arthur Detloff and Evelyn Kennedy in a coaster in Bisbee, 1926.
Passing in review during the Parade at Bisbee Arizona, on July 4, 1952.
The Mule Pass Tunnel through Mule Mountain outside Bisbee, Ariz., nears completion in late 1958.The Mule Pass Tunnel through Mule Mountain outside Bisbee, Ariz., nears completion in late 1958.
The Mule Pass Tunnel through Mule Mountain outside Bisbee, Ariz., nears completion in late 1958.The Mule Pass Tunnel through Mule Mountain outside Bisbee, Ariz., nears completion in late 1958.
The Mule Pass Tunnel through Mule Mountain outside Bisbee, Ariz., nears completion in late 1958.The Mule Pass Tunnel through Mule Mountain outside Bisbee, Ariz., nears completion in late 1958.
Bisbee, Ariz., in 1968.
Bisbee, Ariz., in 1976
Bisbee, Ariz., Courthouse, right, and St. Patrick's Cathedral in 1939.
Sacramento Shaft mine in Bisbee, Ariz., ca. 1931.
The Lavender Pit Mine in 1974.
Blasting at the Lavender Pit Mine in 1974.
Zacatecas Canyon near Bisbee, Ariz., 1980.
Brewery Gulch in Bisbee, Ariz., 1977.
Bisbee, Ariz., ca. 1906-07
Blasting in the Lavender Pit Mine in 1954.
The Lavender PIt Mine in 1954.
US 80, right and the Lavender Pit Mine headed into Bisbee, just beyond, in 1953.
Downtown Lowell, lower left corner, and Highway 80 into Bisbee, Ariz., in 1951, prior to extensive blasting and excavation of the Lavender Pit Mine.
Lowell and the highway roundabout (still there) which connects US 80, SR 92 and and the Bisbee Road east of Bisbee in 1953. Cemetery is middle right. The Lavender Pit Mine is center left and Bisbee is just beyond. A haul road from the pit to the slag pile is lower right. U.S. 80 used to go through downtown Lowell. It now goes around it.
Coaster race in Bisbee, Ariz., July 4, 1979.
The lead pack of bicyclists crests a hill in La Vuelta de Bisbee, April 26, 1980.
01 bisbee tourism - Tourists in hard hats and yellow jackets exit the Queen mine tour, Saturday, Sept 1, 2001. Bisbee has drawn on it's historical roots to promote tourism.
The Stock Exchange Saloon in historic Brewery Gulch, downtown Bisbee, in this 2011 photo. The brokerage firm of Duey and Overlock opened up the stock exchange in 1914, after the Federal Government enacted and enforced the 'Noble Experiment' which banned all alcohol sales and terminated all liquor licenses in Arizona. The stock exchange continued till 1964. The original titles and companies are still listed on the wall.
Jan Munsey stands on the back balcony of her home looking out at the snow that fell in December, 2004.
U.S. 80 looking down on snowy Bisbee in December, 2004.
Snow flurries come down as Bisbee resident Ryan Catlett takes a panoramic photograph using a smart phone just above the town in December, 2012.
At bottom, Tim Mahon, left, and David Loeffelman of Sierra Vista watch the Bisbee Blue vs. Roswell Invaders game on June 19, 2014, at historic Warren Ballpark in Bisbee, Ariz.
The Soiled Dove Bed Race team from Old Bisbee Brewing Company race past the spectators watching from railing at the Stock Exchange Saloon during 50th annual Bisbee Brewery Gulch Daze in 2015.
The Bisbee Mining and Historic Museum, at 5 Copper Queen Plaza, in Bisbee, Ariz., on May 16, 2017.
Businesses along Main Street and Subway Street in Bisbee, Ariz., includes Bisbee Grand Hotel plus a number of galleries on May 16, 2017.
Ghost sightings have emerged at the Copper Queen Hotel in Bisbee.
A home built into a cave in Bisbee features a large, open kitchen with custom countertops, cabinets and stove hood.
A large, walk-in shower makes use of the cave as a natural wall in a home built into a cave in Bisbee, Ariz.
Rick Wiley
Photo editor
As featured on
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Historic homes as well as some that have been remodeled with modern touches and more will be featured on the annual Bisbee home tour.
