The most famous mine in the area was the Copper Queen Mine, operated by the Phelps Dodge Corporation. In the early 1900s, this was the most productive copper mine in Arizona. The building which houses the current Bisbee Mining and Historical Museum in downtown Bisbee, previously served as the headquarters of the Phelps Dodge mining company from 1896 to 1961.
Bisbee has a rich and notorious history. Gunfights in the streets were a common occurrence. Saloons and prostitution helped to fuel the economy. Many minors lost their lives in the attempt to strike it rich. It was the type of rough-and-tumble town the wild west was best known for.
If you visit Bisbee today, you’re likely to find a few of Bisbee’s original townsfolks hanging around.
At the Bisbee Grand Hotel, originally built in 1906, people have reported hearing unexplained noises and seeing apparitions in several of the rooms. There are also reports of a male spirit that likes to wander the bottom floor and a female spirit who claims the upper floor.
The Copper Queen hotel is reported to be haunted by 3 spirits, including a gentleman with long hair and a beard wearing a top hat, a woman by the name of Julia Lowell who worked as a prostitute in the nearby Brewery Gulch and killed herself at the hotel, and that of a young boy who drowned in the nearby San Pedro River.
