In the late 1800s and early 1900s Southern Arizona had a plethora of little mining towns. Most of the mines closed, and the towns disappeared.
A few have some surviving remnants of their existence scattered about attracting a different type of tourist. Cochise County has embraced this and have identified a ‘Ghost Town Trail’.
Our tour started in Fairbank. Located about 10 miles west of Tombstone along the San Pedro River, this town survived much longer than most, finally being abandoned in the 1970s.
The townsite is maintained by the BLM with some of the original buildings in good shape.
Some are a bit rougher.
Gleeson is about 20 miles east of Tombstone. While the original jail is maintained as a visitor center, the rest of the town has degraded to mostly ruins.
What was once Courtland is now just a couple of ruins in the middle of the desert.
Our final stop was the town of Pearce. Technically it shouldn’t be included as there are a number of homes and businesses in the area, thriving with the Ghost Town hunters trade.
RDZ Photography 