When the Knights of Pythias was formed in 1888 in Washington, D.C., it quickly became a fast growing secret fraternal society nationwide. At this time, Bisbee was a large and bustling mining city and many locals became members of the Pythians or members moved to Bisbee for work and wealth. Swedish immigrant and architect to Bisbee, Joseph Muheim, was tasked with providing a home for Bisbee's Knights of Pythias members.&nbsp; In 1904, this structure was completed, costing about $3000 (in 1904 dollars). Ever since then it as been known and beloved for its green cupola that rises high and its bell tower with clock. The latter is provides its services to the town. Oddly, enough, the Pythian Castle would only be used by members of the society for 10 years. Such short term use was caused by a confrontation with a local union mining club. The Knights let the union use the second floor for their meetings. However, shortly thereafter, a rift grew. This rift was bad enough that rather than the union miners leaving, the Knight left the building meant for them and went elsewhere. The miners took control of the castle until the 1940s when membership decreased significantly, causing the castle to be abandoned for a number of years.&nbsp; In the 1980s the city turned the castle into an apartment building. This decision happened to many other historic buildings in Bisbee in order to stabilize and save them. In 2015, the castle was renovated to have floor plans that appeared as it did in 1904 while maintaining its use as an apartment building.&nbsp;

The Pythian Castle soon after it was completed in 1904. Courtesy of the Bisbee Mining & Historical Museum 

This 1907 photo centers on the Chihuahua fire that hit Bisbee. The Pythian Castle is seen in the center area. Both it and most of the city was unscathed from the fire. Courtesy of the Bisbee Mining & Historical Museum 

Renovation work being done within during 2015-2016

More Info

2013 Arizona Capitol Times article on the Pythian Castle 

2016 Bisbee News article on the castle and its renovations 

The green cupola of the Pythian Castle is a prominent feature of Bisbee's skyline. This structure labelled as a castle by the locals also includes a bell tower, whose clock still gives people in town time. Looking now as it did in 1904, the castle was built by Swedish immigrant, Joseph Muheim, to be a home for the fraternal society, the Knights of Pythias. a few decades ago the building became home to apartments and has recently undergone a restoration process to maintain its 1904 look. 

The Pythian Castle

Ideal for catching a quick overview of the history and heritage of this copper-mining community, this walking tour includes a dozen stops along the town's main road. Be sure to check out some of the area museums and other historic sites in the area using Clio before you leave this historic town. 

Bisbee Walking Tour

*The church's early history as presented by its historians "Thousands of people were streaming into Bisbee, 'Queen of the Copper Camps',&nbsp; in the early 1900’s, brought by the copper boom and the promise of jobs and prosperity. A small cabin near&nbsp;Naco&nbsp;Road served as the first Catholic church, the first church of any denomination organized in the Bisbee area.&nbsp; From 1884 to 1890, a large adobe building on Quality Hill served as the town’s second Catholic Church.&nbsp; This adobe building was soon inadequate for the growing population, and in 1891 a white frame building at School Hill on&nbsp;Clawson&nbsp;Avenue was built.&nbsp; Many of the residents were of Welsh and Irish descent, and the church was named for the patron saint of Ireland and consecrated as the first St. Patrick Church. The parish soon became known as 'St. Pat's', an affectionate nickname still used by local residentsIn 1913, French-born Father Constant&nbsp;Mandin&nbsp;arrived in Bisbee and discovered the growing congregation literally overflowing from its wood frame church. Parishioners arriving late to Mass often found the building filled, and ended up kneeling in the weeds outside.&nbsp;&nbsp;Fr.&nbsp;Mandin&nbsp;immediately organized his flock to build a permanent structure not only large enough to serve the parish but also worthy of being dedicated to the glory of God.The site for the new building was donated by Thomas Higgins, a mine owner who held deed to all the land in the area still called Higgins Hill. There was only one stipulation to the generous donation:&nbsp; the church must face the mountain peaks and Higgins' mine. With land to build on,&nbsp;Fr.&nbsp;Mandin&nbsp;traveled to Los Angeles and hired well-known architect Albert C. Martin to design plans for the proposed $40,000 edifice.&nbsp; But the initial budget was too small to build the church&nbsp;Fr.&nbsp;Mandin&nbsp;dreamed of raising, and parishioners decided to authorize a staggering debt of $150,000 to fulfill their pastor's vision.On Labor Day 1915, parishioners began excavating the hill of rock where the new building would stand. After bone-chilling shifts in the mines, parish men reported to Higgins Hill to work another four hours transforming rock into level ground.&nbsp; When construction began,&nbsp;Fr.&nbsp;Mandin&nbsp;often donned work clothes and labored alongside his parishioners and non-Catholic supporters to complete what had become a community project. Four cars of terra-cotta from&nbsp;Gladding&nbsp;McBean&nbsp;Co. of Lincoln, CA were delivered by railroad to Bisbee in 1916.&nbsp; The original slate roofing tiles were shipped from Vermont, and the stained glass windows from St. Louis, MO.Finally, on Sunday, September 30, 1917, the existing St. Patrick Catholic Church was consecrated by the Most Rev. Henry&nbsp;Granjon, Bishop of Tucson, and the first Mass was celebrated.&nbsp; Perched 200 feet above the floor of Tombstone Canyon, the church continues to stand as a monument to the exuberant determination of Bisbee's early residents to transform a primitive mining camp into one of the largest commercial centers in early Arizona."Once completed, the church was $118,000 in debt. Fortunately, the church and the city organized many fundraisers and dances to raise enough money to pay off the debt, which they did, after seven years. Throughout the 1950s and 1960s, the church was expanded here and there. However, by the 1970s, the next door church school was closed, the nuns were sent elsewhere and priests came and go more quickly. Although the city (and congregation) has shrunk, it is still very active and visitors from all over marvel at the structure and its interior.&nbsp;

Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the 1917 Gothic Revival church is a copy of St. Mary’s Catholic Church in the Irish district of Whitehaven, England.  St. Patrick’s 41 stained glass windows were designed and produced by Emil Frei, whose work is recognized as an unsurpassed example of Victorian-style stained glass. This large and beautiful church still serves Bisbee's Catholic residents. 

St. Patrick’s Roman Catholic Church (Bisbee AZ)

*From local historians "One of Bisbee’s most magnificent&nbsp;architectural achievements are the countless concrete stairs that cling to the steep canyonsides&nbsp;Lack of flat land and the need for miners and bosses to reside near their workings led to the construction of hundreds of hillside homes beginning in the late 1870s. The owners and occupants of the irregularly shaped, sometimes nearly vertical, parcels had to develop&nbsp;dependable routes to reach their properties. The sturdy early Bisbeeite initially relied on precipitous trails featuring switchbacks. However, these winding inclines soon proved impractical as they were difficult to maintain and became slippery in wet weather. Next, the clever canyonside dwellers constructed a network of wooden stairs, often resembling ladders! The wooden stairs provided straight up-and-down access to the dwellings from the canyon floor. This, however, changed in the 1930s. Many of the major concrete stairways we still see today were constructed during the 1930s by the Works Progress Administration, one of the Federal Government’s back-to-work programs. ‘WPA’ was often pressed into the concrete or tagged on an embedded bronze plaque. It is still common for nice houses to be situated on a parcel that is accessible only by climbing 100 or 200 steps to reach the front door! Come explore our stairs...there are thousands of them!" 27 years ago, the town of Bisbee began their own Ironman competition, "The Bisbee Climb 1000"&nbsp;and an Ice Climb&nbsp;to commemorate both the town's historic stairs and the ice deliverymen who had to climb these steps throughout the years.&nbsp;&nbsp;

Found all throughout Bisbee are a variety of concrete stairs connecting the city center with the residential homes and the businesses with each other and everything with the nearby mines that were crucial for Bisbee's existence and propensity. Originally wooden steps made throughout the late 1800s, the Works Progress Administration (WPA) came to Bisbee in the 1930s and replaced the steps with concrete ones. There are around 1,000 staircases, with a total of about 30,000 steps. 

Bisbee's Heritage Stairs

Although commonly called the Iron Man, the Virile Copper Miner,&nbsp;or simply&nbsp;the Copper Man, the official name is the Courthouse Plaza Miners’ Monument. And it is neither iron or copper.Despite the fact that it represents the city’s mining history, the sculpture is concrete covered with copper plating. When he created the work in 1935, local artist Raymond Philips Sanderson utilized a new technique and nearly 200 pounds of copper wire. He fed the wire through an oxyacetylene heated gun and sprayed it under pressure to coat the cement. The work stands in the County Courthouse Plaza, on the corner of Tombstone Canyon and Quality Hill.

A New Deal Depression-era sculpture by R. Phillips Sanderson, cast in concrete and covered with a thin layer of copper and completed in 1935. Bisbee native Lee Petrovitch posed for the sculpture, which commemorates the copper miners of Bisbee, and aims to portray ‘beauty, toil and simplicity’. Sanderson had moved to Bisbee during the Depression and worked as a commercial artist. He was paid $30.00 per month by the Federal Emergency Relief Administration during the six months it took to complete the statue.

Copper Miner (Iron Man sculpture)

The history of Castle Rock and the Inn began as it used to be a site for Apaches to make camp. In 1877, Lieutenant John A. Rucker&nbsp;and the 15 men under of his command (Company C of the Sixth US Calvary, came to the Castle Rock area and made camp. It was during that stay that Rucker and civilian trucker, Jack Dunn found a green seam along the rock near Apache Spring. They would have to wait later in the year to make a claim, a claim they knew contained copper and could even contain silver. In 1878, a mine at Castle Rock opened.&nbsp; By 1880, the mine community grew so much that a post office was in sore need. This post office also indicted that people needed better places to lodge while in the area, especially the miners. Bisbee was then established along the same area that Rucker and Dunn found the seam of copper. In 1895, the town's first mayor, John Joseph Muirhead, had this large and beautiful structure to serve as a boarding house for the many miners.&nbsp;&nbsp;Originally called the Muirhead House, it was soon renamed as the Inn at Castle Rock, a name that has stuck since. As one of Bisbee's largest buildings, it was made to stay forever.&nbsp; Since 1895, the purpose of the Inn changed. Soon after its construction, it became a hotel for visitors. Then as Bisbee continued to grow, it became apartments for newcomers. Then in the 1980s it went back to serving as a hotel and has stayed as such ever since.&nbsp; &nbsp;

When copper was discovered in Castle Rock in 1877 (so named by soldiers and campers in the area), which stands to Apache Springs, settlers and miners came to the area by droves. In just a few years, the town was Bisbee was established. In 1895, Bisbee's first mayor, John Joseph Muirhead, had this large structure made next to the copper mine. Originally called the Muirhead House, the purpose of the building was to serve as a boarding house for the miners. The building is one of Bisbee's largest structures. Over its 120+ plus years of existence, the building also became a hotel, then apartments, then back to a hotel. It still serves as a hotel today.  

Inn at Castle Rock

John T. Heath grew up in Texas and as an adult he was indicted for cattle rustling, robbery, burglary, and running a house of prostitution. Born in Texas in 1855 to John and Sarah Heath, he moved with his family to Louisiana when young. The Heath family eventually returned to Texas where, in 1875 Heath married Virginia Tennessee “Jennie” Ferrell. In 1882, Heath left Texas, settling first in&nbsp;Clifton, Arizona, where he opened a&nbsp;saloon. In November 1883, Heath moved to Bisbee with James "Tex" Howard. Along the way, Heath and Howard met friends of Howard: Dan "Big Dan" Dowd, Omer W. "Red" Sample, and Daniel "York" Kelly.Bisbee didn't have a bank, and it was common knowledge that the $7,000 cash payroll (or about $178,000 today) for the Copper Queen Mine was delivered to the Goldwater &amp; Castaneda Mercantile store one or two days in advance of the company's payday on the 10th of each month. Heath was later convicted of arranging for&nbsp;Cowboys&nbsp;Daniel "Big Dan" Dowd, Comer W. "Red" Sample, Daniel "York" Kelly, William E. "Billy" Delaney, and James "Tex" Howard to rob the store and payroll.&nbsp;Before the robbery, Heath allegedly accompanied Howard and the three other men to Buckles' ranch, about 10 miles outside Bisbee, although no witnesses were later found to corroborate Heath's role. Heath and Howard continued on to Bisbee on November 20, 1883. Heath immediately partnered with a local man named Nathan Waite and prepared to open a new dance hall. Howard returned to the Buckles' ranch and waited with his Confederates. Heath and Waite opened their dance hall behind the Goldwater &amp; Castaneda Mercantile&nbsp;general store&nbsp;on December 8, 1883, the day the&nbsp;Copper Queen Mine&nbsp;payroll usually arrived.On the evening of December 8th, 1883, the five outlaws rode into Bisbee. They tied their horses near the Copper Queen Mine smelter at the end of Main Street and walked to the Goldwater and Castaneda store. At the store, three of the men, including "Tex" Howard, who wasn't wearing a mask, entered the store while the other two remained outside. They leveled pistols at the store owner and persuaded him to open the safe, only to find that the payroll had not yet arrived. The robbers took some cash and a watch in the safe and robbed all of the employees and customers in the store. Accounts differ as to how much money they stole, but it was reported they took between $900 and $3,000 in cash along with the gold watch and articles of jewelry.While the three Cowboys were inside looting the safe, the two Cowboys outside were confronted by citizens who recognized that a robbery was in progress. When assayer J. C. Tappenier exited the Bon Ton Saloon next door, they ordered him to go back in. He refused and the robbers, armed with&nbsp;Winchester repeating rifles, killed him with a shot to the head. Cochise County Deputy Sheriff D. Tom Smith was having dinner with his wife across the street at the Bisbee House. He ran onto the street and the robbers ordered him to go back inside. Smith refused, and told them he was an officer of the law. One of the bandits reportedly said, "Then you are the one we want!" and killed him. He fell beneath a freight wagon. A local man, known only as "Indian Joe," was wounded in the leg as he was trying to escape the shooting. Mrs. Annie Roberts, who was pregnant, came to the door of the Bisbee House restaurant, which she and her husband owned. The Cowboys shot Mrs. Roberts and the bullet shattered her spine, mortally wounding her. John A. Nolly, a local freighter, was standing near his wagon when he was shot in the chest. Mrs. Roberts and Nolly died later that evening.The robbers exited the store and ran for their horses, firing at anyone they saw. Deputy Sheriff William "Billy" Daniels, who had come from his saloon when he heard the shooting commence, emptied his revolver at the fleeing outlaws, but missed. The bandits mounted their horses and rode back up Main Street, over Mule Pass, and out of town. At Soldier's Hole, a site east of Bisbee, they divided the money and went their separate ways. The Copper Queen Mine offered a reward of $2000.00 for the arrest and conviction of the Cowboys. Since four of the robbers wore masks, it was at first difficult to trace them.Riders from Bisbee immediately left for&nbsp;Tombstone, which was the county seat at the time. They notified Cochise County Sheriff Jerome L. Ward. Deputy William Daniels immediately formed two posses. The first posse, which left immediately after the robbery included the alleged mastermind of the robbery, John Heath, along with Nathan Waite and Henry Frost (a local gambler and acquaintance of John Heath). Waite and Heath were deputized by Deputy Daniels. They departed town. Daniels formed a second posse, which took to the field after daybreak on December 9th. Daniels' posse soon caught up with Heath's posse. During the manhunt, Heath noticed that the outlaws' tracks separated with three horsemen going east and the two others going south. Heath brought this to Daniel's attention, but Daniels didn't believe Heath. When Heath was tried for his role in the robbery, Deputy Daniels accused Heath of trying to mislead the posse.Later, when they had lost the tracks altogether, Heath, Waite, and Frost followed the southbound tracks and finally lost the trail of their quarry outside Tombstone. Exhausted, the three men spent the night in town and, after meeting with Under-Sheriff Wallace, because Sheriff Jerome Ward was out of town, they returned to Bisbee. Daniels doggedly followed the other tracks and eventually lost that trail altogether, and returned to Bisbee empty-handed. Heath and Waite were arrested the following day. Waite was released, but Heath was held in jail as a suspected accomplice.Because he had neglected to wear a mask, "Tex" Howard was quickly identified as one of the robbers. After further investigation, Deputy Daniels was able to determine the names of the other four men suspected of being involved. Suspicion fell upon Heath as he was acquainted with Howard and had been seen in the company of the other four men at Buckles' ranch. The first of the outlaws to be apprehended was Daniel "York" Kelly. Kelly was caught near&nbsp;Deming, New Mexico. "Tex" Howard and "Red" Sample made the mistake of returning to their old haunts in&nbsp;Clifton. While there, the outlaws paid a visit to a local bartender named Walter Bush. After they rode out, Bush notified the authorities. A posse was assembled and within a matter of days, Howard and Sample were captured and placed in jail. Daniel W. Dowd and William E. Delaney had, as Heath had seen in their horse tracks, left the others outside of Bisbee and traveled to&nbsp;Sonora,&nbsp;Mexico. Dan Dowd was captured by Deputy Daniels across the international border in&nbsp;Corralitos, Sonora. William Delaney was apprehended by Deputy Daniels with the aid of Deputy Sheriff Robert Hatch in the town of&nbsp;Minas Prietas, Sonora where he had been detained after getting in a brawl with a local mine foreman.&nbsp;Given the reward, Mexican authorities were glad to release him to the Americans.On February 6th, the grand jury "found indictments against Dowd, Kelly, Sample, Howard and Delaney". The men appointed as their legal counsel included James B. Southard, Col. Stanford, Thomas J. Drum, F. V. Price, and Col. William Herring (father of&nbsp;Sarah Herring Sorin, one of Arizona's first female attorneys). The trial of the five suspected killers began in Tombstone on February 17, 1884. The evidence against the men was fairly conclusive. Four of the five of them had been recognized either during the robbery or as they ran from the mercantile. Additionally, there was a chain of physical and circumstantial evidence linking the men to the crime. The trial lasted only three days. After an hour's deliberation the jury brought back a verdict of guilty of first-degree murder. On hearing the verdict, Daniel Kelly was reported to have remarked, "Well boys, hemp seems to be trumps". On February 18th, after their motions for a new trial were quashed by Judge Daniel Pinney, the five outlaws were sentenced to be hanged by the neck until they were dead.&nbsp; At his request, John Heath was tried separately beginning on February 12, 1884. He was represented by Colonel William Herring. The prosecutors could not produce a witness who could tie Heath to the robbery. Certainly he had known the outlaws previously, but proving he had conspired with them was problematic. Unable to produce a witness, County Attorney&nbsp;Marcus Aurelius Smith&nbsp;found a prisoner to testify against Heath. Sergeant L. D. Lawrence, of the 3rd Cavalry, had been indicted for killing two men during a saloon brawl in&nbsp;Willcox, Arizona, and had been incarcerated with Heath and the others since their arrest.Sgt. Lawrence swore he had heard Heath and the outlaws discuss the robbery and how and why their plan had failed. Heath's attorney questioned Lawrence as to whether he had made a deal with County Attorney Smith to testify against Heath in exchange for a lighter sentence in his own case. Lawrence swore he had not but three months later, in May 1884, he was represented in his murder trial before Judge Pinney by Smith's private law firm. He was found guilty of the lesser crime of manslaughter and sentenced to only two years in the&nbsp;Yuma Territorial Prison.The jury, which split several times over the verdict, with some calling for conviction and some calling for acquittal, finally chose a "compromise verdict" and convicted Heath of second-degree murder&nbsp;Judge Pinney sentenced him to life at the Yuma Territorial Prison. The men of Cochise County were not satisfied. On February 22, a large&nbsp;lynch&nbsp;mob, reported as 50 to 150 men,&nbsp;broke into the county jail in the bottom of the&nbsp;Tombstone Courthouse, where Heath was being held awaiting his appeal in the case. After disarming the guards, the mob took Heath at gunpoint from the jail and left his five convicted associates awaiting their legal executions in March. As the mob exited the courthouse with the prisoner, Sheriff Ward attempted to intervene. The mob pushed him aside.The mob took Heath down Toughnut Street and lynched him from a telegraph pole at the corner of First and Toughnut Streets. Heath's last words were: "Boys, you are hanging an innocent man, and you will find it out before those other men are hung. I have one favor to ask," he said, "that you will not mutilate my body by shooting into it after I am hung." His executioners agreed. Heath was then blindfolded and the noose was placed around his neck. Members of the mob then pulled the rope until Heath was suspended beneath the pole, where he slowly strangled to death. When the body finally came to rest, someone placed a placard on the telegraph pole bearing the inscription:<div>JOHN HEITH Was hanged to this pole by the CITIZENS OF COCHISE COUNTY for participating in the Bisbee massacre as a proved accessory AT 8:00 A.M., FEBRUARY 22, 1884 (Washington’s Birthday) ADVANCE ARIZONA!After the trial and conviction of the five bandits, residents celebrated the day of their execution in March 1884. Sheriff Ward sent out invitations to a select number of people to view the hanging, In addition, a local businessman erected a grandstand of his own outside the jailyard and began selling tickets at $1.50 per seat. Disgusted when learning of these plans,&nbsp;Nellie Cashman, a local philanthropist, protested to Sheriff Ward, before chopping up the grandstand with friends the day before the executions.&nbsp;During this row, seven persons were injured, one breaking a leg and another an arm. According to the&nbsp;Tombstone Epitaph,&nbsp;more than 1,000 persons witnessed the hangings. A special gallows was built that could accommodate all five of the outlaws. On the morning of their execution, they were shaved and dressed in matching Black suits. Sheriff Ward allowed them to walk unfettered to the gibbet and to wear their hats. Once on the platform, the men were bound again. Each of the bandits are said to have&nbsp;protested his innocence and that of Heath, who had been lynched a month earlier.Having supposedly converted to Catholicism during their tenure in the county jail,&nbsp;the outlaws asked for their bodies to be delivered to the local Roman Catholic priest, Father Gallagher. Their hats were then taken from them and Black hoods pulled down over their heads. The nooses were subsequently adjusted around their necks. It was then Daniel "York" Kelly, his voice muffled by the hood which covered his features, said, "Let her go!" On March 28, 1884, at 1:18 p.m. James "Tex" Howard, Dan "Big Dan" Dowd, William Delaney (or DeLaney), Omer W. "Red" Sample, and Kelly were executed. They were dropped together and, except for Dowd, died quickly. Dowd's body was seen to twitch and jerk for several minutes as he strangled to death. The bodies of the Bisbee bandits were allowed to hang there in the early spring air for a full half-hour before they were officially pronounced dead. Then, at 1:45 p.m. the corpses were cut down and “placed in neat but plain coffins” and conveyed to the city morgue, where they were each identified in turn by Gallagher.Learning that a medical school intended to exhume the bandits' corpses for research, Cashman intervened, hiring two miners to guard the graves of the bandits for ten days.&nbsp;A joint gravestone marks the graves of the five executed bandits, which can still be seen in Tombstone.</div>

The Bisbee massacre, (the Bisbee murders or the Bisbee raid) took place on December 8, 1883 in Bisbee, Arizona when five outlaw Cowboys robbed a general store and killed four people. Five men were later convicted and executed on March 28, 1884 for the crime. They were the first criminals to be legally hanged in Tombstone, then the county seat.
John Heath, who was accused of organizing the robbery, was tried separately and sentenced to life in prison. Unsatisfied with what they perceived as a lenient sentence, a Bisbee lynch mob forcibly removed him from jail and hanged him on February 22, 1884. Today, the grave of the five murderers is part of the popular Boothill Graveyard tourist attraction in Tombstone. 

The grocery store where these killings took place is now the Letson Loft Hotel.

The Bisbee Massacre

* Short history of the hotel provided by the hotel's official website The historic buildings known as the "Letson Block" are estimated to have been constructed between 1883 and 1888. These are recognized as the oldest brick structures in the city and the only authentic Victorian buildings in Bisbee.The Letson Block was originally known as the Goldwater-Castaneda mercantile store, opened in 1883 by Joseph Goldwater, a native of Prussia, grandfather to Arizona's legendary Barry Goldwater and a pioneering Arizona merchant. The Goldwater-Casteneda Store was the main retail establishment in the mining town of Bisbee- Queen of the Copper Camps. The store handled The Copper Queen Consolidated Mining Co. payroll, and since there was no community bank also cashed miners' paychecks. According to historical records the store had a safe which held the company's cash and deposits by various townsfolk as well as other valuables. Legend has it that the safe located in the first floor gallery might well be the same safe used back then.The infamous "Bisbee Massacre" took place on December 8, 1883 on Main Street in front of the Goldwater-Casteneda Store. Robbers attempted to steal the miners' payroll in which five Bisbee residents lost their lives. Six bandits were rounded up by a posse and sentenced to hang in Tombstone, Arizona. The incident was documented as one of the most violent in the history of the Arizona Territory, with a death toll of eleven.A fire destroyed most of Main Street in 1888. The building was re-built and became the site of The Turf Saloon, described to be "...one of the best known in the territory". The saloon served the choicest of wines, liquors and cigars and had a bustling gambling business. The Arizona Territorial Legislature outlawed gambling in 1907 which foresaw a loss of income for The Turf and others like it. Owners of The Turf Saloon were eventually forced out of business in 1915 when statewide prohibition became effective.Businessman James Letson, an Irish immigrant, Cochise County lawman, and Bisbee City Council member and his wife Maggie eventually opened the Mansion House Hotel in about 1890. In 1902 the buildings became known as The Letson Block. Since then the Letson Block has been home to various businesses over the years, including jewelers, restaurants, shoemakers, a bank, clothing stores, watchmakers and a food co-op to name a few.Today the Letson Loft Hotel is the epitome of the most comfortable stay in Bisbee, with the same charm and romance of days gone by. The new owners have invested thoughtful renovations to the building, creating eight spacious and artfully decorated guest rooms with original 11' ceilings, private baths, restored hardwood floors, original skylights and exposed brick and adobe plastered walls. Their hope is that the Letson legacy continues through the loving care and renovation of this important landmark.

The Letson Loft Hotel is located where the Goldwater-Castaneda Mercantile Store was itself  once located. This address is most famous for the Bisbee Massacre that took place on December 8, 1883. This block of buildings was constructed between 1883-1888, only to be largely destroyed by a fire in 1888, following the block's construction. The block was completely rebuilt by 1890. The Mercantile Store relocated and Bisbee's Irish-immigrant, local businessman, Councilman and law man, James Letson, opened the Mansion House Hotel the same year. In 1902 and since then the hotel has become widely known as the Letson Loft Hotel. It is still in operation today. 

Letson Loft Hotel

*History of the library from the Friends of Copper Queen Library Shortly after Mule Gulch was renamed Bisbee in 1880, principal members of the Copper Queen Mining Company arrived in town to find the swinging corpse of a fellow hanged the night before.&nbsp; They&nbsp; were so shocked by the sight, they decided immediately that the town needed more civilized diversions.&nbsp; Thus, in 1882, the first Copper Queen Library, with a collection of 400 volumes was established in the east end of the Copper Queen Mercantile Store. By 1885, the Copper Queen Library had its own building.&nbsp; A white two-story wood-framed structure housed the library and the post office on the lower floor.&nbsp; The second floor was used for lodge meetings, church services, dances, and other social gatherings.&nbsp; In 1887, Reverend J.G. Pritchard became the first paid librarian at the Copper Queen Library.&nbsp; Pritchard emigrated from Wales in 1848 when he was twenty and settled in Granville, NY.&nbsp; In 1873 he attended St. Francis College at Richmond, Quebec, and later enrolled in Morin College where he graduated from the theological department.&nbsp; Soon after his arrival in Bisbee, he was appointed postmaster and assumed charge of mail matters until an increase in the business warranted a separation of the library and postal interests.&nbsp; From the Portrait and Biographical Record of Arizona: 'Unfettered by narrow creed, and guided by naught save a broad and illuminating spirit of humanitarianism, the association of Mr. Pritchard with Arizona is inseparably interwoven with the best moral, intellectual and social development of the is great mining center of the west.' In 1888, a disastrous fire swept Bisbee's Main Street and destroyed much of the town, leaving the library and all its books in ashes.&nbsp; However, 1892 saw the construction of a new brick building which was built in a similar style as the current Bisbee and Historical Museum.&nbsp; During this time, a rearrangement was made in the library to provide a game room for checkers. In 1906, books were removed from the brick building and it was demolished, making way for the current (and bigger) building which opened its doors in March of 1907.&nbsp; The second floor served as a reading and game room, and the third floor served&nbsp;as the library. By 1910 the library had 6,550 volumes.&nbsp; Approximately 23,924 books circulated that year, 13 books were lost and paid for, 13 books were lost and not paid for, and the average daily attendance was 261 people.&nbsp;In 1913, the library was closed twice because of spinal meningitis and small pox in the community. In an annual report submitted by Librarian C.G. Vail made in 1918: 'The library has been active in war work during the year.&nbsp; About 450 books have been collected for soldiers, also a large number of magazines.&nbsp; The bulletin boards have been in use for war bulletins and a large number of food conservation booklets have been given out.&nbsp; The patrons of the smoking and game room have given up that room for the use of the Red Cross.' In 1919, Librarian Vail reported on a new feature that was added -- the 5 Cent Shelf which 'enabled the library to buy almost immediately any popular book.&nbsp; Any time one of these books is borrowed the borrower must pay five cents until the book is paid for.&nbsp; This is common practice in all modern libraries and is proving popular in this library.&nbsp; We have added since spring over a hundred books without expense to the Company and it has given both pleasure and convenience to our patrons.' In her&nbsp;annual report of 1932, Librarian Mrs. A.L. Sinclair stated: 'The inventory shows that there is considerable dead timber on the shelves, many books not having been in circulation for years; and many of the recent number in poor condition, pages missing, etc.&nbsp; Owing to the times, many books are mended and placed in circulation, which in normal times would be discarded.&nbsp; With a great number of unemployed seeking forgetfulness and pastime in reading, the demand on the library has been tremendous, as many as one hundred in the library, on two or three occasions at one time.' In 1936, Librarian Sinclair wrote: 'The cooperation of Mayor Colford and officers in helping maintain order on the porches, and in the evenings when the main library is closed, has been of great help, as a disorderly crowd often gather on porches and outside stairs.' After a hundred years of good, hard use, the Copper Queen Library underwent a major renovation project.&nbsp; Floors were refinished and an elevator was installed to give easy access to the second and third floors.&nbsp; The Library even made the news for its collection of bats that had made their home in the attic.&nbsp; The Friends of the Copper Queen Library turned this inconvenience into an asset by selling bat guano by the pound, called Biblio-Doo. Today, the Copper Queen Library continues to thrive and serve its patrons, and still houses Reverend Pritchard's historic collection of books in its Rare Books Room."&nbsp;

Bisbee's second library to be constructed, this unique building with three-story arches, has served the town since 1907. The Friends of Copper Queen Library run and help preserve the library. The library also houses the Reverend Pritchard Collection, which showcases the life of Bisbee's first librarian, Presbyterian Reverend, J.G. Pritchard.  

Copper Queen Library

The Copper Queen Hotel was built in the late 1800s by the Phelps Dodge Mining Company to host the increasing number of dignitaries and investors visiting this booming mining town. While construction began in 1898, the hotel was not completed until four years later in 1902.The project was difficult because Phelps Dodge had to blast away and clear a large portion of the mountainside in order for building to begin. Although the most modern materials were used, it did not lessen the difficulty of each task. In order for concrete to be mixed, water had to be pumped up the hill from the mercantile, what is now called Copper Queen Plaza, on Main Street. The walls were constructed to be nearly two feet thick, which helps keep the hotel cool during the summer months.Once the Hotel was completed, it became one of the modern hotels in the American West. Its most notable design flourish was the mosaic tile from Italy installed throughout the lobby, a feature that can still be seen today. The cathedral ceiling in the Palm Room was fitted with Tiffany glass. Nobody knows when it came down or what happened to it. There was an open-air hallway behind two large windows along the southeast wall that acted as air conditioning for that era. The front desk was fabricated out of Tiger Oak and surrounded with a wrought iron security cage. The unique safe behind the desk was once used at the Copper Mine until it became too small for the company payroll, which Phelps Dodge cleverly always paid in cash, to ensure that the money quickly came back to them when the employees splurged on goods and drinks.Although the Copper Queen Hotel has maintained the ambiance of the Victorian era Old West, it has been renovated with modern day conveniences to make your stay more comfortable.

The Copper Queen Hotel holds the distinction of being Arizona's longest continuously operated hotel. The Copper Queen was constructed from 1898 to 1902 by the Phelps Dodge Corporation to serve as lodging for investors and dignitaries visiting its nearby copper mine. Two famous visitors of the hotel were American President, Teddy Roosevelt, and Hollywood legend, John Wayne. The Copper Queen is allegedly haunted and has been featured on at least two the paranormal investigation shows; the 3rd season of Ghost Hunters and the 6th season of Ghost Adventures

Copper Queen Hotel

The Phelps Dodge General Office Building served as headquarters for copper mining and smelting activities that proved pivotal in the company's evolution from a family-dominated partnership into a "modern" corporation which moved in step with the changing character of American business in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Moreover, the structure is the only important early Phelps Dodge office extant in the entire United States. From the mid 1850s until the late 1880s Phelps Dodge's national headquarters were situated on Cliff Street in New York City. Afterward they were at 315 West Street for approximately 10 years and then at 99 John Street for many more years. None of the structures that housed these headquarters remain. Phelps Dodge erected the Bisbee General Office Building in 1895. It stands at the entrance to famed Brewery Gulch and consists of a southward-facing, rectangular-shaped, gable-roofed, two-story main block which measures 29 by 90 feet; a small, one-story, rectangular east wing added about 1914; and a pair of two-story, hip-roofed, octagonal bays which rise along the east and west extremes of the front facade of the main block. All four sections are constructed of red brick, and all rest on foundation walls and footings of stone carefully placed in un-reinforced brick masonry. All the bricks are of sand construction, and so the building has always been painted its present red color to protect against rapid deterioration. The office roof is covered with grayish-colored corrugated iron, which replaces original standing seam galvanized iron. The company became notorious for its&nbsp;anti-union tactics, primarily for the 1917&nbsp;Bisbee Deportation. The company worked with a local group of private citizens and the county sheriff to deputize about 2,000 members of a&nbsp;posse. Given names of&nbsp;Industrial Workers of the World&nbsp;members and other miners, they arrested nearly 1,300&nbsp;striking&nbsp;miners at gunpoint in&nbsp;Bisbee, Arizona&nbsp;at the&nbsp;Copper Queen Mine. Portraying the&nbsp;Wobblie&nbsp;miners as bent on war-related sabotage, the company ordered them expelled from the jurisdiction, deporting them to Hermanas,&nbsp;New Mexico. Company officials and the Sheriff seized telegraph and telephone lines to keep news of this from getting out. After the Phelps company closed down this office in 1961&nbsp;after the mines ran dry, the city decided to preserve both the&nbsp;building&nbsp;and the city's history by converting the office into the&nbsp;Bisbee Mining &amp; Historical Museum.&nbsp;Some years after beginning operations, the Bisbee Mining &amp; Historical Museum joined forces with the Smithsonian's Affiliation Program. Featured among its exhibits is "Bisbee: Urban Outpost on the Frontier," an in-depth look at the depths - and heights - to which miners and settlers went to carve a communtiy and a living out of rock.&nbsp;

Phelps Dodge is a mining corporation that was established in 1834 in New York City, with trading largely occurring between the Deep South and England. As the nation expanded west, the corporation went from cotton trade to mineral trade. In the 1880s it moved to Phoenix Arizona where the headquarters still stand to this day. In 1882, Phelps purchased both mines operating in Bisbee, the Atlanta Copper Mine and the Queen Copper Mine. With these large mines under their care, Phelps opened this office building in 1896. The building and the Phelps corporation were active in Bisbee until 1961 when the supply of copper in the mines became dry. The building is now home to the Bisbee Mining & Historical Museum. This museum was the first in the Southwest to join the Smithsonian's Affiliation Program, making it also the smallest museum in the program. 

Phelps Dodge General Office Building (Bisbee Mining & Historical Museum)

* History of the church as it put together by its historians "Bisbee, unlike many other mining boom towns, survived due to the discovery and production of copper.&nbsp;People of various nationalities flocked to the area. [It is said that many who first came here]&nbsp;were rough and tough and seemingly lacked regard for things of culture and religion. Individuals took the law into their own hands.However, there were some who desired those institutions which made a "camp" a home. A library was built and Rev. J. G. Pritchard, a Presbyterian minister from England, was hired as librarian. His duties included being chaplain of the copper company. In 1888, Rev. Pritchard helped organize the Union Church, out of which also grew several Protestant congregations.A Sunday School missionary sent from New Mexico, together with Rev. Pritchard, worked with the Presbyterian contingent and on March 8, 1900, a group of 20 persons meeting in the Library Hall, met for worship and voted to organize "The Presbyterian Church of Bisbee," later to become Covenant Presbyterian Church.Within months of formal charter of the congregation, the Session began corresponding with officials of the Copper Queen Mining Company to secure property on which to construct a church building. William Dodge and D. Willis James, staunch Presbyterians, negotiated a purchase for two lots next door to the Copper Queen Hotel for a total of $12,000. The lots became the property of the company which was then known as the Copper Queen Consolidated Mining Company. Permission was given for the church to construct a building.Funds were sought, members contributed, and in early 1902, construction began. Mr. Dodge and Mr. James provided much of the financial resources necessary for the completion of the building, apparently as a loan. Stained glass windows were installed in March of 1903.&nbsp;The pipe organ, a gift from Arthur Curtis James, son of D. Willis James, was installed that same month. It was built by the Harris Company of Los Angeles, organ builders from 1895-1913, and arrived in time to be installed for the first worship service on April 5, 1903. The instrument included three distinct organs, the Great, the Swell, and the Pedal, and consisted of two manuals with a compliment of 579 pipes constructed from Swedish Tinn (pewter) as well as wood. The pipes range in size from less than two inches in length to sixteen feet. The exposed chancel pipes are an example of the hand decorating craft of Mr. George Head, employee of the Harris Company. The organ has been maintained and enlarged to fifteen ranks of pipes through the interest and support of the congregation of Covenant Presbyterian Church.&nbsp;Records show that after the death of Mr. Dodge in 1904, the executors of his estate, along with Mr. James, settled the church's indenture for one dollar "in lawful currency of the United States of America." Arizona was still a territory. The cost of construction was estimated at $10,000. The organ cost approximately $2,500. The church with its magnificent organ and spectacular stained glass windows cost little more than the land on which it is situated!In 1917, two wings were added to the building to allow for meeting and education space. Soon after, pews, hand carved in the Netherlands, were installed. Today, the church owns the former hospital building, "The Annex"--also acquired for $1 from Phelps Dodge--where educational and fellowship events are held."

The Copper Queen mining company gave permission to the Presbyterian Church to construct a church building on company land in 1902. The first worship service was on April 5, 1903.  In 1904, the property was deeded to the Church for $1. It has beautiful stained glass windows and a working pipe organ with pipes 16 feet tall, both still adorn the church today. The church's first minister, Reverend J. G. Pritchard, was also the city's first librarian. The church si still active today. 

Bisbee's old Presbyterian Church

In 1905, Joseph Muheim, Bisbee's famed Swedish immigrant and architect, constructed this building to serve the city as a place of fun and libations. The building was named the Brewery Saloon.&nbsp;But such designs only lasted 9 years. In 1914, the Federal Government enacted the famed (or is it ill-famed?) Prohibition to shut down the consumption and sales of alcohol nationwide. That same year&nbsp;the Brewery shut down operations and closed. Muheim now needed to find a new purpose for one of his creations.&nbsp; That new purpose would come not too long after the doors closed. The same year the Brewery closed, Muehim was able to convince a local brokerage firm, Duey and Overlock to make the the main floor its home. Previously, the second floor housed the firm. The firm then placed a stock board on the floor and had a ticker tape shipped from Manhattan. These moves made the Brewery Saloon into the Stick Exchange Building. Even when Prohibition ended in 1933, the building still served the firm. In 1961 the firm closed operations.&nbsp; In 1982, over 21 years of being largely abandoned, the building was restored and once again became a saloon. However, the building would not return completely to its roots. Rather give the saloon its original name, owners chose to maintain the name it was known as for over 40 years: The Stock Exchange Saloon and Grill. Today the saloon and grill still serves residents and visitors, and is&nbsp;known worldwide.&nbsp;

The name of this building is only a bit deceiving. When Swedish immigrant and architect Joseph Muheim constructed this building in 1905 it was originally called the Brewery Saloon. It was designed to be one of the biggest, and most fun, saloons, to serve Bisbee. However, that all changed in 1914 when Prohibition was enacted. From 1914 to 1982 this building became the Bisbee/Southwestern office for Manhattan's Stock Exchange.  After 1982, the building returned to its Saloon roots, but kept the name the "Stock Exchange." 

The old Stock Exchange Building

Bisbee in the early 20th century was still a very busy and large city, thanks to all the mining, particularly copper. With a growing, bustling city, comes lawlessness and rowdy weekenders. To help enforce laws and lock up both criminals and the drunks, Bisbee had this two-story brick structure made in 1909. The jail became an official branch of the Cochise County jail system. However by 1915, residents and jailers realized that the jail was just too small, especially on the weekends. During these weekends, both residents and travelers would crowd Bisbee's saloons and quickly become rowdy, disruptive. When jailed, many were sent to the "drunk tank." However, the small size made the tank into a crowded sweat box, while jail cells became full. When cells and tanks filled, others sent to jail stayed in whatever room was available.&nbsp; A few years later the county constructed a detention center&nbsp;in the county, near Bisbee. This new center emptied the Old Jail, to the point that the city stopped using the building. For a number of decades the jail sat empty. In 1988 it was converted to an Inn. Where there is a kitchenette was the "drunk tank." The jail bars still decorate the windows, casting shadows into these new living quarters. The cell serving the Solitary Confinement section of the jail is now a bathroom. It is said that like most of Bisbee's historic structures, the Old Jail is supposedly haunted.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;

Constructed in 1909 to serve as a branch to the County jail, the Old Jail of Bisbee would consistently overflow on the weekends with rowdy drunks that visited the saloons of the city. The peak of this overflowing jail was in and just after 1915. Not long after these days, a detention center was constructed nearby in the county, thus emptying the jail. It is rumored that legendary Hollywood star, John Wayne, was part owner of the building at one time. It now serves as an Inn. 

The Old Jail

The story of Bisbee mining began in the late 1870’s when Lt. Dunn, in charge of a cavalry detail from the frontier Army post of Fort Huachuca, was on a scouting mission against the Apache Indians. Lt. Dunn and his men headed for a spring in the Mule Mountains to camp for the night. The party camped on a spot of fairly flat ground in the canyon below the spring—a site now occupied by Old Bisbee, only several hundred yards from the beginning of today’s Mine Tour.On a walk after dinner, Lt. Dunn picked up an interesting rock. He found a few more pieces along the slope of the south wall of the canyon. Unable to do anything about it because of military duties, Dunn took a prospector by the name of George Warren into his confidence and struck up a deal by which Warren would locate claims and work the property with Dunn as a partner. But on his way to the site, prospector Warren stopped to visit some friends and enjoy his favorite pastime—whiskey drinking. He soon has new partners and they staked a new group of claims and left Dunn out of the deal. When Dunn came along later to check, he was on the outside looking in.Copper production began on a limited basis around 1880. Individuals and then companies with capital gradually became involved and took over individual claims and brought them into production. Phelps Dodge Corporation, through a subsidiary the Copper Queen Consolidated Mining Company, became the dominant force and eventually the sole operator of the mining district. Building on its base in Bisbee, Phelps Dodge had long been one of the largest copper producers in the United States.

Historic copper mine that provides public tours. The tour takes visitors deep into the old workings of the famous Queen Mine where great tonnages of extremely rich copper ore was mined. Phelps Dodge Corporation closed the Bisbee underground mines in the summer of 1975. One year later, the mine reopened as a tourist attraction. 

Bisbee Walking Tour

The Pythian Castle

Introduction

Images

Backstory and Context

Additional Information