Ghost Towns in Arizona: Lost Places in the Desert

Resources like gold, silver, and copper once attracted fortune seekers from around the world to Arizona. Today, the mining towns are abandoned - these ghost towns are worth a visit.

Thousands of pioneers flocked to the Wild West in the second half of the 19th century to dig for gold, silver, and copper. Towns quickly sprang up - with saloons, churches, banks, and breweries. But after the gold rush was over, the towns fell silent. Many are now lost places in the middle of the dry Arizona desert.

Tourists can, however, follow in the footsteps of the gold prospectors and discover the once-flourishing towns. We introduce you to some of Arizona's numerous ghost towns, some of which have been revived for tourists.

Three saloons, a boarding house, a general store, a post office, a blacksmith shop, a brewery, a butcher, and a schoolhouse: by 1893, the gold mining town of Goldfield had all of these within a short time. The Mammoth Mine brought the town, located 40 miles east of Phoenix near the Superstition Mountains, about 5,000 residents at the time.

But then the gold ore vein ran dry. The miners left Goldfield, and the town began a "slow, painful death" five years after its founding.

From 1910 on, the town-now called Youngberg-came back to life again when new mines were developed in the area. After the last mines closed in 1926, the town became a ghost town. Since the 1960s, some historic buildings have been restored, with others built in the style of the period. Tourists can encircle the former gold town on a 20-minute narrow-gauge train tour, visit the historic mine and a museum, pan for gold, and learn about the legends, ghosts, and curses surrounding Goldfield on a nighttime ghost town walking tour.

In southern Arizona, travelers can find the desert town of Tombstone, 110 kilometers from Tucson. Like Jerome, it was once considered a boomtown - founded in 1879 when silver deposits were mined, it had about 15,000 residents during its heyday - now only a tenth of that.

Tombstone had a rough and tumble reputation: In 1881, it was the site of a gunfight, now known as the Gunfight at the O.K. Corral - within 30 seconds, countless shots were fired and three men lost their lives.

Today, the Old Tombstone Western Theme Park is a tourist attraction, featuring historic and historically inspired wooden buildings that create a Wild West atmosphere. Residents of Tombstone regularly reenact the famous gunfight for visitors.

There are also countless ghost and murder stories surrounding Tombstone. Those interested can take a guided 'Ghost and Murder Tour' to see the 13 most haunted places in Tombstone.

About 120 kilometers northwest of Phoenix, in Yavapai County, lies the town of Jerome. The former mining town - where copper was extensively mined in the 19th century - now has about 450 residents. But it wasn't always that way: around 1929, the town had 15,000 residents and, thanks to thriving gambling, prostitution, and numerous murders, was known as the 'wickedest town in the West.' It nearly became extinct in the 1950s when the Phelps Dodge Mine, the last copper mine, closed. Only about 50 people are said to have stayed in Jerome.

Today, historic buildings bear witness to those times. Rumors quickly spread that some who lost their lives in Jerome now haunt the area. In the 1960s and 1970s, hippies, bikers, and artists discovered the town, settled there, and revived the ghost myth for tourists.

Today travelers can, along with historical tours, book a Haunted Tour and go in search of the ghosts of former residents like Jennie Bauters, Ann Hopkins, and Sammie Dean.

For an authentic ghost town experience, Ruby is one of the best-preserved in Arizona. Even the drive there is described as a small adventure: the route follows the partially unpaved Ruby Road through the remote Buenos Aires National Wildlife Refuge. Six kilometers from the Mexican border, in a landscape characterized by rugged mountains, semi-arid deserts, grasses, mesquite, and oak trees, stand the remains of Ruby.

Ruby was also once a mining camp. Gold deposits in the region were mined starting in the 1870s. At the turn of the century, Ruby was already considered the largest mining camp in the 'Oro Blanco region'-meaning the white gold region-and even had a post office from 1910. When the Montana Mine closed in 1940, the residents left behind their homes, a small school building, a general store, work tools, and vehicles, all of which remain well-preserved. There are no tourist tours in Ruby, so it's advisable to bring your own supplies.

Travel Reporter