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ARIZONA
LEGENDS
The Ghost Town Trail -
Gleeson, Courtland & Pearce |
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On a dusty road winding out of
Tombstone,
Arizona begins the Ghost Town Trail. After traveling some 16 miles along
this historic path, you’ll come to the
ghost town of Gleeson,
Arizona.
Situated on the south side of the Dragoon Mountains, Gleeson was first
inhabited by Indians who mined the area for its decorative turquoise.
When white prospectors began to move into the
area, they found copper, lead, and silver in the area and before long a
mining camp sprouted up in the hills above where Gleeson stands today. The
first camp was called Turquoise when a post office opened in 1890. However, just four short years later, when Jimmie Pearce found gold at the
Commonwealth claim in what would become
Pearce, the town of Turquoise was
abandoned and the post office closed.
Gleeson,
Arizona
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Welcome to Gleeson,
Arizona.
Though the sign indicates a population
of 100, but we didn't see a soul. Kathy Weiser, April, 2007.
This image available for photographic prints
HERE!
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Then, in 1900, a
Pearce miner named John
Gleeson began to prospect the Turquoise area again. Finding large
deposits of copper, he soon filed several claims and opened the Copper
Belle Mine. In no time, more miners flooded the area and new mines
with names like Silver Belle, Brother Jonathan, Defiance, and Pejon
also sprouted up. The new mining camp which moved down the hill to be
closer to water was called Gleeson. On October 15, 1900, the post
office opened, supporting a population of about 500 people, almost all
of which worked in the mines.
In 1912,
a fire raged through Gleeson taking with it some 28 buildings.
However, with the mines still producing ore in large volumes, it was
quickly rebuilt.
John
Gleeson sold out in 1914, but the copper production continued to
flourish, especially during World War I. After the war was over;
however, copper prices began to fall, ore production decreased, and by
the 1930s the mines had all shut down. Most of the population moved on
but Gleeson’s post office held on until March 31, 1939, when it too,
shut its doors and Gleeson became a
ghost town.
Today,
the old settlement still supports a couple of residents as well as
numerous ruins, including a hospital, a saloon, dry good store,
several houses, a jail, numerous mining remnants, and the large
foundation of what was once a large school. The Gleeson cemetery is
just west of the town on the road to
Tombstone.

Joe Bond's Gleeson Saloon, Kathy Weiser,
April, 2007.
This image available for photographic prints
HERE!
Continue your trek through Gleeson on Gleeson Road. Just a mile or so
beyond the town, you will come to Ghost Town Tail Road, where you will
turn north to continue to
Courtland and
Pearce. All along the dusty road,
are remnants of the area's more prosperous past.
Courtland is just about
3.5 miles down the road.
Continued Next Page
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A
crumbling house in Gleeson, Kathy Weiser, April, 2007.
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Gleeson today, Kathy Weiser, April, 2007.
This image available for photographic prints
HERE!
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The ruins of Gleeson School, Kathy Weiser, April, 2007.
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Gleeson Jail, Kathy Weiser, April, 2007.
This image available for photographic prints
HERE!
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Unidentified building in Gleeson, Kathy Weiser, April, 2007.
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From the
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OK Corral,
Tombstone
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Arcosanti and Cosanti, and
Navajo
weavers.
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