Gunfight reenactments at the O.K. Corral, The Crystal Palace, rides on the Butterfield Stage, carousing old saloons, tracing the footsteps of Doc Holiday, endless gift shops and old-time photographs. There is nothing at all wrong with the touristy side of Tombstone, Arizona. In fact, I recommend a ghost tour of the Bird Cage Theater and a Kiltlifter with a burger at Big Nose Kate’s. But if you desire the lesser known of the Tombstone area or Cochise County in general, I’m your huckleberry. Read on.
Trish and I did a survey of this unique corner of southern Arizona. Although we spent more than enough time in Tombstone proper; long enough to get photobombed by Doc Holiday (see picture above,) we made it a point to get out of town to find things that have been overlooked. Below are four historical haunts that provide good alternatives to the wooden sidewalks of the more famous town.

Fairbank
About five miles north of Tombstone is the junction of SR80 and SR82. If you take 82 west for about 6 miles, you’ll come upon a sign that directs you off the highway to the remains of Fairbank. The information I had read on this ghost town was old, so I wasn’t sure what we might find, if anything at all. Luckily, in recent years, efforts have been made to preserve Fairbank. Surviving buildings are protected and there is even a donation slot.
Fairbank is not the average ghost town, meaning it lasted a long time. The town was born when the railroad came through in 1882, and maintained as a shipping center for ore, cattle and other commodities. The place suffered through train and stagecoach robberies, flood and fire, but still lingered on through decades to die a slow death. It wasn’t until the mid-1960’s, when the trains no longer stopped, that the last workers and families left.


The general store and post office are fenced off, and some restoration work has been done on the front of these buildings. The schoolhouse has been restored as well and serves as a museum/giftshop on weekends. There are some more dilapidated structures still standing and a few foundations. I followed a walking trail from the townsite a half mile to a lonesome hill where the cemetery is. It has not been well maintained and most graves are unmarked as the stones and crosses have long fallen and crumbled.
We were there on a Thursday and had the place to ourselves, as it appears many people don’t stop here and walk the couple hundred yards from the highway to the site. It is a great place to spend the day, if it is not during summer months, where temps here can peak well over 100 degrees. Fairbank provides a pleasing combination of hiking, history and picnicking.

Gleeson
Gleeson was all about Copper and Turquoise. The first mines were opened around 1890, giving birth to the town. This town had plenty of adobe structures, adding to its color and personality. A devastating fire crippled the town in 1912, but these southern Arizona towns had a lot of grit, and Gleeson lived on to prosper for another couple of decades. The town dwindled in the 1930’s and the post office closed. Mining continued in some form or another for a while, but the mines have been shut down now for 60 plus years.
The road out to Gleeson is hilly, windy and provides sweeping views of the stunning countryside. Trish and I were so intrigued by the trip out there that we drove right past the townsite and had to find a place to turn around.
Unlike Fairbank, there are no picnic sites or signs. Gleeson is a partial ghost. A very small community still exists there, evidenced by mail boxes on dirt roads. On the right side of the road is, what I believe, the old jail, which has been converted into a private residence with a gift store, or something. Nobody was there when we drove up. Besides, we were more intrigued by what we saw on the other side of the road. Several adobe foundations and walls jut from the scrub and sand. One structure is left nearly intact. A partial sign indicates it was, most likely, a general store. However, the roof is beginning to cave in places, and one of the high walls does not look stable, so I wouldn’t go bursting in to order a coke or a beer.

From Tombstone, take Gleeson road east for 16 miles. It is very isolated and very beautiful. Although the road is now paved, it is prone to flash flooding in several low spots. So, if rain is in the forecast you may want to steer clear. If not, enjoy the fun ride out, but please be respectful of the private property at this site.

Bisbee
Okay. No more ghost towns! Not only is Bisbee not a ghost town, but it is the county seat for Cochise County, a title taken from Tombstone in 1929. To use a girl’s term, Bisbee is simply “adorable.” Situated on a hillside there are plenty of narrow roads, stairs, quaint buildings, crooked sidewalks and people on bicycles. Be very cautious negotiating this crowded little town!
Bisbee is 25 miles beyond Tombstone on SR80. This town appeared to me to be a mixture of mining history, happy hippies and befuddled tourists. We were two of the befuddled tourists. This was mostly because I followed Trish’s directions, which led us onto one lane roads high over the town which were not one way. When encountering an oncoming car there were three options. 1) The oncoming car backs up to the nearest spot wide enough for me to pass. 2) I back up to the nearest spot wide enough for him to pass. 3) Stop, panic and curse and/or pray. My suggestion is to stay on or near the main drag, although it is not a whole lot better.
There are mine tours, book stores, Castle Rock and all kinds of funky buildings perched precariously on steep hills to take pictures of. You’ll want to find a place to park (there is actually one flat parking lot) and get out and walk the main street. People with weak calves need not visit.

Rose Tree Museum
For this one, we journey back to where we started; the heart of old Tombstone. Why? Because when one thinks of all that is associated with Tombstone, one usually does not list the world’s largest rose tree. Yet, there it is, conspicuously hidden within all of that rough and tumble history. Val Kilmer probably hasn’t even heard of it.
Located at the corner of 4th and E. Toughnut streets, it has been a mining office, a boarding house and a private residence before becoming a museum in 1964. Five dollars will get you into several rooms of antique exhibits and, of course, the courtyard where the (semi-famous) tree still grows. The entire courtyard is crowned with a trellis overhead, so that the tree branches can continue to expand.
In 1884 a newly married couple, Henry and Mary Gee, emigrated from Scotland to Tombstone, and took up residence here, in what was then, the Boarding House of the Vizina Mining Company. Missing her garden back home, relatives sent rose clippings and shoots of the plants in the mail. She planted a rose shoot in the courtyard in 1885 and it grew, and grew, and is still growing.


In the 1930’s Robert Ripley visited the site and proclaimed it “World’s Largest Rose Tree” in Ripley’s Believe It or Not. Today it is listed, as well, in The Guiness Book Of World Records. Spreading over 8,000 feet of trellis, pipes, poles and other supports, it is not likely it will lose its title. Incidentally, if you want to see its millions of white blossoms in bloom, you’ll want to visit in April. Oh, and you can buy cuttings of the tree if you would like a piece of history growing in your own yard.

Remember, when you are visiting Tombstone, and tire of well-rehearsed gunshots, horse manure in the street and overpriced beer from glorified saloons, there are alternatives. There is the lesser known and the much less costly.