Gleeson, ghost town in Cochise County, Arizona
Gleeson is a small community in Cochise County, Arizona, now known as a ghost town. Remains of wooden and brick buildings line the streets, including an old hospital ruin, a store, a saloon, and a jail, while the surrounding hills are dotted with abandoned mine shafts and tailings piles.
The settlement began in the 1890s as Turquoise, named for stones gathered by local Native Americans, before Irish miner John Gleeson opened a copper mine called Copper Belle in 1900. The town grew during World War I when copper was in demand, but declined after 1920 as prices fell and mines closed, with the final post office shutting down in 1939.
The town bears the name of an Irish miner from 1900 and reflects the mining culture that shaped this region. The few residents who still live here preserve the memory of a community built around extracting copper, lead, and silver from the surrounding hills.
Visitors should arrive by car, as Gleeson sits on dusty roads in the hills and walking distances are long. There are no shops, restaurants, or lodging options on site, so it is wise to bring supplies and water from nearby towns like Tombstone.
A major fire in 1912 destroyed many buildings, but residents quickly rebuilt the town. The cemetery with over 50 graves lies west of town on the road to Tombstone, with many headstones lost to time and only silent reminders of those buried there remaining.
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