b'RUBY FAIRBANKThe first Europeans to visit the Ruby area wereRuby reached its population peak in 1938, aFounded in 1881, Fairbank was an important town.Spanish conquistadors in the late 1500s. In the 19thbustling mining camp of 1,200 people. The miningIt had the closest rail station to Tombstone and the century, the region was referred to as Oro Blanco.camp had a nine-bed hospital with a doctor and anearest stagecoach station to Bisbee, making it a Later, as colonists moved west, there was an influxnurse. More than one hundred and fifty childrenvital link between both towns. Fairbank is just one of adventurers, mountain men, ranchers, andwent to a school with eight grades and fourof the many towns located up and down the San miners. The first strike in the Montana vein was inteachers. Ruby had a confectionary, a pool hall,Pedro River, others being Contention, Millville, the late 1870s, and by the turn of the century, thea jail, and the infamous Ruby mercantile, whereand Charleston. Its namesake, Nathaniel K. town of Ruby had become the largest mining campin the early 1920s two double murders occurred.Fairbank (also known as just N.K. Fairbank) was in the area. Ruby was once the largest lead andFor recreation, Ruby had a baseball team and aa well-known Chicago merchant, a stockholder in zinc-producing mine in the state of Arizona. rifle team. Living accommodations included a fewthe railroad, and one of the primary organizers of adobe and wood frame houses, two bunkhouses, athe Grand Central Milling Company. In 1882, the When Arizona became a state in 1912, Montanacouple of boarding houses, and a sea of temporaryNew Mexico & Arizona Railroad was constructed camp opened the Ruby post office, named for thehousing in the form of wood-foundation tents. and linked Fairbank with the Southern Pacific in postmasters wife, whose maiden name was Ruby.Benson as well as Nogales.Gradually the entire camp became known as Ruby.It is just a day trip away from Tucson and four From 1912 to 1926, the Montana mine successfullymiles shy of the border. Their gates are open fromIn 1885, a stage station was opened in Fairbank. transitioned from producing silver and gold to9 am to dusk Thursday through Sunday for self- This stage line ran from Tucson to Tombstone and producing lead and zinc (with some silver). Inguided tours. The $15 per person fee includes amade a stop in Fairbank. In 1887, the Tombstone 1917 and 1918 the Goldfield Consolidated Miningmap of Ruby, a day pass to the ghost town, andmines were flooded and for the most part played Company accomplished the first significant miningaccess to over 350 acres of trails, two lakes, andout. This forced the milling towns around Fairbank of lead and zinc at the Montana. Ruby residents ofincredible biodiversity. Follow the signs for the(Millville & Contention) to shut down. Just 3 that period built most of the adobe buildings thatcaretaker and pay and check in before touringyears later, in September of 1890, the San Pedro stand today in ruin. the town. The museum houses artifacts fromRiver flooded. This caused property damage and mining days, plus photos of what Ruby was likefollowed a drought, but did not take any lives. By when 1,200 people lived near the mine at the1900, Fairbank had a Wells Fargo Office, a meat height of its production. store, a general store, many saloons, a steam-powered mill, and a couple of railroad stations and THE FAIRBANK SCHOOLHOUSE SERVES AS Adepots. This was the peak time for Fairbank and it MUSEUM, GIFT SHOP, AND VISITOR CENTER. reached its maximum population of 100 residents.Its popularity peaked in the 1920s before declining when the nearby mines began to close. Finally abandoned in the 70s, it is the definition of a ghost town, with no residents, just dilapidated buildings remaining. The Bureau of Land Management restored the schoolhouse and stabilized other buildings. The Fairbank Historic Townsite, 10 miles west of Tombstone on Arizona 82, is open daily for self-guided tours. Trails lead to the river and a hilltop cemetery. The schoolhouse, which serves as a museum, gift shop, and visitor center, is open Friday through Sunday from 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. and is manned by knowledgeable volunteers from Friends of the San Pedro River.southernarizonaguide.com24 June 2023'