The old west has a rich history .... of Ghost Towns.  We would like to introduce you to the ones that reside in Cochise County, Arizona.  Located in Southeast Arizona .... the heart of the Chiricahua Apache homeland, the people that populated these towns were as diverse as the lands they lived in.

The actual "Ghost Town Trail" consists of the towns of Pearce, Courtland and Gleeson.  However, we have included any and all information that we have found for any ghost towns that were located in Cochise County. Arizona has a rich mineral history and mines abounded here, some successful and others just holes in the ground.  The miners were so taken with obtaining the minerals that they found that they would do anything to obtain them, even to losing there lives.

Some of the towns listed here are not technically "ghost towns" but they almost were at one time or another, mainly due to the closure of the mines in the areas, which is why much of Arizona was settled.

The Overland Stage Route once spanned 2,525 miles from Tipton, Mo., to San Francisco.  The 432 mile Arizona section had 18 stops that were from 17 to 45 miles apart.  The stages averaged about five miles an hour on the trip, with two stages making the run each way weekly.  The most northern part of the Arizona line was at Maricopa Wells and the trail left Arizona to the west of Yuma. 

The line was operated by young men.  The 1860 census of the Territory of New Mexico, County of Arizona, showed most drivers, mail agents and conductors were in their 30's, only a few were older.  Horses and occasionally mules were used to pull the stages.  In the operation of the mail, 111 Americans and 57 Mexicans met violent deaths in sending the mail and passengers through.  The line closed with the outbreak of the Civil War.  The route ran through secessionist territory and schedules were cancelled.

Old Pearce Store - Pearce, Arizona

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