Bisbee, city in southeastern Arizona. The seat of Cochise County, Bisbee is located about 40 km (about 25 mi) south of Tombstone and about 11 km (about 7 mi) north of the Mexican border. It sits in Mule Gulch in the Mule Mountains. Bisbee became an important copper mining town in the late 1800s. Its colorful history, charming streets and buildings, natural scenery, and pleasant climate make it a popular retirement and tourist area today. The Lavender Pit, a huge open-pit copper mine that is now inactive, is a major attraction. An international airport is located about 35 km (about 22 mi) to the southeast. The Coronado National Memorial, commemorating the expedition of Spanish conquistador Francisco Coronado in the region in the early 1540s, is nearby.
Prospector Hugh Jones first discovered copper in Bisbee in 1875. Bisbee's Copper Queen mine, claimed in 1878, eventually became the richest copper mine in Arizona history. After the Phelps Dodge Corporation began mining operations in the 1880s, Bisbee quickly became famous for its wealth and sophistication as well as for its brothels, bars, and gambling halls. It was incorporated as a city in 1902. In 1917 a dispute between miners and management led to the “Bisbee Deportation,” in which more than 1100 miners were forcibly removed to the New Mexico desert. The Copper Queen mine closed in the 1960s when its ores were depleted. The city was named in 1880 for Dewitt Bisbee, a lawyer who helped finance the Copper Queen. Population 7,154 (1980); 6,288 (1990); 6,090 (2000).Microsoft® Encarta® Online Encyclopedia 2001
http://encarta.msn.com © 1997-2001 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved. Bisbee Information info
Find out your Home's Value - Homes for Half Price
|
