In 1907, Hotel Gadsden was built in Douglas, Arizona. It is a warm combination of carmel colored marble columns, Tiffany stained glass skylights and murals, shamelessly gilded in Art Nouveau motifs that celebrates the wealth of Bisbee copper and the Douglas smelter.
Cochise County resident Al Garza recruited hundreds of anti-immigrants as the Minuteman Civil Defense Corps, before a string of embarrassing criminal and civil incidents involving co-founder Chris Simcox and other members caused its dissolution.
Where poor people and other lost bones come to rest: Bisbee Memorial Gardens. When skull parts and other disturbing bones were found dumped like trash, the local police determined that no laws had been broken, as poor taste is not a crime.
Lots of imaginative ideas have been floated for Bisbee’s Lavender Pit, from making it a (toxic) lake reservoir, filling it back in with reclaimed dumps, and now enclosing it into a futuristic ‘inverted skyscraper.’
Bisbee, Arizona burns to the ground, on October 14th, 1908. Pictures and text from GenDisasters , posted by Linda Houston.
The Cochise County Fair has always been more important to the rural folks of the county, than any other local event or celebration. Its an election year, so Arizona Governor Jan Brewer will visit the Douglas fairgrounds on Thursday, September 23rd to cut the ribbon and pay tribute to slain Cochise rancher Robert Krentz.
Cochise County Sheriff Larry Dever has won the permission of the Cochise County Board of Supervisors to be represented by attorneys of the Border Sheriffs Project.
The Board unanimously approved his request in a 3-0 vote on 9/2/2010, clearing the way for the Sheriff to raise funds with Pinal County Sheriff, Paul Babeu. The sheriffs are defendants in the current Department of Justice lawsuit challenging Arizona’s controversial immigration law SB1070.
Central School will be renovated soon, thanks to funding from Lowe’s Charitable and Educational Foundation.
