Lazy J Bar C

Lazy J Bar C

Thursday, May 31, 2012

Pearce - Historic Mining Town


The town of Pearce was discovered by and named after Cornishman, James Pearce, miner and cattleman, in 1894. Pearce and his wife had originally been in Tombstone where Pearce was a hard rock miner and Mrs. Pearce managed a boarding house for miners.


The Pearce family started the Commonwealth mine.....said to be one of the richest mines ever found in Arizona, producing over fifteen million dollars in gold.


Seemingly overnight, the town of Pearce sprang up.  The General Store was built in 1896 and the Post office was established on March 6, 1896.  The railroad station opened in 1903. The community that grew up around the mine rapidly became a fair-sized city with some of the families and businesses moving their homes and businesses (literally) from Tombstone to the "new" boom town.


The mine was operated until 1904 when a cave-in caused it to shut down.  In the late 1890's, besides its mining activities, Pearce became a rip-roaring cowboy town.
By 1919, Pearce had a population of 1,500, a school, restaurants, boarding houses, saloons, hotels, a motion picture theater, and other businesses.


People began drifting away in the 1930s as the Great Depression took its toll and the railroad pulled up its tracks. Today only a store or two remains.


Information taken from the Arizona Ghost Town Trails website. Linking up with Nancy and Lisa for Rural Thursday.

12 comments:

Lisa @ Two Bears Farm said...

Thanks for sharing all the pics - I loved touring the ghost town!

Buttons Thoughts said...

Oh I love this history and your shots are awesome. I would love to visit this little town. B

TexWisGirl said...

really cool history and ruins. much rather see the 'old' towns in ruins rather than the cities of today...

Susan said...

Fascinating! I would LOVE to meander over that little town.

Michelle said...

Thanks for the tour. I have a soft spot for old ghost towns. I love exploring them

Anonymous said...

This is so fascinating! Great pictures.

Unknown said...

Nice shots!!!

Kathy Felsted Usher said...

I am constantly amazed at how many rustic and beautiful things you find to post about.

Nancy said...

So interesting... I'm looking forward to Ken Burns' doc on the Dustbowl years in September on PBS. Your photos remind me of that time.

Jess Schira said...

I'm so jealous. I love touring ghost town and dilapidated pictures. Great pictures and fascinating information.

Marigold said...

You have the coolest places to visit! I would so love to have that big stand of cactus!!!

A Colorful World said...

OK, I have determined that this issue is definitely my computer...even though AVG says there are no viruses or anything. So, I may be trading this one in for a better one! Yes, that 6th statue was a coatamundi...I should have labeled them! I will have to come back and look at your posts later when I can! Sorry!