Queen Mine

During our stay in Bisbee we stayed at the Queen Mine RV park which overlooked the Queen Mine. So of course we had to take a tour of the mine. In almost 100 years of continuous production before the Bisbee mines closed in 1975, the local mines produced metals valued at $6.1 billion (at 1975 price).  This is one of the largest production valuations of all the mining districts in the world.

We were outfitted for our tour with a coat, hardhat, and light.

We were loaded on a mining cart and headed into the mine.

Jim was our tour guide and worked in the mine for 27 years before it closed in 1975.  He was a wealth of information about the mine, the miners and the evolution of the tools used mining. 

He had many stories of practical jokes that the miners played on each other and the supervisors.  Whenever there was a problem or something was missing "Headless John" was the culprit.

Can you see Headless John in the rocks?

If you were a newbie or had an attitude you were given the job of cleaning the "honey pot" which was only cleaned about every 6 weeks.  That job changed your attitude really quickly.

The honey pot.

The tour lasted a little over an hour and was very enjoyable.

Today's 3 Fun Facts:

1. The mining area around Bisbee was discovered by Lt. Dunn in charge of a cavalry detail from Fort Huachuca.
2. The mine has had more than a million visitors from all 50 states and more than 30 foreigh countries.
3. The honey pot did not look very appealing.