Ghost town of Fairbank, AZ

We visited Fairbank, AZ a ghost town about 4 miles from our winter home, as well we visited Tombstone, AZ.
Fairbank was founded in the 1880s, the town was named after Chicago investor Nathaniel Kellogg Fairbank, who provided funds to open the silver mines in nearby Tombstone. On February 15, 1900, it was the scene of a gunfight between lawman Jeff Davis Milton and members of the Burt Alvord gang, resulting in gang member "Three Fingered Jack" Dunlop being killed, and both Milton and gang member Bravo Juan Yaos being wounded, and the gangs attempt at a train robbery being thwarted. [1]
During Fairbank's short heyday the town was home to a post office, mills, several rail lines, a school and a hotel. By 1970 almost nothing was left at Fairbank. All roads but the main street were lost under thick scrub growth. The last few residents were evicted when the buildings were declared unsafe. An effort to preserve the remains of Fairbank has been only partially successful. Eight buildings remain at the site, but several are in extremely poor condition. The largest remaining structure, a hotel, collapsed in 2004.

The remaining structures at Fairbank include:

A small schoolhouse made of stone. This is one of the most well-preserved buildings in Fairbank, although there is cracking in several places.

Two wooden houses at the north end of the town and a wooden outhouse.

An adobe building, site of the hotel. This structure recently collapsed.

Two buildings attached to the north side of the hotel. These are in immediate danger of collapse.
A corral, including old fences, south of the highway.

Ruins of a windmill, south of the highway.

Various nearly unrecognizable ruins, including two houses hidden in jungle-like growth east of the main buildings, and a structure to the south of the hotel.

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If you want to read more information about Fairbank, AZ click on the link below:www.legendsofamerica.com/AZ-Fairbank.html

The school house and a house.











The Schoolhouse is a small museum, with a model of the town as it was in it's heyday.









A room in the school has been preserved, glass display cases contain old text books and various historic items.

The old house below is left of the school.

This old house is closed, a sign warns to stay clear due to snake infestation and is in danger of colapse.

This is part of the street to the right of the schoolhouse, it was a general store with gas pumps, the yellow sign is a warning and informational. The whole area is owned by the Bureau of Land Management.

It is both interesting and sad to see how quickly a town, which was a major hub in the late 1800’s for miners and others heading to Tombstone, moving ore with three different railroads, stagecoach route and sitting on the banks of the San Pedro River become a ghost town. There are many such towns in this area and we will visit some others while here.