Fairbank Arizona, a brief town

 

This walk was a step outside of my comfort zone. Deserts are hot and dry, not my usual habitat. But putting feet on the ground puts perspective on a place and a time that cannot be done in a book or a photo. Seek out these small walks that take you to a different time, a different way of living.

Fairbank Arizona is a ghost town that has been preserved in it’s process of decay. The best history of the place I could find is at https://www.legendsofamerica.com/az-fairbank/.  It is interesting to see a place that actually exists and compare it to how Hollywood has rewritten history. Your walk here will give you the feel of how gritty it was to live here 100 years ago. The movie Second Time Around starring Debbie Reynolds is a lovely bit of Hollywood fluff, but only touches on what life here was like. The town of Charleyville was clearly modeled on this and other similar towns. Watch the film on YouTube after you have visited for the comparison, but don't spoil  your trip by viewing it before.

Note on the trail: The pathways within the town are graded, maintained, and partially paved. Handicap parking and a bathroom are available at the very end of the driveway. The mile plus trail to the cemetery is not paved, and is subject to what ever the rains want to do to it. The path up to the cemetery was challenging and not wheelchair friendly. This is a good trail for people of differing walk ability as there is a lovely bench about halfway along. 

One of the things about walking is to understand where you are walking. Remember this is a desert. Bring water, walk early in the day, wear a hat, and BRING WATER. Make sure to always have water with you when you are in the desert. There is no water on site. 

Fairbank was not much of a town until 1881 when the railroad came. The town was a crossroads for the railroad and the Butterfield Overland Stage Coach. It even had a Wells Fargo office. It was devastated by a flood in 1890, when the San Pedro River did what all rivers in the desert do occasionally. The town was no sleepy backwater. Its history includes a shoot out during a train robbery!

What the town did not survive was the closing of the mines in Tombstone in 1886. For a while Fairbank continued to be a social hub. A lot to build a home cost $50-$100. But what that report didn't say is who was selling the land. In 1901, the Boquillas Land and Cattle Company, re exerted the original land grant. I wonder how many small land holders lost their homes with that land grab. The school burned down in 1920, but was rebuilt and classes were held till 1944. The post office gave up the ghost in 1970s, and the store held out a few years longer. In 1987, the Bureau of Land Management took over the preservation and maintenance of the site.

Most of the photos here are from the walk that Ysabet hosted for the Skwrls and me in April 2021.

The first leg of our walk was up the path to the river. Note the path damage done by the river, so plan on the possibility of a couple of steps up on the path. Bits of the past litter the area. Please take only photos.

DO NOT TAKE ANYTHING from this site. It is protected for all of us to enjoy. 

You will see the remains of mining equipment, blacksmithing, trains, and telephone poles.

This is a riparian habitat. That means there is a water source nearby. There are trees that have deep roots to access the water underground. The ground is sandy.

You may or may not see animals on your walk. They tend to stay away from humans, but you can see where they leave trace. This is a bird nesting site. We did not get too close because any human contact will scare away parent birds. Be always aware that this is rattlesnake country.  They won't seek you out, but if you crowd or surprise them they will bite. Stay on the trail.

There is one lovely bench, almost at the turn off to go up to the cemetery. Sit for a moment. You can smell the river from here. The air even feels moister, softer here near the river.

The turn onto path to the cemetery is at about .5 mile. We turned to the right, up the hill. From here there will be loose gravel and a steep climb in full sun. If you are beginning to fade, skip this part of the walk and go back to the bench.

Once you leave the main path you leave the riparian area. No shade trees, and fewer plants of any kind. This is the time to start looking at the rocks. The alluvial layers are rich with rock brought down from all of the mountains around here.

Once you have reached the cemetery there is a bench. This is a zone where the human desire to be remembered clashes with the desert’s habit of erasing all signs of what came before.

This is no tidy churchyard. The plots are melting into the hill. When you look around, remember that everything up hear had to be carried up that walk you just came up. Each of these plots are a testament to love. 

You are on top of a knoll. Up here you can look 360º. 

Once you have come down from the cemetery, you can head back to the town, or go to the right towards the river. I admit it, I am a wuss when it comes to heat, and dry. I went back to the town.

Once you have done your walking tour, head into Tombstone for some barbecue, or head to Bisbee. No, Bisbee will take you a whole day, or more.