I started out of Southern Arizona
I followed an abandoned railroad track
Trains they used run from Bisbee out to Juarez
But the copper mines are closed and the trains ain't comin' back
This here's the land of stolen ponies
Rattlesnakes and poison water wells
Each god-forsaken mile leads right to heaven
Cus' tryin' to please that woman it was hell(from) The Next Thing Smokin' Tom Russell
Basic Information
Bisbee was founded as a mining town in 1880, and its mines produced copper, silver, and gold. A byproduct of its copper mines was high-quality turquoise, called "Bisbee Blue", which is on display in many museums around the world. Other minerals found here include cuprite, aragonite, wulfenite, malachite, azurite, and galena.
Mining later went into decline and finally stopped in 1975. However local efforts to make the old mines accessible to tourism paid off, and the scenic surroundings led to a rebirth of the town as an artists' colony.
Several ghosts are reputed to haunt the town[1].
Sources
Game and Story Use
- The town sounds like a perfect hideout for modern-day occultists, especially if their magic is tied to crystals somehow. The ghosts and the long history of the town tying to the Old West certainly don't hurt either.
- From time to time, old mines get re-opened: something that paid off in the post WW2 boom might be viable again with modern mining and refining technology … especially when materials prices get as high as they did in 2008. Plenty of space for conflict between artists and mining … not to mention mineral rights becoming relevant again that have probably not been all that well organised since they became worthless.