TOMBSTONE

GHOST TOWN TRAIL

WORKSHOP

APRIL 29, 2006 

The workshop crew met at the Safeway parking lot in Benson, AZ.  We all formed a caravan line and headed east towards the Old Ghost Town Trail.

First stop was Dragoon and the Butterfield Stage Station.  Traveling through AZ prior to the Civil War, the Butterfield Overland Stage went from spring to spring to water the horses, mules and men. One of these springs, in Dragoon, was also the burying place of Confederate soldiers that were killed in battle within the boundaries of what is now Arizona.  There is a plaque that marks the springs and the graves and tells the story of the men buried there. The group found this to be an awe-inspiring location and we tried to record EVP at the gravesites.

 Photo's by Tamara

We drove on to Pearce, which was the site of one of the richest gold strikes ever found in Arizona. It was also the headquarters of the Alvord/Stiles gang who robbed the Southern Pacific Railroad train in 1899.  The mining camp has the original store and post office and is considered a semi ghost town since there are still residents making their home there.

We took a detour and headed further east to Johnny Ringo’s gravesite.  It is located on private land, but accessible with the owner’s permission.

 Photo's By Debe

Back on the Ghost Town Trail we made our next stop at Courtland.  Courtland was a copper mining camp, which boasted a population of 2,000 in 1910.  A few rock buildings remain including the jail. 

Four miles further down the road you come to another semi-ghost town called Gleeson.  Ruins of the old Gleeson School, Hospital, and Jail (almost identical to the jail in Courtland) remain behind. This camp once a very busy copper mining town.  We also stopped at the Gleeson Cemetery just west of the town.

We arrived in Tombstone tired, dusty, and thirsty!  We all checked into various hotels, motels and B & B’s.  Time for a quick shower and power nap before the evening activities were to begin! The MVD Ghostchasers kept base at the Victorian Gardens B & B.

We all met for dinner at Nellie Cashman’s Restaurant to socialize and plan the evening agenda.

 Some chose to drive out to the real Tombstone Cemetery.  We were able to photograph many Tombstone pioneers in their final resting place.  Orbs and floating balls of lights have been photographed in this historic graveyard!

We did an after hours investigation at Nellie Cashman’s once they were closed down for the night.  Many of the workshop guests showed up for the silent vigil in the darkened dining room.  Only the sounds of cameras snapping photos could be heard.  The ghost of Nellie has been seen in the small room tending to her ghostly dining guests.  

Later we were invited to do an after hours investigation at Big Nose Kate’s Saloon.  A smaller group of investigators arrived as it was getting late into the night.  We enjoyed listening to the staff unfold their own personal stories of the shadows and footsteps they have heard as they do the regular clean up at the end of the night.  They showed us where they had encountered ghosts and took us down the original staircase that was part of the Grand Hotel. They invited us back to do an overnight investigation in the future. 

Several of us remained on Allen Street until the wee hours of the morning filming outside at the Bird Cage Theatre. (The owner gave everyone free passes to explore the facility on their own the following day!)  Others walked the streets of Tombstone searching for the spirit of Virgil Earp seen outside of the Oriental Saloon. Others headed back for the old Cemetery.

Debe could see down into the courtyard of the old Courthouse from her room at the Inn and did some night vision filming of the grounds—as well as filming in the hallway of the Victorian B &B where a young girl has been heard and seen.

In the morning, we met after breakfast to discuss the evening’s activity.  The complimentary Bird Cage Theatre tickets were handed out to the guests for their daytime investigation.  Later that morning we packed up our gear, and left the old west to head back to the big city.