Bisbee Mining & Historical Museum

10/05/2026

A belated post from the Club's September 10th meeting, when our members had a treat: we got to hear from BWC community grant winner Amanda Hetro, Collections Manager at the Bisbee Mining & Historical Museum. She shared her excitement about the project to digitize the photos of Art Blunt; a name Bisbee veterans will surely recognize.
Art graduated from BHS in 1937 after arriving two years earlier with his dad from Oklahoma, escapees from the Dust Bowl. He began working for Bisbee photographer John Ball and eventually owned the business, running a photography studio at 40 Main for more than 30 years.
Art covered weddings, funerals, school sports, holy communion at Sacred Heart and St. Patrick's churches, the El Rancho Shopping Center and late 1950s homes in San Jose, and also landscapes, including the Lavender Pit and the Lowell traffic circle (aka the Bisbee Roundabout) in the late 1940s. Art’s photos are a window to Bisbee’s early days, frozen in time but soon to be accessible to all.
Digitized photos can easily be searched on the Museum's website and can even be printed for a fee. The photo archive is indexed and a lot of fun to poke through, whether looking for a relative or a topic from Bisbee’s beginnings. Go here to get started: https://bisbeemuseum.org/photo-collection/
The Bisbee Woman’s Club’s Community Grants program uses proceeds from our November fundraiser to further the good work of individuals and groups who are striving to make Bisbee a more vibrant place. The grant cycle is usually opened in February, and winners are announced in May – follow this page to learn more!
Pictured are Jeanne Tillemans, club Vice President, Amanda Hetro, and Margot Walker, club Recording Secretary.

09/19/2026

09/19/2026

Join us Saturday, September 19 at 11:00 am for the free online program, “The Mines and Minerals of the Clifton-Morenci (Copper Mountain) Mining District, Greenlee County, Arizona with Arizona State Mine Inspector Les Presmyk.

The Clifton-Morenci area is the second oldest copper mining area in the Arizona Territory. For the first 70 years, all of the copper production was accomplished from underground mines. Then, in the 1940s, Phelps-Dodge made the decision to go to an open-pit operation. Today, under the leadership of Freeport-McMoRan Copper and Gold, Inc., the Morenci mine is one of the largest and most profitable copper mines in the world. The Morenci mines have also produced significant quantities of fine specimens of a number of copper minerals from the earliest underground mining to various areas of the open pit mine. To register or for more information, visit: To register or for more information, visit: https://tinyurl.com/BisbeeOnline09192026

09/10/2026

Vintage Turquoise Jewelry Show and Sale
Included with Museum Admission for the General Public or Free with your Museum Membership
Friday-Saturday, September 18-19, 2026, 10:00 am-4:00 pm

Visit the Bisbee Mining & Historical Museum on Friday, September 18, through Saturday, September 19, from 10:00 am until 4:00 pm for a Vintage Turquoise Jewelry Show and Sale. The sale will feature one-of-a-kind antique Native American jewelry, ranging from earrings to squash blossom necklaces. Don’t miss this opportunity to find a unique gift for someone special in your life or to treat yourself to an exceptional piece of jewelry. This special event is included with regular Museum admission.

08/28/2026

08/11/2026

Join us Saturday, August 15 at 11:00 am for the free online program, “Lake Superior Copper Kings: The Story of the Calumet & Arizona Mining Company” with Mike Anderson. Although Phelps Dodge was the dominant mining company during Bisbee's early days, another major copper producer entered the Warren Mining District during the first years of the 20th century. Historian Mike Anderson will tell the story of the Calumet & Arizona Mining Company, which started life in Michigan's Upper Peninsula and had a powerful impact on copper mining in Bisbee and other parts of southern Arizona. To register or for more information, visit: https://tinyurl.com/BisbeeOnline081526

Photo: A view of the Irish Mag Mine at Bisbee, circa 1905.

07/20/2026

Join us Saturday, July 25, at 11:00 am for the free online program, “Bisbee Walls – Past and Present,” with Colleen Crowlie. Most towns are not built in a steep canyon, but Bisbee was because thousands of miners needed to be close enough to walk to work. The walls erected around homes and properties are a prime example of the miners' ingenuity. Even still, Bisbee’s present-day walls show that same level of craftsmanship. During her presentation, Colleen Crowlie, co-author of “Bisbee Walls—Past and Present,” will share the story of Bisbee’s walls, which make the town unique. To register or for more information, visit: https://tinyurl.com/BisbeeOnline07252026

Photo: Majorie Nolan leaning against a rock wall in Bisbee, circa 1929.

07/12/2026

The headline of the July 12, 1917, issue of the Bisbee Daily Review read, “ALL WOMEN AND CHILDREN KEEP OFF STREETS TODAY.” That morning, approximately 2,000 armed men went door-to-door in Bisbee seeking men who were believed to be either mine strikers affiliated with the Industrial Workers of the World or union sympathizers. The armed posse gathered 2,000 men and marched them to the Warren Ballpark, where they were planned to be loaded on a New Mexico-bound train. Once at the Ballpark, each man was asked if they would return to work. Those who responded positively were allowed to return home, and those who replied no were loaded into one of the train’s cattle cars. Of the 2,000 men rounded up that summer morning, 1,186 were deported. The deportees ultimately ended up in Columbus, New Mexico, where US military officials cared for them after the train left the deportees in the desert. The actions taken by the armed posse are known in history as the Bisbee Deportation. The event is unquestionably the darkest day in Bisbee's past.

Image: Strikers and union supporters being forcibly loaded into train cars at the Warren Ballpark.

07/02/2026

Be sure to make a stop at the Bisbee Mining & Historical Museum part of your Fourth of July plans! The Museum is open every day from 10:00 am until 4:00 pm, including the Fourth of July holiday.

Photo: Art Carabeo participating in the Hand Drilling Contest in Brewery Gulch, July 4, 1976. Photo by Peter Kresan.

06/05/2026

Are you a Bisbee or Naco resident and looking for something fun to do with your family during June? This year, the Bisbee Mining & Historical Museum has designated June to invite Bisbee and Naco residents to visit the Museum free of charge. Simply flash your driver’s license showing your residency to experience the fun of discovering history at the Bisbee Mining & Historical Museum! Located in the heart of Bisbee’s Historic District, the Museum is open every day, from 10:00 am until 4:00 pm.