Location: |
473 N Dart Rd, Bisbee, AZ 85603.
In Bisbee, southeast of Tucson. From Tucson I10 east, exit onto Arizona 80 past Benson, to Bisbee. Prior to entering Bisbee take the second exit after the tunnel. Turn right, up the hill. (31.440023, -109.912398) |
Open: |
Queen Mine:
All year daily 9, 10:30, 12, 14, 15:30. Check in 30 minutes before tour starts. Bisbee Mining & Historical Museum: All year daily 10-16. Closed 01-JAN, Thanksgiving, 25-DEC. [2023] |
Fee: |
Queen Mine:
Adults USD 14, Children (6-12) USD 6.50. Bisbee Mining & Historical Museum: Adults USD 10, Children (0-9) free, Seniors (60+) USD 9, Military USD 9. [2023] |
Classification: | Copper Mine Replica Underground Mine |
Light: | Incandescent |
Dimension: | T=8 °C. |
Guided tours: |
Queen Mine:
D=75 min, St=32, L=100 m (walking), 500 m (train ride), MinAge=6. V=50,000/a. |
Photography: | |
Accessibility: | no |
Bibliography: | |
Address: |
Queen Mine Tour, 473 N Dart Rd, Bisbee, AZ 85603, Tel: +1-520-432-2071, Free: +1-866-432-2071.
E-mail:
Bisbee Mining & Historical Museum, No. 5 Copper Queen Plaza, Bisbee, Arizona 85603, Tel: +1-520-432-7071-1. |
As far as we know this information was accurate when it was published (see years in brackets), but may have changed since then. Please check rates and details directly with the companies in question if you need more recent info. |
1875 | Hugh Jones discovers copper, but leaves, disappointed that it's not silver. |
1877 | Army scout Lt. Jack Dunn finds ore, Queen Mine opened by George Warren. |
1880 | Bisbee founded as a mining camp and Queen Mine purchased by DeWitt Bisbee from San Fransisco. |
mid–1970s | closed when Phelps Dodge discontinued mining operations in Bisbee. |
01-FEB-1976 | opened as a show mine. |
Queen Mine Tour shows a closed copper mine. The visitors are equipped with helmets and raincoats, then they enter the mine on a mine train. Every visitor has to take a token, and return it when he leaves the mine. So, in case of a mine accident, the rescuers would know how many people are still inside the mine. This system was used when the mine was in operation.
500 m inside the mountain, on a round trip the historic mine and its equipment are shown. Tours are stil conducted by miners who worked in the mine before it closed. If asked, they sometimes tell their own stories and personal experiences. Chuck Eads, Bisbee's mayor in the seventies, established the mine tour to keep miners employed.
The underground mine tour is completed by a surface tour. The gigantic Lavender Pit strip mine and the Historic District of Bisbee are shown. The history starts when Army scout Jack Dunn found ore in 1877. He was not allowed to leave his post, so he traded his find to George Warren. Warren was obviously someone from a cowboy movie. He founded Queen mine and started mining, but he lost his claim in a horse race. Soon after the mine was purchased by the investor DeWitt Bisbee from San Fransisco. He founded a miners camp and intensified mining. The camp soon was named after him, although he never personally visited the place. A few years ago Queen Mine offered a surface tour by van which was called Lavender Pit Tour. This tour is not offered at the moment. We nevertheless recommend to visit the Lavender Pit Outlook, which is located at the highway 80 east of the town. It offers a great view into the huge open cast mine.
Bisbee is today a small mining town, but once it was one of the largest cities west of the Mississippi. In a century of mining activities four million tons of copper, 3,000 tons of silver, and 90 tons of gold were mined. Typical are two-storey houses, narrow streets leaving room for only one car, and the word copper in the names of hotels, restaurants, shops, and streets.
Another mining related sight is the Bisbee Mining & Historical Museum. It has extensive historical collections like books, documents and photographs. The minerals exhibition is said to be worth $6 million. By coincidence, it is located at No. 5 Copper Queen Plaza. There are mine dioramas with scenes of mining, speleothems and much more, it's almost a mine replica.