Cochise County
Courtland
Once home to over 2,000 residents, this boom-to-bust copper town played out by 1938.
Courtland is a former copper mining boom town located fifteen miles east of Tombstone in southern Arizona. In true “boom to bust” fashion, the population of Courtland exploded nearly overnight when riches were found, swelling the town to over 2,000 people. Just two decades later, it was a ghost town, and all the structures, railroads, and mines would be left completely abandoned.
The immediate area around Courtland was first worked by Native Americans, including the Hohokam, who found the turquoise in the upper reaches of the hills to be valuable. By 1890, with the boom of nearby towns of Tombstone and Bisbee, the area surrounding Courtland attracted prospective miners. Some claims were established and the area was called Leadville or North Turquoise at first. In 1899, claims were purchased by the Young brothers from Iowa, who the next year formed the Great Western Copper Company.
The town jail, built in 1909, is one of the few remaining structures in Courtland.
The Great Western operated a couple of mines, and sold a million dollars in stocks, but progress was slow for the time being. By 1908, rich copper veins were discovered, and virtually overnight, the town exploded with growth. Leadville became a tent-city, and eventually, the Great Western Copper Company dedicated a piece of land to develop a “real” town, to be named after Courtland Young, one of the brothers who owned the company. Surveyors were brought in and streets were cut into the desert.
In February 1909, the newly found Courtland was opened to investors to buy lots, and an alleged 100 people lined up the night before to get their pick. By March, a post office had been established and around 2,000 people called the town home. With the mining success came two separate railroads, the Mexico & Colorado (owned by the El Paso & Southwestern) and the Arizona & Colorado (owned by the Southern Pacific). Reliable water for mining efforts and residents became an issue, however the Courtland Water & Ice Company was soon established and ran 5 miles of water mains to supply the town – some of which is still visible in the middle of the dirt road today. At its height, Courtland had a movie theater, baseball field, coal fired power plant, weekly newspaper, impressive jail (which I’ll talk about later), a school, all kinds of stores, and even a car dealership.
Courtland at one point was so successful that it was considered for the new Cochise County seat. However, it was never officially incorporated and lacked a city council or town hall, making it ineligible. Starting in 1917, the area was hit with a trio of crippling events. Most notably, the mines, which had been rich with copper thus far, began to hit a layer of limestone several hundred feet into the shafts. This spelled financial disaster, and the onset of World War I, and the Spanish Flu Pandemic beginning in Fall of 1918 hit the area and workforce hard. By 1921, the mass exodus out of the now played out town had left Courtland nearly completely abandoned.
An aerial view of Courtland today. This would have been the downtown area.
Nearly the same view as the image above, shows just how little remains today.
Inside one of the two 14’x14’ cells that remain in the old jail.
While the mining had mostly fizzled out, the area remained a supply center for homesteaders in the area. In 1938, both railroads stopped train service to Courtland and the tracks were pulled up. The jail was closed, and the post office shut down in 1942, bringing Courtland’s relatively short but prosperous life to an end. While other mining efforts were made in the decades since, none so far have matched the initial success.
Today, an image taken approximately over the Courtland main street shows just how little remains from the heyday. Most of the buildings were repurposed elsewhere or reclaimed by the desert in the years since. A few sidewalks and outlines of former buildings remain just off the present day dirt road. The town jail, and large rock house, and a few other foundations remain in the best shape.
At first, the town jail was an unused mining tunnel with a wooden door. However, after an inmate piled his bedding and tried to burn his way out, only to be rescued by Sheriff John Bright the next morning, a proper jail was needed. A $1000 contract to build a new structure was awarded (worth about $30,000 today) and construction began in April of 1909. By July, the new jail opened, and featured 10” thick walls, two 14x14’ cells – each with their own toilet and sink area, as well as a front entryway. Much of the equipment for the Courtland jail came from the old jail in Bisbee.
The fancy new jail quickly became a local attraction. Since the living conditions of the jail were nicer than the shacks and tents many of the miners lived in, it wasn’t uncommon for them to commit petty crimes to spend the night in what affectionately became known as the “Bright Hotel”, named for deputy and constable at the time, Sheriff John Bright. In 1910, an identical copy of the building was used in the Gleeson jail just down the road. While the Courtland jail was largely unused after 1916, it remained open until 1938 and eventually its components were repurposed in the new Benson Jail. Today, the jail remains in surprisingly good shape for being over 100 years old. The cement walls are largely intact, with several of the barred windows still present.
Just down the road, a few more structures, in not quite as good of shape remain. A large building, known as the rock house – named not for its impressive masonry work, but rather the last name of the owner, sits crumbling today. The building was used as a sort of general store. The rock house sits not far off one of the old rail lines, and several other structures and foundations remain visible further off the road. The hill, with several tailings visible, is where most of the mining success was found. An impressive leaching structure remains as well – where the ore would have been further refined before being sent off.
Across the road, another structure remains – allegedly used as a boarding house at one point. Today, the mix of rock work and cement walls remain in a suspended state of decay. It’s amazing how just a few structures remain out of the hundreds that would have dominated this area during its heyday.
Between 1909 and 1930, about 50-100 people from Courtland were buried in this quaint cemetery, overlooking the Sulphur Springs Valley just outside of town. The cemetery features all kinds of residents who died from mining accidents, murders, or Spanish Flu. Pneumonia, was one of the leading causes of death in Courtland, due to the dirty air from coal fired trains, power plants, and life in the mines. One of the most notable residents was Simon Franklin. Born a slave, Franklin was a Buffalo Soldier who served in the Civil War. After the war, he enlisted in the army, where he became a sharpshooter and served in the cavalry until his retirement in 1892. He moved to Courtland to ranch and homestead, and became known as “Uncle Simon” to many of the town residents. His funeral was the largest in Courtland’s history, with a military escort and gun salute at the service.
A memorial plaque at the Courtland Cemetery outside of town featuring those buried on site.
The cemetery was neglected and vandalized as it fell into disrepair after Courtland was abandoned. Recent work and maintenance helped clear vegetation in the area and redo some of the old headstones. A LIDAR mission was even flown overhead, to help determine the actual number of graves on site. Today, the cemetery remains a quiet place to reflect on the life and the people that once occupied Courtland.
Courtland remains as well preserved as is possible today. The current owner is working on acquiring National Historic Status for the townsite. Modern day mining companies are still actively pursuing copper in the area, however, hopefully the historic status can be preserved for future generations. And what has already been done is an excellent start. If you’re in the area, a stop and tour of Courtland is absolutely worth the time and effort. From Tombstone, follow Gleeson Road east out of town. After 15 miles, and past the town of Gleeson, turn left onto the unpaved Ghost Town Trail and follow it north. After 2.7 miles, continue left onto Courtland Road. The road remains an easy, maintained dirt road for the next 1.4 miles as the remnants of Courtland will be visible on both sides of the road.
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Coming soon