Fairbank Ghost Town

Another one of the Cochise County ghost towns is Fairbank.  There's a small bookshop maintained on site, but everything else is vacant.  The town was a pretty big shipping point for the area, but since it was on an old Spanish Land Grant, the owners came in and kicked everybody off.  Most of the residents tore down their houses in protest.  I can't remember much of the story, but it's one of those random events in the life and death of small towns. 

The old schoolhouse is what is now the bookstore.  Sometimes there are guided tours, but we didn't make it out to one of those.  We just gave ourselves a tour and wandered around.  The railroad tracks that used to go through here are all torn up and gone. 

This used to be a gas station, but now is fenced off.

After wandering around the buildings, we walked down a trail to the old cemetery.  It's a lonely place out here on a desert hillside.  It looks all brown and barren in the winter, but when the monsoon rains come it gets very green.

I liked the old trail through the mesquite in the riverbottom.  It's a place that you don't need to hurry through, you just meander on through as if you don't have anywhere better to be.

Nearest City: Whetstone, AZ
Location: N° W° East on Highway 82, cross the San Pedro River, then pull off on the North side parking area.
Time Needed: 2 hours
Difficulty: Easy
Kid Friendly: Mostly.  There is some broken glass in the area.
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