A black and white photo postcard taken in front of the Bessemer House which a part of can be seen in background. This was taken after the flood of 1908 and is dated August 25, 1908. The front caption in white at the bottom reads: “WHERE THE HORSES WERE LOST AUG. 25-TH’08,” The postcard was unused, and the publisher is unknown. Charles Pickerell Collection.

Mining operations in Bisbee made the surrounding area vulnerable to flooding. When the Copper Queen smelter was an operation, every tree and shrub on the Mule Mountains was cut down for fuel. As a result, there was nothing to hold back dirt and debris from being knocked loose by the torrents of water from the monsoon rains. The first of Bisbee's major floods hit in 1890 and swept away wagons, horses, and burros. Two men, Al Stephens and Eddie Mills, lost their lives in the flood when the water tore away the ground underneath their home; the structure collapsed and they were dragged away . Another man, Lewis Williams, was also swept away, but managed to survive. After the waters receded, J. B. Angius took his delivery wagon and gave rides to the camp's stranded children so they could return home without having to navigate the flood debris. On July 22, 1910, a cloud burst over Brewery Gulch and Dubaker canyon caused another major flood. Two people died. Mrs.Barker, who ran a candy and tobacco stand, and Dan Murphy, who was with his brother Bill Murphy at the time. The flood water broke apart concrete and slammed the pieces into the side of the Murphy's home. Bill was knocked into safety of a nearby tree while Dan was swept away and drowned. A young boy had leapt onto the back of a delivery horse in an attempt to escape, but both were swept away. Two men with a rope managed to recover the child. At the end of the flood, two people were dead, six others were reported missing, and the amount of damages done to homes and businesses amounted to $150,000 (about $4,488,000 in 2021). Later on, retraining walls were added to protect Bisbee's homes from collapse and the concrete lined subway was built in a former creek bed to manage future flood waters.

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