A black and white postcard of the Copper Queen Hotel and the YWCA. The front caption at the bottom reads: “Copper Queen Hotel and Y. W. C. A. Bisbee, Ariz.” The postcard is unused and was published by the Albertype Company, Brooklyn, New York. Nick Pavlovich Collection.

The Copper Queen Hotel Construction began in 1898 and was opened in February 21, 1902. The hotel was built by the Copper Queen Consolidated Mining Company as a retreat for investors and was designed by the architectural firm Van Vleck and Goldsmith from New York. It was praised for its efficient design for being the most modern hotel in the southwest.The hotel is an example of the Italianate style and among the hotel’s amenities were a buffet, ladies parlor, and barbershop; it was built with forty-four rooms and two dining rooms and the cost of $100,000 (about $3,370,000 in 2021.) Charles Rouser served as a capable manager, he had plenty of experience from previous employment at the Columbia Club in Indianapolis. His stay was brief and Tom Whitehead took over soon after, White transformed the hotel’s dining room into a round-the-clock-cafe. Management was then turned over to Charles Rouser’s son, Edward Rouser until 1906 when he and his newly wed bride were tragically killed in the April 18th earthquake in San Francisco while on their honeymoon. The original building started off with two square towers book-ending the building. In 1940, a third tower was added in the center for the installation of an elevator. Today the Copper Queen Hotel remains open and holds the record for the oldest continually operating hotel in Arizona. - The first Young Women’s Christian Association in Bisbee was housed in the former Williams-Douglas house known locally as the Manager’s house. Lewis Douglas and Ben Williams made additions to the home in the earlier years before James Douglas donated it to the community. It functioned as the first YWCA building for eight years from 1908 to 1916. Band concerts were held in the front yard and pair of Saguaro cactus flanked the stairs that led up the terraced steps to the building. The second YWCA building was built in 1916, it was originally designed three floors and a fourth floor was added in a year later. Along with the YMCA, the YWCA was nicknamed “the Welfare Factories” of Bisbee. Unmarried young women who came to Bisbee could rely on the YWCA for boarding and meals. They offered classes in home economics such as embroidery and sewing. The YWCA had a cafeteria opened to the public for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. For their Girl Reserves, they operated a summer camp in the Huachuca mountains. In the early 1920s the YWCA would often borrow the YMCA The YWCA building is now utilized by Community Y. The Young Women’s Christian Organization or YWCA was founded in London, England in 1855 by Mary Jane Kinnaird and was later merged with Emma Roberts’ Prayer Union in 1877. Like the Young Men’s Christian Organization, the YWCA formed to combat the social problems in urban areas due to industrialization. The organization became global in 1894 with the formation of the World YWCA founded by Great Britain, Norway, Sweden and the United States. The YWCA continues its working, helping with women’s rights, poverty eradication, spreading literacy and aiding refugees among their causes. They maintain members in a hundred countries and maintain an office in Geneva, Switzerland. - The Bessemer Hotel or the Bessemer House was built by Phelps Dodge in and was an example of Queen Anne design. The proprietor was Mrs Mary Crossey who was well known for her catering skills. On August 6th, 1899, plans were submitted for additions to the Bessemer hotel. Six years after it opened, the Hotel shuttered and Mary Crossey moved on to work in the Angius hotel. The building was demolished to make way for the new dispensary building for the Copper Queen Hospital.

1981.38.230