A color postcard of a power plant, circa 1908. The front caption reads: “New Power Plant, Copper Queen. Bisbee, Ariz” The postcard was postmarked Bisbee December 24, 1908 and was sent by Clara M. Liesmann Bx 1873 Bisbee, Ariz to Mrs. Rosa Murrell Tyrone, New Mexico. The message on the back in ink reads: “Dec. 23, 1908 Dear Friend Received package all O.K. Many thanks for same. Olive was delighted. Mrs. Waters received word from England that her mother may die any time I remain your friend Clara”. The postcard was published by the Albertype Company, Brooklyn New York and the Bisbee Drug Company. City of Bisbee Collection.

In 1877, the Copper Queen Mine began with the Jack Dunn’s discover of a blue and green stain on the side of the Mule Mountains that indicated the presence of malachite, azurite and copper. Development of the Copper Queen started in 1880 when Benjamin Williams, Lewis Williams and Judge DeWitt Bisbee purchased a number of mining claims including the Copper Queen. DeWitt Bisbee invested a large amount of money to build the towns first proper smelter. The town was named Bisbee in his honor. The Copper Queen Mine produced 20 million pounds of copper along with 80 thousand tons of malachite, azurite and cuprite. The richest of the copper ore contained 30% copper and it was mined out by 1884. There was a desperate search for another ore body which was struck, the downside was that the same ore body had been found by the Atlanta mine. To avoid legal battles, the Atlanta Mining company and the Copper Queen merged into the Copper Queen Consolidated Mining Company. This was taken as a subsidiary of Phelps Dodge after fifteen years of operation. In 1975, after Phelps Dodge ended mining operations in Bisbee, Mayor Eads and former miners came together to create a mine tour. Today the Copper Queen Mine Tour operates giving visitors a glimpse of the former operations in a small section of the former mine.

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