Silver Bell is a
ghost town
A ghost town, deserted city, extinct town, or abandoned city is an abandoned settlement, usually one that contains substantial visible remaining buildings and infrastructure such as roads. A town often becomes a ghost town because the economi ...
in the
Silver Bell Mountains in
Pima County
Pima County ( ) is a County (United States), county in the south central region of the U.S. state of Arizona, one of 15 List of counties in Arizona, counties in the state. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 1 ...
,
Arizona
Arizona is a U.S. state, state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States, sharing the Four Corners region of the western United States with Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah. It also borders Nevada to the nort ...
, United States. The name "Silver Bell" refers to a more recent ghost town, which was established in 1954 and abandoned in 1984. The original town, established in 1904, was named "Silverbell" and abandoned in the early 1930s.
Both towns were utilized and later abandoned due to the
mining
Mining is the Resource extraction, extraction of valuable geological materials and minerals from the surface of the Earth. Mining is required to obtain most materials that cannot be grown through agriculture, agricultural processes, or feasib ...
of
copper
Copper is a chemical element; it has symbol Cu (from Latin ) and atomic number 29. It is a soft, malleable, and ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. A freshly exposed surface of pure copper has a pinkish-orang ...
in the area.
According to James E. Sherman's ''Ghost Towns of Arizona,'' Silverbell was "one of the most renowned
mining camps in the
Southwest
The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A '' compass rose'' is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west— ...
," and was also described as "the Hell-hole of Arizona." Today nothing remains of the town other than a cemetery.
Gallery
File:Silverbell_Arizona_Circa_1909_Number_1.jpg, Silverbell, 1909
File:Arizona_Southern_Between_Railroad_Red_Rock_Silverbell_Arizona_Circa_1909.jpg, Another view of Silverbell around 1909.
File:Arizona_Southern_Railroad_Between_Red_Rock_Silverbell_Arizona_Circa_1909.jpg, An Arizona Southern train along the road between Red Rock and the Silver Bell Mine.
File:Silverbell_Mine_Pima_County_Arizona_2014.jpg, View of the Silver Bell Mine from the site of Silver Bell.
File:Silver_Bell_Cemetery_Arizona_2014.jpg, One of the three cemeteries near Silver Bell. Silver Bell Mine tailings can be seen in the background.
File:Ironwood_Forest_National_Monument_Silver_Bell_Cemetery_Arizona_2014.jpg, The Silver Bell Cemetery in Ironwood Forest National Monument.
File:Cultural_Resources_Sign_Ironwood_Forest_National_Monument_Silver_Bell_Cemetery_Arizona_2014.jpg, A Bureau of Land Management
The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is an agency within the United States Department of the Interior responsible for administering federal lands, U.S. federal lands. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., the BLM oversees more than of land, or one ...
cultural resources sign at the Silver Bell Cemetery.
File:Silver_Bell_Arizona_Ruins_2014.jpg, The ruins of a house in Silver Bell.
File:BS&K_Mine_Ruins_Arizona_2014.jpg, Ruins at the BS&K Mine (This was the house of the watchman that was constructed to keep individuals out of the mine).
File:BS&K_Mine_Ruins_Arizona_2014_Number_2.jpg, More ruins at the BS&K Mine.
File:Ruined_car_at_the_BS&K_Mine_with_suicide_doors_Silver_Bell_Arizona_2014.jpg, The remains of a car at the BS&K Mine. Notice the suicide door
A suicide door is an Car door, automobile door hinged at its rear rather than the front. Such doors were originally used on Horse-drawn vehicle, horse-drawn carriages but are rarely found on modern vehicles, primarily because they are less saf ...
s.
File:BS&K_Mine_Shaft_Entrance_Silver_Bell_Arizona_2014.jpg, The entrance to an old adit at the BS&K Mine.
File:BS&K_Mine_Shaft_Silver_Bell_Arizona_2014.jpg, Inside the adit.
File:BS&K_Mine_Shaft_Exit_Silver_Bell_Arizona_2014.jpg, The light at the end of the adit.
See also
*
Copper mining in Arizona
In Arizona, copper mining has been a major industry since the 19th century. In 2007, Arizona was the leading copper-producing state in the country, producing 750 thousand metric tons of copper, valued at $5.54 billion. Arizona's copper pro ...
*
Ironwood Forest National Monument
Ironwood Forest National Monument is located in the Sonoran Desert of Arizona. Created by Bill Clinton by Presidential Proclamation 7320 on June 9, 2000, the monument is managed by the Bureau of Land Management, an agency within the United State ...
*
Silverbell artifacts
References
External links
Silverbell– ghosttowns.com
– Ghost Town of the Month at azghosttowns.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Silver Bell, Arizona
Ghost towns in Arizona
Former populated places in Pima County, Arizona
1904 establishments in Arizona Territory
Populated places established in 1904
History of Pima County, Arizona
Asarco
Cemeteries in Arizona
Company towns in Arizona
Mining communities in Arizona