Nearly Forgotten

Entrance to the Ruby Mine is nearly covered by a minor landslide. Soon the locked gate will be covered and the entrance to the old mine may be forgotten. The mine shaft extended down to a depth of 700 feet with lateral bores going nearly 2000 feet at various levels. Cave-ins have now made the hillside behind the entrance unsafe for walking.

Ruby is a Mining Ghost Town located 50 miles southwest of Tucson and four miles from the Mexican Border. A new Post Office was opened there in 1910.

Small scale mining was done in the area since the late 1870s, however in 1926 the Eagle-Pitcher company began a full scale operation. This led to opening of Company Stores, a School, and Infirmary and a Jail. We can suppose that there were also one or more Saloons. At one time perhaps 1200 people lived in Ruby.

From 1934 ultil closing in 1940 the mine produced $10 million in lead, zinc, and copper plus small amounts of gold and silver.

Now the town is in on the National Register of Historic Places and there are visions of restoring part of the town to its original form.

Today DIGS, our Digital Imaging Group, had a field trip to photograph the town. We also drove on some hilly, primitive roads that we will never see again.