Original digital photograph - the Gleeson Saloon Poster

This original photograph was taken in the ghost town of Gleeson on October of 2013. Gleeson (Turquoise) and the hills on the Southside of Dragoon Mountains were mined for many years by Indians for the decorative turquoise. These stones became a crucial part of trade and were used in decorative turquoise jewelry and art. When the white man came to the area, they found copper, lead and silver, but they kept the name of the camp - Turquoise. The town got a post office in 1890, but the mines closed and the town was abandoned after Jimmie Pearce found the gold by Commonwealth lot in 1894. In 1900 one Irish miner from Pearce, John Gleeson, searched the Turquoise area and registered the lot by the name Copper Belle mine. Other mines by the name of Silver Belle, Brother Jonathan, Pejon and Defiance followed after Copper Belle. The town were moved from the hills to the flatland and come closer to water, and Turquoise that lost its post office in 1894, opened again as Gleeson. John Gleeson sold his lots in 1914, but progress continued and copper production flourished during WW I. After the war, prices dropped down, production was reduced and the mines closed. The post office closed for the last time on March 31, 1939. In 1912 a fire destroyed 28 houses, but the town was built up again. When the mines played out in 1940, Gleeson became a ghost town. Today there are a couple of people who live here. Gleeson is a good place to examine. North of the town's Main Street is ruins of the hospital, and there is evidence of mining in the hills behind the hospital. Down the road from the hospital was a saloon/store that opened and closed a couple of times during the years and the saloon is closed now.