Copper Queen Hotel

One hundred eight years ago in 1898, Phelps Dodge blasted into the steep, rugged mountainside landscape of Bisbee, Arizona. The rock and rubble were painstakingly cleared, and construction began on one of our state's oldest and best known hotels—the Copper Queen.

Construction was difficult in this southernmost mile-high copper mining town. Just to mix the concrete, water had to be pumped up the hill from the mercantile on Main Street. Nevertheless, four years later in 1902, the stately Copper Queen opened her doors to expectant investors and other prominent guests.

The entire first floor of the hotel was laid with Italian mosaic tile, some of which remains. The fireplace in the lobby kept guests warm in winter, while the two-foot-thick walls helped keep them cool in the summer. The safe behind the tiger oak front desk was once used by the Queen Mine until its cash payroll (for the 14,000 miners who comprised most of the city's residents), became too big to hold.

Today, visitors enjoy Bisbee for its rich blend of art, history, and western charm. For the same reasons, overnight guests find the quaint accommodations and fine dining at the Copper Queen hotel, restaurant, and saloon a one-of-a-kind experience.

That experience includes the legend of three ghosts who haunt some of the rooms and hallways of the old hotel. The first is an older gentleman, tall with long hair and a beard, usually seen wearing a black cape and top hat. Some claim they smell the aroma of a good cigar when he appears. The second, and most famous, is a female in her early thirties. The story goes that Julia Lowell was a lady of the evening on Brewery Gulch and used rooms at the Copper Queen to entertain her clients. After falling in love and being rejected by one of the gents, she took her own life. Some men report hearing a female voice whispering in their ear. Others see a bright white smoke. The third ghost is a small, mischievous eight or nine-year-old boy who moves objects in guests' rooms. He is never seen—just heard. Folks hear giggling and footsteps.

Check out the Cooper Queen Hotel (and its residents spirits) while you enjoy the old west charm of Bisbee. Call 520-432-2215 or visit www.copperqueen.com.