Tuesday, October 7, 2014

Goodenough Mine Tour Tombstone, Arizona September 20, 2014

                  Ore cart in the mine

Directions: Once in Tombstone, Arizona, the mine is located on the intersection of Toughnut and Fifth Street. Tours occur on the hour starting at 10 am and ending at 4 pm.

History: In 1877 Ed Schieffelin discovered silver-ore in 1877 in southern Arizona. He named the new claim tombstone to poke fun at the Arizonans who claimed he would find nothing but his tombstone in southern Arizona. A year later he returned and filed the claim for the Good Enough Mine. The boom was on and thousands of prospectors came to Tombstone to strike it rich. Mining waned in 1890 due to a decline in silver prices as well as flooding in the mines. The mines produced about $85 million in silver.(Information from www.roadsideamerica.com).

The Tour: The tour is approximately 45 minutes to an hour. Visitors have to wear a white hard hat and vest before entering the mine. The most physically demanding part of the tour were the three flights of stairs at the beginning. The most interesting part of the tour for me was seeing an example of a silver ore vein and observing the cavernous tunnels of the mine. I also found it interesting how much garbage volunteers hauled out of the mine in 2007 before they opened for tourists. Our tour guide could have offered more historical facts about the mine as well as Tombstone, Arizona. For visitors who are interested they offer a three hour and six hour tour

                         Tools used in mining


                                   Mine itself

                             Tara and I at the enttrance