Where Southern Arizona's Ghosts Gather by the River

It was February of 1900 when one of Arizona's most noteworthy lawmen thwarted a robbery in then-bustling Fairbanks, Arizona--barely 10 miles north of Tombstone.

When a gang of desperadoes that included lawmen-turned-bad Burt Alvord and Billy Stiles, rushed the train as it wheezed into Fairbanks, they were in for a surprise. Hiding inside the car that held the Wells Fargo money chest was lawman Jeff Milton. One of the would-be robbers was fatally wounded by Milton in the gunfight that ensued, though a bullet shattered the lawman's left arm as the battle wore on. Thinking quickly he threw the lock box' key out the other side of the railroad car door.

Seeing the gathering crowd of witnesses, and learning of the key's fate, the desperados hightailed it out of town. Three were later caught and convicted. One managed to escape south of the border.

After a highly rated San Francisco surgeon told Milton his arm would have to amputated, Milton replied, "The man who cuts off my arm will be a dead man." The surgeon lived, and Milton regained partial use of his limb, though he never fully recovered from the ambush.

Fairbanks is one of Arizona's few surviving riverside ghost towns. Located along the San Pedro River, north of Tombstone, it's about an hour from Tucson.

To get to Fairbanks, go east on I-10 from Tucson, then turn south on State Route 90, toward Sierra Vista. Turn left (east) on State Route 82. Fairbanks is at the San Pedro River crossing, on the north side of the road. There's plenty of parking, there is no fee, though camping is not allowed (with the exception of remote-country backpacking, where there is an overnight fee).

The ghost town is now headquarters for the San Pedro River Conservation Area. That means the buildings are being preserved, as they should be, rather than allow the river's periodic floods to totally erase their memory.

Today you'll find many of the buildings still standing, a trail to distant mining ruins, and a relatively well-preserved graveyard less than a mile away.