Gleeson was founded by John Gleeson who, in 1900, discovered significant copper ore deposits in the surrounding hills.

Occasionally the owner, Tina Miller, will have the museum inside this jail open to the public. However, you will have to visit her website to find out the particulars: www.gleesonarizona.com.

By sheer luck, as I was taking photographs of the exterior, Richard, who introduced himself as the caretaker, drove up and asked if I would like to see inside. He didn't have to ask twice. Thank you, Richard.

This is my interpretation of the Gleeson Saloon, which was probably a pretty rowdy place when a thousand miners lived here.

From its size, this could have been a hospital or school, I just don't know. But I will find out.

The hills around here are dotted with mines. This is one of the more substantial ones that I saw.

There are quite a few ruins in what was the boom town of Courtland, a couple miles north of Gleeson on Ghost Town Trail. Courtland was born in 1909 and died in 1942. Once, more than 2,000 people lived and worked here.

Out here you can drive for a very long time and not see towns or people. But I did come across the occasional small herd of cattle and sometimes horses free-grazing.

What a beauty!

Patti Burris lives here. If she's not a ghost, Pearce is not yet a true ghost town.

She owns the historic Pearce Store and the gift shop across the street. She says they have a festival every Thanksgiving weekend and that's about the only time she opens the store to the public. Consequently, you will not get an interior photograph from me until late November 2012.

The town was named for James Pearce, miner and cattleman, who discovered gold nearby at what became the Commonwealth Mine in 1894. So productive were the mines here that the Southern Pacific ran a spur all the way from Cochise in 1903. By 1919, Pearce had a population of 1,500. All but a few hearty souls had left by 1950.

Most of the ruins along the Ghost Town Trail are rock & concrete or adobe. You won't find many wooden ones like this.

At one time, about 1500 people lived in Pearce. If they didn't die here, almost everyone else left for better pickings by the 1940's.

Founded in the 1880's, Cochise Arizona was named for the great Chiricahua Apache chief. Mainly, the town served the Southern Pacific Railroad with water and coal for its mighty steam engines.

Built for railroad workers in 1882, it later gave passengers a place to overnight and dine on their journey across the Southwest.

As an historical footnote, Mary Katherine Horony lived in Cochise and worked at the hotel in 1899 after the death of her long-time, sometime companion, the irascible, often intoxicated, and always lethal Dr. John Holliday passed away. Most people only remember her as Big Nose Kate.