Wiccan Road To Ghosts -

Greenlee County Ghost Towns

Beton- Located at the junction of Blue and Little Blue River. The little settlement was a lumber center where Ira Haper had a sawmill, three and one half miles above the junction of the Little Blue and Blue River. The community had a blacksmith shop, store, post office established in 1903, school and a few simple houses for lumbr haulers.

Ranchers moved into Benton during eh winter in order to send their children to school. Floods from 1904 thrugh 1906 washed away most of th settlement. In 1906, the Baike family moved away and th post office closed in 1907. Benton is now part of the Rail HU ranch on the east side of the Blue River.

Boyles- Located at the mouth of the Blue River and first called Carpentar with a post office from 1903 to 1906. Then the name was changed to Boyles and the post office existed for only one year under the name Boyles. Boyles was a farming and ranching village.

Coronado-This was a community owned by the Arizona Copper Company at the top of the Coronado Incline. Post office was established in 1912 and discontinued 1919.

Eagle Creek-Just east of Morenci, AZ Outlaws Ike Clnton was shot and killed here on June 1, 1887. His grave was found here in 1995. a number of old homesteads and grave sites along the creekTrail Rating for lower Eagle Creek.

The first few miles downstream from the trailhead are easy going, but the going gets rougher as you approach the Gila. In the dry season, the trail rating going downstream is 2.5 at the start increasing to 3.5 as you near the Gila.

The lower sections of Eagle Creek are becoming quite brushy as the time since the 1993 floods increases. The stands of cottonwood, willow and tamarisk growing in the streambed are becoming progressively thicker and taller.

Trail Location for lower Eagle Creek
To reach the Eagle Creek trailhead: From Safford, follow AZ 191 North along US 70 East. Turn left onto AZ 191 North toward Clifton/Morenci. AZ 191 takes another left turn before you arrive in Clifton. Continue through Clifton and up the hill to Morenci. At the traffic light at the top of the hill, turn right still following AZ 191 North. About a mile past the mine and above the tunnel, the road to lower Eagle Creek turns off to the left. The mine has been rearranging the landscape in this area so both the road and the sign (if any) are likely to be temporary. Follow this graded dirt road a few miles down Gold Gulch into the Eagle Creek valley. The road follows the aquaduct from the Phelps Dodge pumping station in Eagle Creek. Driving time from Tucson is about three hours. Gas is available in Safford, Clifton and Morenci. When you get to Eagle Creek, turn left and proceed downstream. Watch for vehicles and mining equipment in the first half mile. (The road continues across Eagle Creek and into the San Carlos Indian Reservation.) This 10-mile section of Eagle Creek down to the Gila River is owned by Phelps Dodge --- woodcutting and hunting are not permitted.

Espero- E. H. Patterson started a dude ranch here and gave the place its name. Currently the place still operates as a guest ranch under the name Sprucedale. Post office was established in 1919 and discontinued in 1934.

Evans Point- Owned by one of the partners in the Evans Van Hecke Mining Company in 1899. As customary, the mining company paid their miners in script rather than currency. Some of the script is still around and reads, Evans Point, Arizona. The post office was established in 1899 till 1900.

Franklin- In 1895 a group of Mormons from Utah emigrated to this location. They namd th town for Fraklin D. Richards, an apostle of the Mormon Church. The name was given in 1898 wehn the the community was visited by officials of the Mormon Church. The post Office came in 1905 and was discontinued in 1958.

Guthrie- Waits by the intersection of U.S. 191 and S.R. 78 and 75 with remnants of the old bridge across the Gila River. Guthrie was a railroad stop whose life was dependent upon the bridge and the railroad stop at that location. When the bridge washed away, the town died. Guthrie had a post office from 1901 to 1922 and a Well Fargo in 1904.

Metcalf, 1903
Courtesy Arizona Historical Society

Metcalf- Covered by tailings from the Morenci Mine with not much else remaining, Metcalf was tucked neatly between the granite cliffs of Chas Crek Canyon. Robert Metcalf was a scout for Captain Chase in 1870 when he strck a rich copper deposit not far from the Com;pany's camp near the present site of Clifton.

As soon as he was able he returned with his brother, Jim and located the famous Longfellow Mine. The Metcalfs sold out to the Leszinsky brothers who developed the property with an adobe furnace but had to be replaced by a water jacket smelter at the mouth of the canyon. Transportation of the ore from the mine to the new smelter created a problem which was solved by the construction of a twenty-guage railroad winidng up the floor of the canyon to connect with a gravity incline at the mine.

A wood burning locomotive from Pettsburg, Pa was shipped around the Horn to San Francisco, then to Yuma and overland to Clifton. The little engine was christened " Little Emma" as it was put on its tracks.

The Arizona Copper Company took over in 1882. Metcalf's post office was established August 25, 1899 and discontinued May 15, 1936. Once a town of 4000 to 5000 people,, it had a bank, school, hospital, dairy, poool all and a movie theater. The town, now covered by mine tailings, lasted through the depression years. The townsfolk left as the mines played out. Today, nothing is left. but a cement bank vault and lots of mine garbage

An old Mexican woman said that a cache of treasure was buried in the grave of a wealthy Chinese man in the abandoned town cemetery at Metcalf.

Oroville- Sits very near Clifton with few if any remains. Oroville began as a series of truck farms to provide Clifton with food. A small amount of gold was discovered but the town only had a post office from 1880 to 1882 - an indication of its relative insignificance

Several Chinese were murdered by Mexican . The Mexicans knew that the Chinese hoarded money in order to pay their passage back to China and in January 1904, some Mexicans set off a dyamite blast to force the Chinese out of their homes so that the hoes could be looted. Three or four Chinese were killed as they dashed to safety.

Sheldon- A former railroad community have left only a cemetery and a few farmer's holdings. Post office came in 1908 and discontinued in 1919.

Sprucedale- Near Hannigan Meadow with no remnants or footprints. It was originally established as a dude ranch by E.H. Patterson which he called 'Espero' (Spanish word meaning 'hope, waiting or expectation). A post office by this name existed 1919-1934. Subsequently the name has been changed to its present form, Sprucedale