Ruby - Santa Cruz County
Updated: 1/1/2017
Where: Santa Cruz County about 2 hours from Tucson
Operation Dates: 1877 to 1942
Noted Aspects of Town: Original name of town was Montana Camp due to the location of the mine at the base of Montana Peak. Historical incident called the Ruby Murders took place in the area prompting the biggest manhunt in the Southwest. Ruby was the largest mining camp in southwestern Arizona
History: The original name of the town was the Montana Camp as it was near the Montana Peak and mine. In 1909 the name of the town was changed to Ruby by Julius Andrews. Julius was a local merchant who applied for a post office at this location and chose to use his wife’s name “Ruby” for the town. On April 11th, 1912, the post office was established setting the name of Ruby as the recorded town name. Ruby was a prosperous town around this time with hundreds of residents including 300 of which worked at the mine. There were about 150 children that attended school in the four-room building during this prosperous time of Ruby.
The Eagle-Picher Mining company purchased the 10 mining claims in 1927. The Eagle-Picher Company continued to expand the mine giving Ruby new life for several years. During the time of 1934 to 1937 the Montana mine was the leading lead and zinc producer in Arizona and in 1936 it was the third in silver production. The mine was closed in 1941 after the ore depletion leading to the decline and abandonment of the town.
Many buildings were left including the school and playground slide as people moved away. Ruby is one of the remaining well preserved towns from the historic mining era of Arizona.
There were a couple of murders and robberies in the town of Ruby leading to the capture of two men named Placido Silvas and Manuel Martinez. These men were convicted of murder with Martinez being put to death on August 10th, 1923 for his role in the murders. The incident was labeled as the Ruby Murders in which there are detailed stories of the killings, robbery, and capture of the criminals. I choose to leave this research to the reader if desired as it is not related to mining in Arizona.
People: Julius Andrews – Merchant in town and known for naming the town after his wife Lillie B. Ruby. Philip M. Clarke purchased Andres store and post office in 1913. Walter Pfrimmer - Mining Engineer.
Mine(s) supporting town: Montana Mine
What you will see today: The town of Ruby is privately owned and an on-site person watches over the town. For a small fee, it is possible to walk around the old town. Some buildings are still standing and others that are aging and in disrepair. The school house is well preserved and a joy to explore and imagine what it was like to sit in the old classrooms. Amongst the old buildings and ruins are signs of a more modern time. In the mine warehouse, there were more recent catalogs and vehicle repair manuals amongst other items.
Acknowledgement: wikipedia.org, Ghost Towns of Arizona (James E. and Barbara H. Sherman), Historic Ghost Town of Ruby, AZ (rubyaz.com), Ruby, Arizona - Mining, Mayhem, and Murder by Bob Ring, Al Ring, and Tallia Pfrimmer Cahoon.