Contact Bob Ring Contact Al Ring Contact Tallia Cahoon
Ruby, Arizona – Mining, Mayhem, and Murder (2005, U.S. Press & Graphics, 280
pages, soft-cover 9" x 6", $22.95, {plus $3.00 shipping} ISBN: 0-9748059-5-5) is the first and only book on
the 125-year history of the Montana mine and its Ruby mining camp, now a ghost
town, in south-central Arizona. Follow both the detailed mining history and
fascinating people stories with 115 remarkable photos plus scores of historical
maps, charts, and documents, many of which have never been seen or used by other
researchers. Complete research notes and index.
Ruby’s story is largely the account of the miners, their families, and people
who braved the frontier to support them. For many years Ruby was known as
Montana Camp, dirt poor and sparsely populated. We portray the challenging life
in Montana Camp during Arizona’s territorial period to 1912. These “people”
stories illustrate almost unbelievable perseverance and optimism.
We recount the sagas of two notorious double murders of Ruby general store
proprietors by Mexican bandits, first the murders of the Fraser brothers in
February 1920, and then the murders of Mr. and Mrs. Frank Pearson in August
1921. The history includes not only the crimes, but also the aftermath, the
capture of the murderers, dramatic escapes and recaptures, and the murderers’
fate. We draw upon previously unpublished Fraser and Pearson family records,
including letters and photographs. Trial transcripts add a sobering note to the
amazing tale.
Suddenly in the 1930s, Ruby became a boomtown of 1,200 people! Our story
highlights life in Ruby during the Montana’s most productive period, when the
mine produced more lead and zinc than any other mine in Arizona. We capture
recollections of former Ruby residents through personal interviews and oral
histories. Wonderful family photographs from this period depict what life in
Ruby was really like.
We conclude the book by exploring today’s Ruby ghost town and speculating about
its future. Co-author Tallia Pfrimmer Cahoon, who grew up in Ruby in the 1930s,
shares her impressions of the ghost town.
Ruby, Arizona circa 1938. |
Buy the Book directly from us using PayPal. Click here for the Order Page.
or at local bookstores, or Amazon.com
Do you have any related documents, photos, or personal histories that you
could share with us? If so, please contact:
Al Ring ringal@comcast.net
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Department Book Oro Blanco Mining
District Ring Family History