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Ring Brothers History

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 We draw upon previously unpublished Fraser and Pearson family records, including letters and photographs.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.

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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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