Fairbank Historic Townsite

Four years after Paul’s mostly-​negative review, the Fairbank townsite has actually become a fun little place to visit. The BLM has done a really good job of putting up interpretive signs that tell visitors a lot about the history of the area, and it looks like they’re planning to do a lot more in the future to get the old buildings into a condition that makes it possible for people to get a better look inside. A nice ~4 mile loop trail has also been built to the north of the townsite through a riparian mesquite grove. The east side of the loop takes you past a cool old graveyard with tombstones dating back over a century, and eventually also past the ruins of an old stamp mill that was used to process ore from the nearby mining towns using water power from the San Pedro. The west side of the loop takes you to the banks of the San Pedro itself and alongside a long-​abandoned railroad corridor — most of the tracks are now gone, but a neat old rail bridge remains.
Would I take a vacation here? Certainly not. But if you’re looking for a nice way to spend an afternoon after a trip to Tombstone (like we were), this is a really great way to add some more context to your adventure while spending some fun time outside. Without places like Fairbank to process ore and transport it to other parts of the region, towns like Tombstone simply couldn’t have existed, and the BLM has done a nice job of communicating that part of the story here. Just make sure you show up with moderate expectations and you won’t be disappointed. (I should also note that the outhouse was really nice — it had an air freshener and everything!!)

Can you hold your breath for about thirty minutes? Well, if you visit the Fairbank Historic Townsite, it would be well advised. There are only a few buildings standing from the late 1800s town and they appear so fragile that a simple sneeze might send the walls crashing down. Indeed, the original railroad depot is being held up with enough wood supports to probably construct a new building.
There’s a little bit of history of here and the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is slowly doing what it can to preserve what’s left. It’s not too far from Tombstone, that well-​known restored wild west town in which the locals dress up in western garb and reenact gun fights, so the short drive to Fairbank will let you see a town that has more than ghosts — but just barely.