Cochise review., 1900-06-15
TWENTY. YEARS AGO
Copper Queen Company Began
 Operations in BiSbee.
First Ground Was Broken on June l5, 1880, Grading a Road Down the
 Canyon--GOOd Old Times.

Twenty years ago yesterday, the l4th day of June, 1880, about o'clock in the afternoon, Horace C. Stillman, by whom these incidents of the old days in Bisbee are given, w. H. Martin, John Ballard, A. c. Mclean, John Evers, M. Mitchell and Louis Williams arrived in this camp. Martin and Ballard had bonded the Copper Queen property and enjoyed the distinction of being the first man who opened up the now world famous and wealthy Copper Queen mine. The men with them came from San Francisco.
 There were probably twenty men in the camp at that time who were en- gagged in prospecting the surrounding country. On the morning of the 10th of June, twenty years ago today, a number of men were put to work grad ing road down the canyon to enable the machinery to be hauled to the mine and work was also immediately commenced grading the ground for the erection of shelter which was put up on the spot where the Bisbee depot now stands.
 The only one remaining in the camp of the original party who came in with Martin and Ballard is H. C. Stillman. Of the old timers who were seeking for mining properties at that time, George TOles and Maurice Denn. both well known and respected citizens, are still here. The work that commenced that morning, twenty years ago, has never ceased. It is fact that except on the occasion of the removal of the works, in the summer of 1866, from the old site at the depot to their present location, the work which has since grown to such great dimensions has been con tinuous. The old time shelter has grown from forty-ton jacket into modern works with capacity of over a thousand tons a day.
 Bisbee, itself, that now covers with it's hundreds of houses the canyon and surrounding hills; Bisbee, with its por- lation numbering probably six thou sand, with its great wealth and stand ing as a producer of copper, it's com merce and the possibilities of its fu- ture, consisted then of rock cabin where the Angius Hotel now stands, q small wall tent just below that where Main street is, cabin where Jack and Chisholm's lumber yard is, just below the Norton Hotel, and the old rock cabin next to Muirhead's $ House, which cabin was the first store in this city, and which store was run by Mir. Still man. The camp has grown steadily from that time. There has been no boom, only careful developments, 8 gradual and substantial increase in commercial importance and prosperity. < The name of the camp, Bisbee, was given it by Louis Williams, brother of Ben Williams, who directed opera tions at the shelter from the start to the beginning of this year, and under whose able management the splendid growth of this important part of the property was accomplished.
 The camp has been twice destroyed by fire. This was years ago, however, and when in its infancy, and it was a proof of the confidence felt by the peo- pie in the future of their town that the work of rebuilding was commenced at once before the ashes were cold.
 The main street of the city passes over dry, dusty roads where once stood numbers of large oak trees, long ago cut down for fuel. The future of the city is assured She stands among the few cities in the territory of large population and is equal to any as n producer of mineal wealth. Her citi. zens have been unceasing in their en- terprise and energy and this splendid proof of their efforts is still increasing in riches, s,dignity and importance as one Of the great mining centers of the west.