Outhouses of Ruby, Arizona Ghosttown

    The Outhouses of Ruby, Arizona
    Ruby, Arizona is located in the mountainous area northwest of Nogales, quite near the Mexican border. It was a mining town, at its peak, home to several hundred people. Its mines produced a number of minerals of varying value, but its primary output was lead. When the mines became unprofitable, Ruby went "ghost" about 1941.
    Because Ruby has for decades been on private property and unavailable to the public, it has suffered few of the indignities of vandalism and theft. Now open to public access (by appointment and for a small fee), it provides a remarkable look back at life in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Mining equipment is still in place, there is furniture still in some of the buildings, and even items on kitchen shelves. Early electrical wiring remain in a few structures, which were served by a local generator, but no indoor plumbing is to be found.

    Curator's Comment: I received the following email from someone who used to live in Ruby. She was quite pleased to see the pictures and it brought back the following memories to her: "Just to add a little to your wonderful writings about these places in Ruby, my name is Rebecca Nelson Gibson. My parents were the caretakers of Ruby from 1973-75. My father, John Nelson, my Mother Sandra, myself, my sister, Melody & brother John were very young. I believe we left there when I was around 10 year's old. I am now in my 40's. I now live on the East Coast but my heart will forever remain in Ruby Arizona, as it was the last place my whole family was together. Every year in the Spring and the Winter, I long to be back in Ruby. Today I was looking because of course it's in the 40's here and it's in the 80's there. I would return and live there again in a heartbeat. As a child, we never knew we were poor, and though living there was hard, it's the best childhood memory that I have carried with me all my life, and probly will till they put me in the ground. My siblin's and I use to take baths in the lakes there. We pretended we were in the Sahara on what we called the white sands past the lake....and even go up to Montana Peak because a man by the name of "Hippie John" lived there in a Tee Pee. He had goats and sheep and we just loved adventure. Sometimes it would get us into trouble with our parents because of the mine, and the other shafts, but we loved it. And reading your take on the outhouses....lol.lol.lol. I have to say.....we would go through the holes in them and dig up stuff under them. We found coins and other stuff in them...lol.lol.....but at the end of it all, my parents ended up splitting up. We came to Virginia and my father had taken everything from the house (we lived at the very top of the hill that overlooked all of Ruby so Dad could see the gate) and threw it down the Mine Shaft when he left there. Even if this doesn't make your stamp, I just had to say...I still long within my heart to live back there and guess I alway's will. Thank you for the pictures which just help me remember sooooooooo much of what I will always call home !!!!
One of the toys from Ruby, AZ
    I've enclosed one of the photos of what we called toys, (the lizard). We use to love to catch them along with Horny Toads (we actually put the lizards in our parent's bed and when the lights went out, needless to say, it was pitch black. We (my siblings) would lay in bed and wait. lol.lol and then it would come. Mom would let out a scream. Gosh I'm laughing so hard about this as I'm telling you this because we did this a lot...lol.lol (And in that part of the world, you have to be so careful of Rattlesnakes, Tarantulas, scorpions, etc. We would get so tickeled but boy would we get it afterwards. lol But we were kids and we just lived a simple life. We didn't have a lot of "real" toys but we found things to entertain ourselves and have fun with. It's like I tell my girls who are grown, "You have no idea what it's like to live like we did and how hard it was living where we did" but I will honestly believe till the end of my days that it made us all stronger as we grew up!!! We also played on the slide outside of the school house as my Dad welded it back together so we could play on it.
    Now a little about the jail. We (my sister, myself, and my little brother, would play in there all the time. Just for giggles, I thought I would tell you. We locked my brother in there and my parents couldn't find him for a while. When they did...boy did me and my sister get it. Me more 'cause I was the oldest...lol.lol. We hauled water in big green water cans from the spring for baths,(In the cold weather) which we had a big silver washing tub that we bathed in, cooking, etc. I noticed they stated there was a generator and one house was wired for electricity; also some cooking pans and stuff. I know my Dad did have a generator. I also know he did wire our house for electricity, but mostly we used Coleman lanterns and the fire place, and it was neat when Daddy would start the generator so we could have "regular" lights and stuff. I remember our last Christmas there; my Daddy really did it up. We had 2 generators and when we came from school (we went to school in Aravaka (not sure if that's the way it's spelled)), we had to ride a ways to catch the school bus but when we came home for Christmas vacation, my Dad & Mom had the whole house lit up. Christmas Tree, outside lights and inside lights. We thought (us kids) that we were in heaven. Now knowing that back in that time it probly cost my Daddy a lot of money to keep all of that going all the way through the month of December, but I'm so grateful for that memory and all the memories that after all these years I still hold so close to my heart & soul. I don't call them the ghosts of Ruby. I call them the memories of a family from Ruby, Arizona. I hope I haven't bored you to death, but I could go on and on about our time there. As I had told you earlier they are the memories that I still hold within my Soul."
Sincerly,
Rebecca Nelson Gibson

    Entering Ruby on foot down the road on the right, this is the first structure encountered. It is still in use, and most welcome after twenty slow miles down the rough dirt road. TP located under the coffee can.
An Outhouse just outside the Ruby, AZ School
An Outhouse just outside the Ruby, AZ School
Photo by H. Wiberg
First structure seen entering Ruby, AZ
First structure seen entering Ruby, AZ
Photo by H. Wiberg
    Ruby features a large white-sand beach formed from the tailing of the mines, bordering two large ponds. There is a barbeque, a cabana, and the classic above for your convenience. (Remember, this was a lead mine. Swim, anyone?)
    The school in Ruby was once large enough that it required the services of two teachers. This fine example below stands just outside. The two end doors access the outhouse (notice the vents on top) and the center room was used for ...? The two uprights in the foreground supported the basketball backboard. Yes, the rest of the court looks just like the rest of what you see. Must have been a passing game...
    This unique triangular outhouse shown below was left in a service yard, presumably waiting for a corner near an area of need.
Sand from the mining surround this Beach Outhouse
Sand from the mining surround this Beach Outhouse
Photo by H. Wiberg
A Unique Triangular Outhouse
A Unique Triangular Outhouse
Photo by H. Wiberg
    Apparently, someone in town was richer, lazier, and/or more modest than most. This oxymoronic indoor outhouse shown below is found in a private residence.
    The outhouse below right is seen through the remains of the Single-Miners' Quarters which it served is the contributor's personal favorite. The board at its right, holding it up, seems to be as old as the structure itself. Well, they were bachelors...

Go to Ruby! There's so much more to see.
An indoor Outhouse found in a home
An indoor Outhouse found in a home
Photo by H. Wiberg
The Single-Miners’ Quarters Outhouse
The Single-Miners’ Quarters Outhouse
Photo by H. Wiberg
  What else can you see in the images shown? Many times a photo is worth a thousand words and I've only elaborated with a few so why don't you add some "color commentary" to my collection. If your addition is worthy, you will find the quote added on the Comments to the Curator page.

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