imported>Aspire CF VV: added that the town is now closed to the public

2025-01-17T21:19:02Z

added that the town is now closed to the public

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{{Use American English|date=January 2025}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=July 2023}}
{{Infobox settlement
|official_name = Ruby, Arizona
|settlement_type = [[List of ghost towns in Arizona|Ghost town]]
|image_skyline = Ruby AZ.jpg
|image_caption = Ruby, Arizona in 1990
|imagesize = 250px
|image_seal =
|seal_size =
|image_map =
|mapsize =
|pushpin_map = Arizona#USA
|pushpin_label_position = right
|map_caption = Location in the state of [[Arizona]]
|image_map1 =
|mapsize1 =
|map_caption1 =
|subdivision_type = [[List of sovereign states|Country]]
|subdivision_type1 = [[U.S. state|State]]
|subdivision_type2 = [[List of counties in Arizona|County]]
|subdivision_name = United States
|subdivision_name1 = [[Arizona]]
|subdivision_name2 = [[Santa Cruz County, Arizona|Santa Cruz]]
|government_type =
|leader_title = "Sundog" and Partner
|elevation_footnotes = <ref name="usgs">{{gnis|33856|Ruby}}</ref>
|elevation_ft = 4186
|elevation_m = 1276
|population_as_of =
|population_footnotes =
|population_total =
|population_metro =
|population_density_km2 =
|population_density_sq_mi =
|timezone = [[Mountain Standard Time Zone|MST]] (no [[Daylight savings time|DST]])
|utc_offset = -7
|coordinates = {{coord|31|27|40|N|111|14|15|W|display=inline,title}}
|website =
|timezone_DST =
|utc_offset_DST =
|postal_code_type =
|postal_code =
|area_code =
|GNIS_id =
|blank_name = Post office opened:
|blank_info = April 11, 1912
|blank1_name = Post office closed:
|blank1_info = May 31, 1941
|footnotes =
}}
'''Ruby''' is a [[ghost town]] in [[Santa Cruz County, Arizona|Santa Cruz County]], [[Arizona]], United States. It was founded as a [[mining town]] in [[Bear Valley, Arizona|Bear Valley]], originally named Montana Camp, so named because the miners were mining at the foot of Montana Peak.

==History==
[[File:Ruby School.jpg|thumb|left|Schoolhouse in 2009]]
[[File:RubyAZ 2007.jpg|thumb|left|upright=1.25|Ruby with view of Montana Peak]]
[[File:Ruby AZ topo.jpg|thumb|left|upright=1.45|Section of USGS Ruby, Arizona topographic map]]
Mining started ''circa'' 1877. The Montana Mine produced gold, silver, lead, zinc and copper. At its peak in the mid-1930s, Ruby had a population of about 1,200.<ref name=Varney/>

On April 11, 1912 the mining camp's general store owner Julius Andrews established the post office. Andrews named the post office "Ruby", after his wife, Lille B. Ruby Andrews, and the mining camp soon became known as Ruby. The post office was discontinued on May 31, 1941.<ref>Granger, Byrd H. (1970) ''Arizona Place Names'', pp. 323-324, Tucson, Arizona: University of Arizona Press, {{ISBN|0-8165-0009-6}}</ref>

Between 1920 and 1922, the town of Ruby and the surroundings were the scene of three double homicides known as the [[Ruby Murders]], which led to the largest manhunt in the history of the [[Southwest United States|Southwest]], which included the first airplane ever used in an Arizona manhunt.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.legendsofamerica.com/az-ruby.html |title=Ruby, Arizona - A Ghost Town Filled With Mining and Murder |publisher=Legends of America}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Sherman |first=James |title=Ghost towns of Arizona |publisher=[[University of Oklahoma]] Press |year=1969 |isbn=0-8061-0843-6 |location=US |pages=131 |language=En}}</ref>

The most prosperous period for Ruby was in the late 1920s and 1930s, when the [[Eagle-Picher Mining Company]] operated the mine and upgraded the camp. From 1934 to 1937, the Montana mine was the leading [[lead]] and [[zinc]] producer in Arizona. In 1936, it was third in [[silver]] production. The mine closed in 1940, and by the end of 1941 Ruby was abandoned.<ref name=Varney>Philip Varney, 1994, ''Arizona ghost towns and mining camps''. [[Arizona Highways]] books, {{ISBN|0-916179-44-3}}</ref>

Ruby is one of the two best-preserved mining ghost towns in Arizona, along with the [[Vulture Mine]] near [[Wickenburg, Arizona|Wickenburg]]. Ruby's attractions today include approximately 25 buildings under roof, including the jail and houses, the school, the playground, mine machinery, buildings and mine workings. Ruby is entirely on private property and there is no public access to the site.<ref name=Varney/>

Ruby is currently located on private property. Public tours were offered for 30 years until being closed to the public on June 3, 2024.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Home |url=https://www.rubyaz.com/ |access-date=2025-01-17 |website=RUBY, ARIZONA |language=en}}</ref>

==See also==
*[[Bear Valley Raid]]
*[[Battle of Bear Valley]]
*[[List of ghost towns in Arizona]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

==Further reading==
* Ring, Al, et al.(2005) [http://www.ringbrothershistory.com/ruby.htm ''Ruby, Arizona: Mining, Mayhem, and Murder'']. [[Tucson, Arizona|Tucson]]: U.S. Press and Graphics, 2005.
* Dolan, Samuel K. [https://rowman.com/ISBN/9781442246690/Cowboys-and-Gangsters-Stories-of-an-Untamed-Southwest Cowboys and Gangsters: Stories of an Untamed Southwest (TwoDot Books, 2016)] {{ISBN|9781442246690}}

==External links==
{{Commons}}
{{wikivoyage|Ghost towns}}
* [http://rubyaz.com/ Historic Ghost Town of Ruby, AZ]
* [https://www.legendsofamerica.com/az-ruby/ Mining and Murder in Ruby, Arizona]
* [http://www.ghosttowns.com/states/az/ruby.html Ruby] at GhostTowns.com
* [http://www.azghosttowns.com/towns/ruby.html Ruby] – Ghost Town of the Month at azghosttowns.com
{{Santa Cruz County, Arizona}}

{{authority control}}

[[Category:Ghost towns in Arizona]]
[[Category:Mining communities in Arizona]]
[[Category:Populated places in Santa Cruz County, Arizona]]
[[Category:Historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Arizona]]
[[Category:National Register of Historic Places in Santa Cruz County, Arizona]]
[[Category:Tourist attractions in Santa Cruz County, Arizona]]
[[Category:Populated places on the National Register of Historic Places in Arizona]]

Ruby, Arizona - Revision history

imported>Aspire CF VV: added that the town is now closed to the public