County: Cochise
Zip Code:
Latitude / Longitude: 31°43′23″N 110°11′18″W / 31.72306°N 110.18833°W / 31.72306
Elevation: 3,858 ft (1,176 m)
Time Zone: Mountain (NO DST) (UTC-7)
Established: May 16, 1883
Disestablished: 1970s
Comments: Fairbank is a ghost town in Cochise County, Arizona, next to the San Pedro River. First settled in 1881, Fairbank was the closest rail stop to nearby Tombstone, which made it an important location in the development of southeastern Arizona. The town was named for Chicago investor Nathaniel Kellogg Fairbank who partially financed the railroad, and was the founder of the Grand Central Mining Company, which had an interest in the silver mines in Tombstone. Today Fairbank is located within the San Pedro Riparian National Conservation Area (San Pedro RNCA).
Remains: By the mid-1970s Fairbank was all but deserted. The final remaining residents left when the buildings were deemed unsafe. After that, the post office closed, and the side roads became overgrown and largely impassable.
Current Status: Some years later, in 1986, the former Mexican Land Grant was acquired by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and the town was incorporated into the San Pedro Riparian NCA as the “Fairbank Historic Townsite”. What remains of the town of Fairbank is now open to the public.
Remarks: It was originally known as Junction City, then Kendall, then Fairbanks, and was formally founded as Fairbank on May 16, 1883 on the same day that the local Post Office opened.
