What the hell, here's some more info about the Tip Top Mine from the same source (http://www.mrquigleyphotography.com/articles.htm):
""Last
time we talked about Gillette, so I thought this time
I would take you on a adventure over the old wagon haul
road that led from Gillette into the rugged Bradshaw Mountains.
This trip will require a 4-wheel drive vehicle in good
condition. Be for-warned it’s a rough road adventure
that should only be taken in cool months
If
planning to visit Gillette, you should also plan to stop
at the ghost town of Tip Top. This was another very busy
and crowded town, boasting a population of 1,200 people,
the largest mining town in central Arizona. Named for
a “tip top” silver prospect, this town boasted
two hotels, two general stores, gin mills, six saloons,
a Chinese laundry, butcher shop, stables/feed yard, two
restaurants, blacksmith shop, post office, school, brothel,
stage line to Prescott and even a shoe store. The town
also had a courthouse where constable Joe Walker presided.
Tip Top extended along Cottonwood Creek for three miles.
Most of the businesses lined the creek below the Tip Top
mine. Another downtown area, located above the gulch,
consisted of a hotel and stores paralleling Grapevine
Springs, the town’s water supply. At first, a mill
was erected nine miles away, at Gillette. Wagon freight
trains with 12 to 16 mules made daily trips through the
mountains hauling silver to Gillette. Later, Tip Top built
its own silver mill, and between 1878 to 1883 milled $1.5
million in silver.
Many
of Tip Top’s miners were veterans of the Civil War,
both Union and Confederate. They got along well, even
though everyone wore handguns because of the renegade
Indians raiding in the area. A few killings were recorded
during Tip Top’s history. Two people were killed
in gunfights, another by lightning and a fourth by a centipede
bite. As the centipede story goes, a miner arose early
one morning and while putting on his boots was bitten
on the toe by centipede. Not knowing what to do, he rushed
to the closest saloon and gulped down a quart of whiskey.
Townspeople were not sure if he died from the whiskey
or the biter.
Later,
an old newspaper account stated that, “A good rain
is needed badly in Tip Top to wash out the gulch, as the
accumulation of filth is getting so strong that one can
scarcely pass up the street.”
Tip
Toppers were known for their gambling and drinking. One
lucky gambler made $9,700 in one week. Gamblers from all
over Arizona traveled to the town and on the sixth of
each month (payday for miners) would be waiting patiently
in the many saloons for the naive miners. On many occasions,
there were dances in the streets of Tip Top on pay day.
Once, a minister from Phoenix came to Tip Top. With no
church in town, he held services under a big cottonwood
tree. All the townspeople came to hear him, sitting under
the tree, drinking beer and thoroughly enjoying the sermon.
When the federal government demonetized silver in 1893,
Tip Top’s silver mines became worthless. Overnight
Tip Top became a ghost town as miners moved on to gold
strikes farther up in the Bradshaw Mountains. In 1910,
after tungsten was discovered at the mines, they had a
short-lived revival.
Tip
Top today is a quiet, abandoned ghost town. The mines
and several stone buildings (brewery, restaurant and beer
hall) still remain. Other stone homes and business are
scattered over three miles around Tip Top. The foundations
of the silver stamp mills, mining office and several other
buildings all remain above the town. Tip Top’s mines
are impressive and worth a careful visit. The many roads
leading from the mines are actually a system of elaborate
ore cart tracks. The graveyard lies upstream about .5
miles below the Seventy-Six mine on the north bank of
Cottonwood Creek. It has more than 20 graves, with several
small ones, probably children’s.
The
road to Tip Top requires four-wheel drive vehicles. It
is a beautiful trip through canyons, creeks and ridges,
decorated with saguaro and mesquite forests. From Gillette,
travel west on the old Gillette road. This is the original
wagon road over which silver was transported to Gillette
for smelting. A little over three miles later you will
come to a corral, make a left here and follow this road
to Williams Mesa. Once on top you will have spectacular
views of Cottonwood Creek to the west and the New River
Mountains to the east. Off the west side of Williams Mesa,
a rough road will take you down to Boulder Creek. This
is a rocky, nasty road, so take your time. It’s
hard to believe that heavily loaded wagons once used this
route. Once at the bottom, in Boulder Creek, you come
to a ‘T’ in the road; turn right. At this
point, when you are on your way out, you can continue
down Boulder Creek, instead of turning east and climbing
the mountain back to Gillette. This road follows Boulder
Creek and will eventually take you to the end of Lake
Pleasant, (Agua Fria channel). You will pass the site
of the old ranch home, originally part of the Boulder
Creek Ranch. At Lake Pleasant, follow Table Mesa Road
back to Interstate 17
Now
back to the ‘T’ in the road; follow this rough
road for about another three miles before entering Tip
Top. Exploring Tip Top is best done on foot, as the roads
leading to the mines are in terrible shape and hard to
turn around on. After exploring Tip Top, you can travel
west again on the Tip Top road, which will eventually
take you to the ghost camp of Packer, ( a old pack-mule-train
stopping point on the way to Crown King) and finally on
to Crown King, (Horse Thief Basin). The last time I went
this way, I had to use an ATV to get to Crown King. I
strongly recommend you do not travel this way by yourself,
but rather in a group. The road that leads to Crown King
is in extremely poor condition and can be a dangerous,
as well as a long trip. There are several other roads
west of Tip Top that lead to other mines. You can also
follow a poor four-wheel-drive road to Columbia another
ghost town that I will write about later. Travel
safe, courteous & leave no trace.""