Ghost Towns: Courtland, AZ
Courtland, AZ Quick Facts
- Founded: 1909
- Abandoned: 1942
- Drive Time from Phoenix: 3 hours, 18 minutes
- Get Directions
- Related Website: https://westernmininghistory.com/towns/arizona/courtland/
Why should I visit Courtland, AZ?
All that remains of Courtland today is the Courtland Jail. History lovers will enjoy touring a truly abandoned remnant of turn of the 20th century.
Courtland, AZ, is best enjoyed as part of a day-trip tour of other ghost towns rather than a single destination.
What is the history of Courtland, AZ?
Courtland is the definition of a boomtown -- founded during an early 1900's copper boom, this town was as quickly abandoned as it was stood up, lasting only 33 years. Just 12 years after the town's founding, the boom ended and a mass exodus occurred, leaving behind only the jail by the time the post office closed in the '40s.
The history of copper mining in Arizona tells repeating stories of boom and bust. As new deposits were discovered, mining companies would rush to establish operations and mine copper ore. Mining communitities would pop up to house and support families of workers who migrated to work the mines.
In 1908, one such copper deposit was discovered in the Dragoon Mountains, and Courtland was founded with shops, a newspaper, railroad lines, and housing being built up quickly.
The copper boom ended in 1921, as the mines in the Dragoon Mountains were not as copper-rich as had been originally assumed.
What is Courtland, AZ, like today?
The Courtland jail is all that remains of the former copper boom town.