Mitchell, Stowe, Pioneer, and Third Streets are the only clearly identifiable streets remaining. (Link to maps is at the bottom of article.) The other streets are not as defined and harder to distinguish. There is enough left of the adobe structures to see that the construction was simple. Small amounts of plaster are visible the interior walls. Each of the remaining adobe residences had only two to three small rooms tiny openings in the adobe walls that appear to be windows. These windows by today's standards offering little more than large peep holes. The lone adobe building seen from the second wash cliff wall is on part of what remains of Fourth Street. The heart of Charleston's commerce hub is located on Stowe Street. This is where the larger adobe buildings were constructed. Today a giant cottonwood skeleton is in the center of Stowe Street.

Charleston only lived two short decades but its history is rich. The Journal of Arizona History tells the story of Charleston's beginning. Arizona Territorial Governor Anson P.K. Safford visited the Tombstone claims in early 1879. In order to support the milling operations Safford offered to build a 10 stamp mill at the closest source of water. Millville was the mill and Charleston developed because of the mill.

According to Richard Fulton, late in 1878, Amos Stowe acquired one hundred and sixty acres of land on the west side of the San Pedro River. Stowe hired A.J. Mitchell, to draw the site map of Charleston and recorded the map on February 22, 1879 (see map in Photo Tour). The original town site was nineteen square blocks with sixteen rectangular lots each and eight half blocks with eight lots each. There were six north-south streets eighty feet wide and six east-west streets fifty feet wide. Stowe leased the lots free for the first three years.

Population estimates for Charleston vary greatly. Depending upon numerous information sources used for this article, some historians have placed the population figure as low as 250-300, while others have used figures as high as 800. Charleston's commercial district, like most towns of the era, had saloons, general stores, butcher shops, restaurants, laundries, hotels, telegraph office, boarding houses, a church, school, corrals, and private homes. The Cochise County History Magazine notes most of the buildings were adobe with the exception being the schoolhouse, made of wood.

Taking into consideration the remaining adobes, plus those that once existed, the author believes the static population of Charleston to be around 400. The floating population, those that went town-to-town working the mill and mines, plus soldiers from nearby Fort Huachuca could have brought the combination of the static and floating population up to the high end of the estimated 700-800.

Charleston took advantage of the vices. Taxes collected on gambling and prostitution provided all of the funding necessary for the school and local government administration.

In Ghost Towns of Arizona, the Sherman's describe Charleston's Justice of the Peace, Jim Burnett, as a man that administered law and order in Charleston on his own terms. Burnett held trial any time and any place and he was the sole judge and jury. His justice was swift and there were no appeals in his court. Burnett collected and pocketed the fines leaving him with no shortage of funds. However, his career did come to an abrupt end on July 7, 1897. William Green, a local rancher, shot, and killed Burnett outside of the Can Can Restaurant in Tombstone. Burnett, for unknown reasons, blasted and destroyed a dam belonging to Green. The water swept down the wash and drowned two girls who were fishing in the stream below the dam. One of the girls was Green's daughter. An angry and distraught Green sought out Burnett and settled the matter by killing Burnett. It is not clear if Green ever came to trial for killing Burnett.

The year 1884 was the start of the end for Charleston. A four-month miners strike combined with a drop in silver prices reduced the ore output significantly. Mill production declined and output was never as great as during the early 1880's. The decline in production, repeated mine flooding, better and cheaper methods of ore processing outside of the area was the first blow. The year 1903 brought the addition of a railroad to Tombstone enabling the ore to ship cheaply. The Millville mill shut down at the end of 1885, which was a death sentence for Charleston. Historian Loraine Mackintosh tells of the earthquake of May 3, 1887 as being one of the largest in the western states with shockwaves felt from Phoenix, Arizona to El Paso, Texas. The force of the earthquake destroyed almost every structure in Charleston, moving the San Pedro River and altering the layout of the town. The fires created from the falling rocks on extremely dry brush produced an ash that sifted down into the river killing the fish. Adobes cannibalized of all lumber and other building materials moved to a new camp. There was no reason to remain in Charleston as most of the trade with Mexico, which flourished in earlier years, moved to Nogales. What little remained of the town site of Charleston was inhabited by a small Mexican population through the mid 1890's.

From its conception by Stowe in 1878 to the end in 1899, Charleston in only two decades had become a ghost town.

To add insult to injury, an article from Charleston & Millville describes further destruction during the early days of 1943 when troops from nearby Ft. Huachuca used the town site for recruits to practice street fighting with live ammunition. Grace McCool (1967) mentioned in the Tombstone Epitaph the abandoned town site was nicknamed "Little Tunisia" by the troops who trained there. Retrieving a map from National Geographic Xpeditions reveals Arizona and Tunisia are approximately the same latitude and have a similar environment. What better way to simulate troop fighting they might encounter in Northern Africa?

Regardless of the route of choice, the hike into Charleston is a pleasure for bird watchers. A good guide to carry is The Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Birds. Depending on the season, one can spot a Hepatic Tanager, Vermilion Flycatcher, Cooper's Hawk, Red Tailed Hawk, Bullock's Oriole, Mexican Gray Hawk, Kingfisher, Mallards, Cliff Swallows, Purple Martins, Downy Woodpeckers, Hairy Woodpeckers, and a variety of buntings wrens, cranes, and hummingbirds. If one is fortunate, a Golden Eagle may be sighted. In addition to the bird life, the hiker can see javelinas, white tailed deer, and if the season has been dry, a cougar or its prints. On a hike the first Sunday in September 2001 a set of a crouching courgar prints in the same vicinity of deer prints were visible in the first major wash on the western side of the San Pedro. This is also a time of the year to be vigilant in the watch for rattlesnakes. They always rattle is a fallacy. The author has only spotted two non-poisonous snakes in the ten years of hiking in the San Pedro area. Another rare sighting occurred on this same hiking trip. "B" Troop from Fort Huachuca was on a reconnaissance exercise. As it turns out, this is a common training route for the troop.

Administered today by the Bureau of Land Management and located within the San Pedro Riparian Area, Charleston remains but a shell of its former life, abused by man and nature.

Scavengers have removed most artifacts from the town of Charleston, but the best piece of history remains on the north side of town. The foothills on both sides of the river are prolific with petroglyphs (see Photo Tour). The town site side offers multiple drawings on the rocks in addition to easy access. Using Rock Art Symbols of the Greater Southwest, as a guide for defining the symbols, the concentric circle represents the place where spirit beings or very powerful shamans can pass through the rock from one world to the next. Other symbols on the rock are snakes, lizards, and simple stick people.

Across the river from Charleston are the remains of the old stamp mill. Standing at the mill and looking north to the foothills tallest peak are also numerous petroglyphs. The terrain is rugged and almost straight up, but worth the challenge. For those not up to the climb, use a strong pair of binoculars, and look for the drawings that are on both sides of the peak.

Scholars are in disagreement as to who actually did this rock art. One of the more popular opinions is that the Anastasi Indians created the drawings. A second controversy over these petroglyphs involves their age. None of the petroglyphs near Charleston is included in Rock Art Symbols of the Greater Southwest, however, there is a distinct similarity to the drawings of the Navajo. These petroglyphs make the challenge of the Charleston hike worthwhile.

Layout of Charleston	Geological Survey Map
Arizona Treasures Sitemap	Course Map