As the Bloodiest Cabin in Arizona History,
Brunckow's Cabin isn't for the faint of heart. This property bore witness to mayhem, murderers, and massacres. Within thirty years, twenty-one people were killed on location. Some were buried in unmarked graves, nestled nearby. Brunckow himself was found eviscerated by a rock drill.
What's haunting Brunckow's Cabin?
permanent camp.
Visitors have witnessed ghostly apparitions at Brunckow's Cabin since the late nineteenth century. Some have heard inexplicable noises from the mining shaft – like the pounding of drills, pickaxes pulling away rocks, and the sawing of lumber for trusses.
Miners speak of unquiet spirits. Prospectors avoid the property altogether.
Are there poltergeists nearby?
In 1897, the Tombstone Prospector reported a singular, ominous apparition. The apparition allegedly walked about the cabin at night, stalking the perimeter. Whenever the poltergeist sensed an intruder, it disappeared to reappear elsewhere.
In the same article, the Prospector recounted how five robbers fought over stolen bullion at the location. Unable to agree upon how best to divide the bullion, they began to spar and shoot one another. All five were found dead, yet the bullion remained intact.
Does the poltergeist protect their ill-gotten gains?
In 1881, Prescott's Arizona Democrat reported that graves lie thick around the old adobe house,
claiming that prospectors and miners avoid the spot as they would the plague.
The Arizona Democrat even alleged that many of them will tell you that the unquiet spirits of the departed are wont to revisit… and wander about the scene.
From massacres to fatal misunderstandings, the history of Brunckow's Cabin is as foreboding as its hauntings. The first occupant was murdered by Sonoran laborers, his corpse hurled down the nearby shaft. Later inhabitants were shot by alleged squatters or slain by lawmen. Today, bodies populate the property, buried in unmarked graves.
Frederick Brunckow was a Prussian-born immigrant who arrived in Tucson, Arizona in 1856. Brunckow, an honors graduate of Berlin's Royal Mining Academy, was an invaluable arrival to the area. With practical mining experience, he was quickly hired to the Sonora Exploring and Mining Company. He was Sonora's Field Geologist by 1875.
Brunckow created his own mining company by 1859, joined by James Williams, William William, and J.C. Moss. Together, they recruited laborers from Sonora, Mexico.
A ground shaft was soon built on the location, then an adobe furnace. Brunckow also constructed Adobe homes to house workers and families. Like his laborers, Brunckow's Cabin was an Adobe structure furnished with a tin roof and fireplace. Brunckow even established a store to serve the needs of this newly formed village.
By 1860, Brunckow created not only a silver mining company but a community.
On July 23 of 1860, the Sonoran laborers turned against Brunckow. They plunged a rock drill into his gut, eviscerating his stomach. Next, they threw him down the mine shaft. The laborers then proceeded to kill J.C. Moss and James Williams.
William Williams, who had left for supplies, returned to find his comrades slaughtered. He was first struck by an unfamiliar odor that he later identified as James' decomposing body. He also discovered that David Bontrager, the cook, had disappeared. Williams immediately fled to alert the authorities.
Upon their arrival, soldiers were able to locate two other bodies: Moss, whose remains had been ravaged by animals,
and Brunckow, hurled down the shaft. Both were buried in unmarked graves.
When Bontrager reappeared, he alleged that he'd been captured by Mexican laborers. He claimed that his abductors only released him by virtue of his Catholic faith.
Despite his testament, Bontrager was a primary suspect for the crime: no one in Arizona could confirm that his story was true. Bontrager was only released from custody after Mexican authorities investigated his claim, proving his alibi.
They never found the murderers.
No one knows why the laborers killed Brunckow, though scholars have theories. Some believe that the revolt was a reaction to the 1854 Gadsden Purchase, which ceded the area from Mexico as a U.S. territory.
Others claim that Mexicans had first discovered Brunckow's mine in 1855, giving them rights to mining production. A less common yet equally viable theory is that Brunckow abused his laborers. Their retaliation had only been payback.
Brunckow's Cabin was never again used for mining. After Brunckow's death, the area was known as a meeting point for smugglers.
In 1873, a former United States Marshal acquired ownership of the cabin. Yet Milton B. Duffield was an unpopular man, known for his iron nerve,
ruffiantly instinct,
and unimpeached aim.
John Gregory Bourke claimed Duffield wore eleven firearms and a knife at once, usually concealed.
To Duffield's shock, someone else staked a claim on Brunckow's Cabin – a man by the name of Edward N. Fish. Yet Fish didn’t reside in the cabin; instead, he sent James T. Holmes. Holmes was an employee of Fish, and Fish thought Holmes could maintain the property.
On June 5 of 1874, Duffield attempted to evict what he considered the illegal tenant, waving his arms and shouting like a mad-man.
Holmes presumed that Duffield was armed to the teeth,
and continued to shoot Duffield.
It was only after Holmes discharged the double-barrel shotgun that he realized Duffield was unarmed. Like Duffield's predecessors, Duffield was buried on the property. Holmes, who was sentenced to three years in for murder, only served seventeen days. He escaped prison and was never seen in Arizona again.
Before Ed Schiefflin founded Tombstone, he discovered Brunckow's Cabin. He kept base at the cabin in 1877, utilizing the property as a permanent camp.
Although their stay was uneventful, he found "several fresh graves" in the surrounding area. Schiefflin ultimately attributed these to Apache raids.
Frank Stilwell was another infamous occupant of the cabin, made famous for his involvement in the Gunfight at the OK Corral. Stilwell was close to the Clanton Faction, enemies of the Earp Brothers.
This may explain why Stilwell was murdered by Wyatt Earp, who learned that Stilwell intended to kill Virgil. He was grotesquely slain on a flatcar in the Tucson Train Station.
Brunckow's Cabin is located southwest of Tombstone, Arizona in Cochise County. It's just off Charleston Road, less than two miles north of the SanPedro River.
Visitors to Brunckow's Cabin will only find ruins. (And perhaps a few poltergeists.) If you're looking to visit land with ominous energies, the location is worth the hike.
You'll need to walk one-tenth of a mile up Brunckow Road until you see a break in the fence. Turn right, then take the trail to the ruins. You'll pass an unrelated set of ruins early on, but this isn't your destination. Keep walking another quarter mile to find Brunckow’s Cabin.
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