two guns ghost town in arizona

Two Guns; A Ghost Town with a haunted past…

two guns ghost town in arizona

Bridge built in 1915 as part of Route 66, crossing the canyon.

Miller called himself “Chief Crazy Thunder” and wore his hair long and braided, even though he wasn’t of indian descent.  He constructed additional stone structures in the area housing curio shops and restaurants.

two guns ghost town in arizona

After discovering the Apache Death Cave and the bodies within, Miller decided to cash in on this macabre find and constructed an entryway to the cavern.  He sold tickets to the cavern and actually sold Apache skulls that he found to tourists as souvenirs.

two guns ghost town in arizona

It wasn’t long before fate intervened and Miller fell victim to the curse that seemed to fall on this land.  One of the mountain lions clawed him almost to death. A year later a small Canada lynx very nearly disemboweled him.  And then a Gila monster on exhibit bit him. The wound became infected and he nearly lost his arm.

He eventually left town after his partner was discovered murdered in the doorway of the zoo offices.  (Miller was not convicted of the murder, but many were suspicious).

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two guns ghost town in arizona

In 1950, Two Guns and the property were sold to S.I. Richardson.  He discontinued the zoo, and leased to several other operators over the next decade.  The land was purchased again in the early 60’s by Benjamin Dreher.

two guns ghost town arizona

He constructed more modern buildings, keeping with the western atmosphere including a new motel, coffee shop, restaurant, gift shop and up to date service station.

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13 thoughts on “Two Guns; A Ghost Town with a haunted past…”

    1. Hi Lorena!

      You certainly are right about that! We didn’t know the history until we got back home and I did the research. Very glad I didn’t pick
      up a souvenir or two. LOL!
      suzy

    1. Hi Heather!
      We were glad that we didn’t run into any snakes or drifters. But it certainly was fun to learn a bit about the history of the area!
      suzy

  1. Without all your research, this wouldn’t have been of much interest, but you really brought it to life …. good job. You must have time on your hands 🙂

    1. Hi Neil and Yoly!
      I’ve always loved history and this place was fun to research. There is a lot of history in this part of the country that I just touch on. Too much to cover. But we have learned so much on this trip alone!

      Oh and this place was awesome to photograph! We’ve covered lots more territory that I haven’t written about yet, but hope to soon.

      thanks for reading! Hope you are both doing well!
      suzy

  2. Louise
    I remember passing through Two Guns on our visits to the South West. I did not realized that there is a history to the place. I remember that farther down on the Interstate 40 we passed another abandoned town called Twin Arrows. The kids thought it was funny to see first Two Guns and then Twin Arrows.

  3. I hope that when you went to Winslow you went where the painting on the side of the building was! In case you don’t know what I’m talking about, it was from the Eagles song: “I’m standing on the corner in Winslow, Arizona, such a fine sight to see. There’s a woman coming down in a half bed Ford slowing down to take a look at me.” I think that’s how it went.

    1. Hi Linda!
      Yes, we did go to Winslow and took the required photos! LOL! It was a great photo op! Winslow itself is not really much to see. The Eagles totally put them on the map. Will show photos soon. Hope you are having a wonderful weekend!

      suzy

  4. Back in the early 2000s, when friends and I explored the unrestricted bits, we found leftover receipt books (in the little wooden building adjacent to the Shell station) that indicated the KOA was in operation at least through 1995. Also, the mobile behind the station, while abandoned, was then in relatively good repair. I believe that’s where Solinger killed himself. There’s only the nearly collapsed skeleton of the structure left. In the past year, people have defaced the interior of the faux ruins at the Apache Cave with graffiti, and sometime after 2009 the wooden bridge that leads along the paved path down into the western cave entrance was destroyed. Before that, it was still strong enough to hold people.

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