Allred Valley Cattle Co.

The ranch property is situated in the Tombstone Hills on the old State of Maine Mining Company which has been in mining operations since the late 1800’s.  It was mined by some of the original settlers to arrive in Tombstone, including the Escapule and the Schieffelin  families.   In the early 1970’s , a large rich deposit of silver was discovered, and this caught the interest of the bigger mining operations.  One of those companies, the State of Maine Mining, bought the property from the Escapules and set up a milling, distilling and foundry operation. They relocated a large mill from their operation in Montana and reassembeled the huge Montana timber structure near the Maine Mine head and commenced  bringing up the ore.  But the company soon found problems plagued them, and the facility didn’t produce enough to pay the bills.   As time passed, the State of Maine Mining gradually moved parts of their processes to a different property in Mexico.  Within the first year they decided to abandon the Tombstone site for better prospects across the southern border.  The Escapule family had their property back, and they had some cool buildings to boot!  The Escapules returned to successful silver mining on a small scale for quite some years.  They also had family that ranched the perimeter, and there were always cows within sight of the daily operations. The land is arranged in multiple 20 acre mine claims with names like Triple X, the Merrimac, the Clipper and the Brother Johnathan. They all sit in the shadow of the looming Uncle Sam Hill which provides perfect afternoon shade in the hot summers.  There is a valley in the back 300 acres which is the cows favorite hangout. Their favorite spot after the monsoons is the Mine Shaft spring which fills up and becomes a small pond in the middle of a Mesquite bosque, providing a cool respite in the bottom land.  Back in the valley also hides 3 old mining claims which have deeded private mineral rights, hand-written from the 1870’s. These claims are said to be rich in silver.  But the cows are much more interested in the green on the surface — as are the Allreds.