Before Ed Schieffelin hit paydirt, Prussian-born Frederick Brunckow was mining a silver claim along the San Pedro River not far from the future site of Tombstone. Brunckow came to the United States in 1850 and built the cabin in 1858 after striking silver near the river. He hired W. M. Williams as the mine superintendent, James Williams as a machinist, and John Moss as an assayer; as well as a German cook and several Mexican laborers whose names have been lost to the ages. Many stories of how Brunckow met his end abound. According to one of the more credible versions, in September, 1860, W. M. Williams left for a supply run to Fort Buchanan, some 40 miles west. When he returned four days later, he found Moss and the other Williams dead in the cabin and Brunckow in the mine shaft with a rock drill through him. The German cook later surrendered to Captain Ewell at Fort Buchanan and claimed that the Mexican laborers had robbed and killed the other three but had taken the cook prisoner. The murders were never solved. Nor were they the last to occur at the site; including Brunckow and his men, at least 21 murders took place at or near the cabin. The cabin is often referred to as the "Bloodiest Cabin" in Arizona history. And before we forget about Ed Schieffelin, it's said that he used the Brunckow Cabin fireplace in 1877 to assay the samples that led to his successful Tombstone mines. Cochise County, Arizona.
Before Ed Schieffelin hit paydirt, Prussian-born Frederick Brunckow was mining a silver claim along the San Pedro River not far from the future site of Tombstone. Brunckow came to the United States in 1850 and built the cabin in 1858 after striking silver near the river. He hired W. M. Williams as the mine superintendent, James Williams as a machinist, and John Moss as an assayer; as well as a German cook and several Mexican laborers whose names have been lost to the ages. Many stories of how Brunckow met his end abound. According to one of the more credible versions, in September, 1860, W. M. Williams left for a supply run to Fort Buchanan, some 40 miles west. When he returned four days later, he found Moss and the other Williams dead in the cabin and Brunckow in the mine shaft with a rock drill through him. The German cook later surrendered to Captain Ewell at Fort Buchanan and claimed that the Mexican laborers had robbed and killed the other three but had taken the cook prisoner. The murders were never solved. Nor were they the last to occur at the site; including Brunckow and his men, at least 21 murders took place at or near the cabin. The cabin is often referred to as the "Bloodiest Cabin" in Arizona history. And before we forget about Ed Schieffelin, it's said that he used the Brunckow Cabin fireplace in 1877 to assay the samples that led to his successful Tombstone mines. Cochise County, Arizona.
