![Footrace in 1908 during Bisbee's 4th of July celebration](https://webarchive.library.unt.edu/eot2008/20090117115712im_/http://lcweb2.loc.gov/natlib/afc2001001/afc-legacies/AZ/200002716/i0001.jpg)
Footrace on Main Street during Bisbee's 1908 Fourth of July celebration - Photo courtesy Bisbee Mining & Historical Museum |
Fourth of July Celebration, Bisbee
For
more than a century, Bisbee has celebrated the Fourth of July with
parades, sporting contests, patriotic events, dances, picnics,
fireworks and rodeos. Some celebrations have lasted for days.
Bisbee became a booming mine town for copper, silver
and gold during the late 1800s. In those early years, Bisbee was an
exceedingly rough place, with the saloons and red light district of
Brewery Gulch becoming the "hottest spot between El Paso and San
Francisco."
By 1900, about 6,000 people made their homes in
tents, shacks, rooming houses and apartment buildings in Bisbee,
which attracted immigrants from Mexico and all over Europe-Finland,
Austria, Serbia, Montenegro, Italy, Germany, Sweden, Switzerland,
and miners from Wales and Cornwall. Bisbee became prosperous, where
men of various nationalities could rise to the economic top. These
immigrants did not necessarily think of themselves as Americans;
they believed their lives in America were an interlude before
returning home as wealthy men. Over time, the ethnic minorities who
stayed gradually assimilated into American culture, and the annual
Fourth of July festivities served as a sort of civics class,
teaching recent immigrants a little about what it means to be an
American.
Before radio and television, speeches were a popular
part of public events. People enjoyed listening to good orations,
and some outstanding orators good hold the attention of rapt
audiences for hours. At the Bisbee Fourth of July celebration, an
attractive young woman of prominent background would read the
Declaration of Independence, followed by the main speaker. Other
entertainment included fireworks, and, since Bisbee was a mining
town, drilling and mucking contests were popular. In 1902, more
than 10,000 people watched four brawny teams of drillers compete
for a first price of $500 (five months' wages for a miner).
Over the years, Bisbee has changed from a mining town
to a family town with a tourist-oriented economy. New residents and
visitors are attracted to the town's clean air and historic
architecture. Its Fourth of July Independence Day festivities have
continued the traditional mucking and drilling contests, coaster
races, foot races, the evening fireworks, and colorful small town
parade.
Documentation includes a 23-page legacy report,
interspersed with newspaper coverage since 1902, and historic and
contemporary photos
Originally submitted by: Jim Kolbe, Representative (5th District).
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