Warren
In May 1905, the Calumet & Arizona Mining Company organized the Warren Realty and Development Company to begin development on Warren - Arizona's first planned community - in response to overcrowding and lack of space for growth in nearby Bisbee. Warren was named for George Warren, one of the original discoverers of copper at Bisbee, and was to follow the concept of "City Beautiful," which integrated the town's essentials with pleasing aesthetics, including the half-mile long Vista Park in the middle of town. The town was laid out in a wedge shape on an alluvial fan to take advantage of natural drainage, and ground was broken on October 6, 1906.
On January 7, 1907, the Warren townsite was officially opened to the public. That year, the first buildings and a modern water and sewage system were completed. On March 12, 1908, the Warren-Bisbee Railway was completed; a fully electric streetcar line to provide an easy link between the two towns - the only one of its kind in the state. By 1910, Warren was home to 650. By 1913, that number was nearly 1000. In addition to serving as a suburb of Bisbee, Warren also had its own business district as well as attractions of its own: Warren Country Club and the Warren Ballpark. The Country Club, opened 1908, was among the earliest golf courses in the state. The Ballpark was a baseball field completed in 1909 where local teams competed with others from around the region.
In 1917, the Warren Ballpark became the scene of one of America's most controversial labor disputes. In response to rising racial tension and poor working conditions, the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW) union organized a strike on June 26. More than 3000 miners - 85% of Bisbee's workforce - went on strike. On July 11, executives from the Phelps Dodge Corporation, the largest mining company in Bisbee, met with Cochise County Sheriff Harry Wheeler and a posse of 2200 men to plan a mass deportation of the striking miners. The following morning, the posse raided Bisbee and arrested 200 miners, before marching them down the hill to Warren, assembling at the Ballpark. Those that were not members of the IWW were given the option to return to work, which roughly 700 agreed to. The remaining 1,286 were loaded on cattle cars provided by the Phelps Dodge-controlled El Paso & Southwestern Railway and deported to Hermanas, New Mexico - over 150 miles away - and told not to return.
In later years, despite a decline in mining at Bisbee, Warren has held on as a quiet residential community. The Warren-Bisbee Railway ceased operation in 1927, replaced by a bus line that ran until 1971. In 1959, Warren itself was annexed into Bisbee. Today, Warren is home to Bisbee High School and a number of the City's services, as well as several fine historic homes and buildings.
