You Can’t Get Rum ‘n’ Coke in Charleston
We had visited this grassy, brush- and scrub brush-covered maze of crumbling adobe structures several times. We spoke with a number of spirits including Jack the bartender, and a boarding house operator named Mary, who was also the victim of a modern-day murder. An interesting conversation occurred between Rhonda and Jack and spanned the 150-year history of the Charleston, Arizona ghost town when she “ordered” a rum and coke in the hope of getting an EVP response. Seconds later she discovered why you can’t get rum ’n’ coke in the Charleston ghost town.
Rhonda and Dwight near the ruins in Charleston, Arizona.
Charleston is rapidly losing its battle with encroaching desert growth, erosion by rain, and washouts from the San Pedro River. During its brief heyday the community was home to 450 people. Most of them worked at or in some way supported the operations of the Tombstone Mill and Mining Company, a ten-stamp mill, the Corbin Mill and Mining Company’s fifteen-stamp mill, and the Tombstone Mine and Milling Co., which were all located across the river on the east side. These mills operated around the clock every day of the year. Charleston was a “bedroom community” for Millville. Both communities were dependent upon the silver ore shipped in from the mines in nearby Tombstone. By 1879 more than 40 buildings housed a post office, four restaurants, a school, a church, a doctor, a lawyer, a drugstore, two blacksmiths, two livery stables, two butcher shops, two bakeries, a hotel, five general stores, a jewelry shop, a brickyard, a brewery, a carpenter shop, a drugstore, one doctor, two bakeries, a lawyer, a washhouse, a stationery and fruit store, a brickyard, and at least four saloons.
The community was named after the town’s first postmaster, Charles D. Handy.
Charleston was popular with the “cowboy” contingent of the Earp/Clanton conflict made famous in such movies as Tombstone and Wyatt Earp. Frank Stillwell, killed by Wyatt Earp in Tucson, owned a bar in Charleston. The Clanton Ranch was only a few miles south of town. Some of the cowboys who visited the town included Ike and Billy Clanton, John Ringo, Curly Bill Brocius, Pete Spence, and Frank and Tom McLaury. Despite the rough nature of some residents and frequent guests, the Tombstone Epitaph of May 6, 1882, noted, “The town is well regulated and free from turmoil. In fact, it is one of the most peaceful places we were ever in.”
One of the most infamous residents was Justice of the Peace James “Jim” Burnett, who ran the town and was, in effect, a corrupt dictator of considerable power. He was murdered in Tombstone in 1897. You will read what some residents of Charleston thought of Burnett in this chapter.
Much like the upriver town of Fairbank, Charleston and Millville suffered a double whammy that crushed the communities as effectively as the mills crushed silver ore. The mines in Tombstone flooded in 1886, forcing a shutdown at the mills. The reason for the towns’ existence was wiped out. A large earthquake and a series of disastrous aftershocks in 1887 ruined every adobe structure in town.
By 1889 Charleston was a ghost town. The destruction of the town continued, often due to flooding of the San Pedro, which has swept away many of the original buildings and is encroaching on more. Additionally, the town was used for live-fire training during World War II by the Ninety-third Infantry Division stationed at Fort Huachuca in the nearby City of Sierra Vista. A careful observer can sometimes find adobe walls penetrated by nineteenth century rifle and revolver shells mixed in with the occasional twentieth century shell from a World War II era “tommy gun.”
Although the businesses left and man and nature are reducing the community to little more than a footnote in the history books, many of those who lived and worked in Charleston decided to stick around. Some of them were willing to speak.
Access to Charleston and Millville is from a parking lot immediately east of Charleston Road. The trip to Millville is easy and follows a wide path. The way into Charleston follows a railroad bed abandoned in 2012 and requires crossing the San Pedro on foot. The crossing can be as easy as tip-toeing across a shallow stream. It can also be impossible. During the summer monsoon season the tip-toe area can be under more than seventeen feet of dark, raging water. The day we showed up we crossed on a log using sticks like ski poles to keep our balance.
Session One
D: This is EVP session one—Charleston. Dan, Rhonda, and Dwight at the place we call The Bar. It is approximately 10:08 a.m. on January 7, 2017. And we’re going to do a quick EVP session here at the bar. (Microphone interference.) If you can hear me I’d really like you to come up and say something real loud to us so we can hear you.
DB: Setting down the recorder.
D: Well, this is a bar, so bartender if you’re here I need a beer. Can you get me a beer?
DB: What’s the special drink of the house? What do you recommend?
R: I take it he has a special?
DB: Everybody has a special.
R: Right, but it was circling …
DB: Right. They were big on mixed drinks. Like Dwight said, the whiskey was so bad.
R: Do you have a rum and coke?
DB: No. They don’t know what a coke is.
D: You said coke and they don’t have any idea.
R: Okay, do you have rum?
D: I’m getting a yes.
R: Okay. Mix that with whatever.
DB: He’s saying no.
R: Okay, I’ll have it straight, straight rum. Straight up. Do you have ice?
No.
DB: I’m getting a no.
R: I’ll take my rum straight up then, a straight shot. Okay.
DB: Can you tell us your name please?
The pendulum said no.
R: Is there a Jack here?
DB: The pendulum said yes.
R: Is Jack the bartender? Or one of the bartenders?
DB: I’m getting a yes.
There are people in the background. (Tourists in the area.)
R: Yeah. I don’t know where they are.
DB: Up on the railroad track.
Yes.
R: Do you look after this place?
DB: I’m getting a yes.
R: Are there more than five spirits here?
DB: A good solid yes.
R: Are there more than ten spirits here?
DB: Strong no.
R: Are there eight spirits here?
DB: I’m getting a yes.
D: Are there any ladies in the house with us today?
DB: Yes.
Are there any ladies of the house here with us today?
No. They’re guests.
D: Ladies we certainly thank you for being here with us. Kind of a rough and tumble town for some ladies to be here, but we appreciate you being here.
Did you like it in Charleston when you were here?
R: Yes.
DB: I’m getting a yes.
R: Did you have children?
I should address … There are a lot of people.
Somebody said no.
DB: Is there more than one female here?
There are at least two.
R: Did one of you have a son about ten?
DB: Stomach noise. And that’s a strong yes.
R: And did you have a dog, a real fluffy dog? Medium size?
DB: I’m getting a yes.
R: Remember we’ve seen a dog, a boy with a dog?
D: Yep.
Let me ask—is there anybody here that knows Justice Jim Burnett?
DB: I’m getting a yes over here.
D: Okay. We understand that Justice Jim ran this town. Is that true?
DB: I got a yes.
D: Let me ask—did you like Justice Jim Burnett?
DB: I’m getting a pretty strong no.
D: Yep.
DB: What are you getting?
R: No.
DB: Just for the record, nobody can see me do my pendulum work. My back is to Dwight and Rhonda, so we’re not reading each other.
R: No. They hated him.
DB: I get a … wow. I get a strong yes on that.
D: Old Justice Jim was quite a figure here. We understand that. Was he ever in this building with you?
DB: I get a solid yes.
D: I imagine old Jim came into a lot of these buildings collecting taxes and shaking people down. Is that true?
DB: Strong yes over here.
R: Uh-hm.
(Rhonda coughs.)
DB: Different pollens.
R: Did he make any threats to you? This is for the ladies, did he make any threats, any improper threats?
DB: I’m getting a strong yes.
R: Yep.
DB: Care to comment on that, please?
R: Them or me?
DB: I’d like the ladies’ perspective.
D: Can you tell us in just a few words, can you tell us what he may have said to you? (Pause.)
Well, okay. We thank you for talking with us today and communicating with us today. We’re going to be in town for a while and you’re welcome to stay with us or join us …
R: Yeah.
D: … or people you know who want to talk to us. We’re not here to make fun of you or anything like that. We’re just here to learn the history of this place. We love the history and we just like to talk to you folks and we appreciate the fact that you’re nice enough to talk back to us. So, ladies and gentlemen you have a great day and we’ll talk to you real soon.
DB: We appreciate it.
D: End of EVP session one.
DB: End session one.
Session Two—Rhonda recording on video
D: Okay, we are recording. EVP Session Two. We don’t know what building this is. It’s approximately …
DB: Ten thirty-five
D: … ten thirty-five on January 7, 2017. We’re just going to do a quick pendulum session here. We’re going to have the recorder as backup. Okay.
DB: Is there anyone here that’s willing to speak?
I’m getting a yes.
What’s your intuition picking up?
D: I’m getting that there’s at least one person here. I’m getting that it’s … is the person here female?
DB: That’s a strong yes.
D: Yeah, that’s what I’m picking up.
DB: I got goose bumps. That’s … she wants to talk.
D: Yep. Was this your house?
DB: Strong yes.
D: Okay. We’ve come to your place several times. Did you, ma’am, if I can ask you, did you cook meals for the workers?
DB: I’m getting a yes.
D: I see her in that kind of a position where she …
DB: Yeah.
D: … feeds a lot of people.
DB: I’m getting strong answers.
D: So she’s here. Ma’am, can you not so much for the pendulum, but can you tell us what your name is?
Okay, I got a really strong name here.
DB: What name did you get?
D: Ma’am, is your name Mary?
DB: You got it.
D: Yep. Mary, thank you so …
KNOCK
… much for talking to us today. We heard a big knock right behind us here.
DB: Was that you, Mary?
Look at that. (pendulum “yes” movement reference)
D: Wow.
DB: Thank you, Mary.
D: Thank you for letting us know you’re here in a way that we can understand. It’s a little hard to communicate, but we’re doing our best.
DB: Look at that.
D: That’s a heck of a swing.
DB: I think we have a strong woman in the community.
D: Yeah.
DB: Well, you had to be.
D: You had to be to do what she did.
Did you see a lot of … Let me try to rephrase the question for you, Mary. It’s kind of hard right now, but, you saw a lot of comings and goings in town here, did you?
(Unidentified sound.)
Okay, Mary, I just picked up something. I think you’re trying to tell me something here. Mary, did you lose your husband here?
DB: I’m getting a yes.
D: Okay. I’m picking up that … Mary, did your husband die in an accident?
DB: It started going yes the second you said “ac … ”
D: Okay, that’s what I’m getting. Mary, I’m sorry about that. It kind of left you in a position, didn’t it?
DB: Umm … yes.
D: Mary is when your husband passed, is that when you kind of took over basically caretaker of the camp and started cooking for folks?
DB: Yes.
D: It kind of gave you a purpose, didn’t it?
(Gunfire in background: Hunters were in the area—volume of gunshot noise extremely low.)
DB: That’s gunfire.
D: Yeah, that’s gunfire in the back. Yep.
DB: She said yes. Well, she would know.
D: Yes. She would certainly know. Well, Mary, we’re going to be here a while. I really want to thank you for talking with us and communicating with us. Before we go ahead and stop what we’re doing here, is there something you would like to tell us?
DB: She’s telling me yes.
D: Yep.
DB: Speak up, please.
D: Yeah. Yeah. I’ve got this little box in my hand, Mary, if you talk really loud next to it or next to us we’ll probably be able to hear you on this. If you can do that for us …
Okay. Thank you, Mary. One more question before we stop. Would you like us to come back sometime and visit with you?
DB: That’s a big, strong yes.
D: Okay.
DB: I think she likes company.
D: And, well, she’s used to having it around her all the time with the people … Okay, Mary, I can give you our solid promise we will come back and we will talk to you and visit you and I want to thank you so much for talking with us today. And we will be back, Mary. Thank you.
KNOCK
DB: Thank you very much. That wasn’t a gunshot.
D: No. I’m going to …
DB: Get a close-up of the pendulum. (Dwight shot video of pendulum movement.)
R: Yeah.
DB: Just a real tight close up.
R: Yeah.
DB: Fifteen seconds.
Okay. I think she was a strong-willed woman.
R: I didn’t know if that was a water bottle in my thing, but … (reference to sound)
The multiple knocking sounds heard during this session were not from hunters’ gunfire. Both sounds can be heard on the recording and they are distinctive. The knocks, whatever they represent, came from within the adobe structure.
DB: I am recording.
DB: EVP Session Two for me. For Dan three.
We’re at, for lack of a better term, “Dwight’s Hole.” It’s a square hole in the ground that we found that we think is a well. Again, this is January 7, 2017 at approximately time of …
DB: Eleven oh-seven.
D: Eleven oh-seven. I’m going to … We’re going to try to recreate a little bit of a former EVP session that we did so I’m going to put my recorder down on the very same rock.
DB: My recorder is down in the grass next to the well.
D: Hands free.
DB: Hands free.
D: I am in … I am standing in the hole just for reference.
Is there anybody here with us right now that would like
to talk to us or communicate with us?
(Camera noise.)
R: That was my camera.
DB: The pendulum is swinging yes.
R: Do you want me to record this with your camera.
DB: That’s okay. It’s kind of weedy.
D: We had a tough time again finding this little slice of heaven and we’d really like to know how we can easily find this place and how to mark this area. Can you tell us how to mark this area, please?
For recording purposes there is a bird kind of yelling in the background there.
I think we already established that there’s somebody here.
DB: I got a yes.
D: Okay, let’s go with more of a pendulum thing, then. Is the person who is here with us, are you a male?
DB: I’m getting a yes.
D: Sir, if you’re willing to, can you tell us what your name is?
R: Does it begin with the letter B? Do either of your names begin with a B?
DB: I got a pretty strong yes on that one.
D: Okay, sir, do you … this may seem like a pretty stupid question. Sir, do you carry a gun, a pistol?
DB: I got a yes, a weak yes, but a yes.
D: Okay. Okay, sir, I don’t even know where I’m going with that.
R: Have you fired your pistol lately?
DB: I’m getting a yes.
R: Let me ask you this: have you ever shot somebody?
DB: I got an immediate no.
D: Okay, for the man who is here, the hole I’m standing in, was this a well?
DB: I am getting a no.
D: Was this like a storage, cold storage?
DB: I am getting a yes.
D: Okay, and just so we cover all the bases, was this area, was this hole ever used as a … I’ll say a bathroom, an outhouse?
DB: That’s a pretty good no.
D: Okay, I just wanted to hit all the possibilities and get answers on all of them. Okay, so we’re pretty well established that this was cold storage. Was this cold storage for beer and liquor?
DB: Strong yes.
D: Okay. So, was the building in front of me, was this a hotel?
DB: No. I got a no.
D: Was it a restaurant?
DB: For that I’m getting a yes.
D: I guess maybe you didn’t call them restaurants back in the day. Was it like an eating place or boarding house?
DB: For me you have to ask one or the other.
D: Okay. Was this building a boarding house?
DB: That is a no.
D: Was this place more of an eatery, a place where you can eat.
DB: I’m getting a yes.
R: Or drink, obviously.
D: I sure thank you for that, for clearing that up for us because we weren’t really sure.
DB: I don’t know where this is coming from, but is the number three significant, for some reason?
I got a yes. I don’t know where that came from.
D: The number three …
DB: The number three. And is the number three significant to the individual here?
No.
Is it significant to the place?
Yes.
Again, I don’t know where that came from.
D: For recording purposes, in case we’re picking it up, there are voices far away from us like kids yelling.
R: And gunshots.
DB: Hunters.
D: So we do have kids in the area.
So the number three to this area, is that right?
DB: To the place, yeah. Not a person, but to the place. Maybe that was Bar #3 or something. I have no idea. Maybe your intuition picks up something.
R: I’m going to go live, but only on you. I’m not going to show Dan. (Facebook reference.)
DB: (joking) Ah!
R: Well, I didn’t know if you wanted me to shoot, to show the pendulum.
DB: (joking) It’s okay. It’s all right. I’m not in it for fame and fortune like some people.
R: If you want to post. Do you mind if I go live with you?
DB: No. I don’t mind. Just tell me to hold my stomach in.
R: I’m getting ready to push the button. I don’t know how long it will last.
DB: Again, I’m getting strong, strong pendulum swings here so there’s lots of activity here.
D: So we got the number three.
(R narrating FB live in background.)
D: And we got the number three that’s connected to this area, so let me ask you this: We’ve already established that the building next to us was kind of an eatery. Did the name of the eatery have to do with the number three?
DB: That’s a real strong yes.
D: Okay. So, was more like the “Three something” or the “something Three”?
DB: Yeah.
D: We will definitely research that.
DB: I’m thinking Bar #3 or the Three Brothers’ Saloon …
D: Or three peaks … that’s kind of what I’m picking up.
R: Just for recording purposes, I just whispered. I forgot the number one …
D: You were … it [cellphone] disconnected there for a while.
R: Sorry about the connection. I don’t know if it’s spirits. Let’s see.
D: Clearly we’re in a …
R: Yeah, there are a lot of trees here, so I don’t know if it’s going to last.
DB: This is strong. There is a lot of activity here, strong activity.
D: To the male that is here that we are talking to now, was this a busy area when you were here?
DB: Again, yes.
D: Okay. Did you live close to here and by close I mean … did you live close to here?
DB: Yeah.
Ask him if he knew Mary.
D: Oh, yeah. We just came from a house where we talked to a female named Mary who did a lot of cooking for the workers. Did you know Mary?
DB: Big, strong yes.
D: Well, they’re in the same sort of business, I guess.
Did you work at the eatery here?
DB: That’s a no.
D: Did you eat at this building.
DB: That’s a good, strong yes.
D: Okay. Let me ask you this: did you eat over at Mary’s house? Did she cook you stuff?
DB: Big, strong yes.
D: So they knew each other.
R: Were you married to Mary?
DB: No. I got a no.
D: Well, that’s … we got some answers anyway. Sir, I’d like to thank you for talking to us and taking the time with us today. We’re just really interested in your history and why you’re here and what you did while you were here. We’re going to be in town a little while longer so if you’d care to follow us around and talk with us, that’s fine. We’re going to go ahead and wrap it up for our little session here, but thank you so much for being here with us.
If you can tell us one more time how we can find this place easier the next time we come that would be great.
Okay. Thank you so much.
DB: We appreciate it.
I’m picking up the recorder and session over.
We sat down later for a fourth session. As previously noted, hunters and kids were in the area and at times we clearly heard shouting. Dwight and Rhonda’s intuitive abilities indicated that perhaps someone else had joined in the shouting. As you will see this proved to be true.
DB: Okay, recording.
D: Okay. We are in the Charleston ghost town in a place we call the Glass Field, which is right behind several buildings. And to drive home the point one more time, it is January 7, 2017 at approximately noonish—one o’clock.
DB: Right at noon.
D: Right at noon. Okay.
So we’re just going to do a quick session just to see if anybody is hanging around their old junk. If there is somebody here with us …
DB: Recorder down.
D: Okay, you can … well, let me ask this: is there somebody here with us now?
DB: Yeah.
D: Okay.
DB: I got a yes.
D: Did you live in one of these buildings behind us.
DB: That’s a pretty strong yes.
D: Strong yes. Did you also work in one of these buildings behind us?
DB: Continuing yes.
D: Okay.
DB: Let Rhonda ask a question or two.
R: Are you … did you just shout a few minutes ago?
DB: That’s a yes with a kick.
R: Are you from the South?
DB: That’s a no.
R: Okay, are you from the East Coast?
DB: That’s a yes.
R: Are you from … I don’t know … somewhere where they have a bit of an accent.
D: Boston or …
DB: Bahs-ton.
R: … Or Virginia.
DB: Well, pick one.
R: Massachusetts?
DB: No.
R: Virginia?
DB: Virginia—I got a yes.
D: Okay.
DB: That works.
That’s enough video.
D: That’s fine.
R: Did you … oh, sorry.
DB: Go ahead, since we’re doing a session.
D: Yeah.
DB: Rock ‘n roll.
R: Did you know any of the Clantons?
DB: Oh, yeah. Strong yes.
R: Are you a Clanton?
DB: No.
DB: Did you like the Clantons?
That’s a pretty good yes.
D: Yep.
R: And you are a male? Is that right?
DB: Did you like the Earp faction?
That kicked no real fast.
D: That stopped and kicked a no real quick.
DB: No wasted time on that.
D: Sorry, but we had to ask.
Did you ever eat at Ike’s lunch counter?
DB: That’s another yes.
R: Did you work in Millville?
DB: No. That’s a no.
R: So you worked here in Charleston? Okay.
DB: That’s another yes.
R: (Stomach noise.) That’s my stomach I think.
D: Okay. We’ll probably wrap it up from here.
DB: I’ve got what I need. I just want to give him some stuff to work with. (Reference to images for a video project.)
R: Thank you for talking to us.
DB: We appreciate it.
D: Absolutely.
R: If you can talk really loud into this little black box … anything else you want to say, we can pick up your voice.
DB: Just speak into this box if you would. Just say anything. Say your name.
D: Yep. Just shout it out.
Okay.
DB: End of session.
D: Thank you.
The EVPs
One of the most remarkable EVP recordings in this book was captured by Dwight and Rhonda at an earlier visit to Charleston, specifically at the place we referred to as Dwight’s Hole. They had just discovered the site and were wondering how to mark it when a gunshot rang out. Although clearly recorded, neither Dwight nor Rhonda heard the gunshot until they played back the audio.
R: I think we need to, like, mark the tree with …
D: Something.
R: … something. I don’t know with what.
EVP: (Gunshot) … with bloodshed …
To listen to the EVPs go to:
www.beelieveparanormal.com/our-book.html