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Rose Tree Museum

The Rose Tree...

photo courtesy of the Rose Tree Museum

The centerpiece of the Rose Tree Museum is the ‘Tombstone Rose’ which is also known as ‘The Shady Lady.’

Planted in 1885 from a single cutting of a white ‘Lady Banks’ rose from Scotland, this rose bush has not only survived the harsh climate in Tombstone, it has thrived and become a legend in its own right.

The Tombstone Rose has been three times confirmed by The World Record Academy, Ripley’s, and Guinness as the world’s largest rose tree, having a trunk circumference of more than 12 feet and a spread of branches that now exceeds 9,000 square feet.

The branches are supported by an arbor made up of a network of wood and metal, allowing the rose to entirely shade the inner courtyard patio of the Rose Tree Museum.

Impressive even when it is not in bloom, the best viewing time of the Tombstone Rose is mid-March through April when the tree flushes with thousands of delicate, fragrant white blossoms.

The Rose Tree Museum even has an elevated platform from which the spectacular display of roses can be viewed from above.

No trip to Tombstone is complete without visiting the Tombstone Rose.

...and the Museum

photo courtesy of the Rose Tree Museum

There is more to see than just the rose tree at the Rose Tree Museum.

The building itself is an historic site, and the contents of the museum are worth seeing, too.

The building at the corner of 4th and Toughnut Streets was originally the Vizina Mining Company’s boarding house. It is also the first adobe structure built in Tombstone.

Mary Gee, wife of Vizina mining engineer Henry Gee, was the woman who received the ‘Lady Banks’ rose cutting from family in Scotland, and subsequently planted it in the patio of the boarding house where she and her husband lived when they first arrived in Tombstone.

The building later became the Cochise House Hotel, then the Arcade Hotel and Annex. Later, the hotel was named the Rose Tree Inn, after the rose tree had become a well-known attraction.

photo courtesy of the Rose Tree Museum

The hotel was finally closed and the building converted into a museum housing local artifacts and displays of Tombstone area events, people, places, and history.

Displays of furniture and accessories from the boarding house and the Mercia residence including period guns, locks, tools, writing instruments and other items make an interesting trip back in time.

There are also dioramas of the Lucky Cuss mine and the OK Corral and the gunfight scene which make it easy to visualize the history of Tombstone.

In addition, there are displays featuring local people in the 1880s including Dr. George E. Goodfellow, photographer C.S. Fly, editor of the Tombstone Epitaph newspaper John P. Clum, and Cochise County rancher and sheriff  John H. Slaughter.

The self-guided tour is certainly worth seeing while in Tombstone.

photo courtesy of the Rose Tree Museum

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