Two Guns, Arizona
A Ghost Town with a Haunted Past
For years, I passed the Two Guns exit on Interstate 40 east of Flagstaff without giving it a second thought. It was just another lonely off-ramp leading into the vast Arizona desert. Then one evening, as the setting sun cast a golden glow on the abandoned stone buildings, something about the place stopped me in my tracks.
Curiosity got the best of me. The next time I was in the area, I pulled over, camera in hand, and stepped into the eerie remnants of what was once a thriving stop along Route 66. What I found was a ghost town with a colorful name and a past as wild as the unlikely legends surrounding it.
Two Guns was a product of the early 1900s, a small community that sprang up along the historic Santa Fe Highway, which was later incorporated into the famous Route 66. Perched on the edge of the 80-mile-long Canyon Diablo (Spanish for Devil’s Canyon), its very name hints at its colorful past. Some say the town was named after Western silent film actor William Surrey Hart, also known as “Two Gun Bill,” thus adding to the town’s mystique. Or it could be that the name simply reflected the lawless, gun-slinging spirit of the Old West.
Like many Route 66 towns, Two Guns thrived as a roadside attraction. It boasted a gas station, a restaurant, a campground, a swimming pool and even a zoo. But as the decades passed, disaster struck repeatedly—businesses burned, owners abandoned their dreams, and the final blow came with the completion in 1968 of Interstate 40, which rerouted traffic away from the town. By the mid-20th century, Two Guns had been left to the wind and the ghosts of its past.
Few places blur the line between history and myth like Two Guns. One of its most infamous stories is that of the so-called "Apache Death Cave." According to legend, in 1878, a group of Apache warriors hid in a cave within Canyon Diablo, plotting a surprise attack on the Navajo. But the Navajo discovered their plan and set fires at the cave’s entrance, asphyxiating those trapped inside. Supposedly, the cave remains a site of restless spirits and bad luck.
Historian Blue Miller casts doubt on this widely-repeated tale. He pointed out that the story first appeared in a 1968 book, "Two Guns, Arizona," by Gladwell Grady Richardson—a local author well known for embellishing history with a good dose of fiction.
In another unlikely story from that same book, Henry McCarty (alias: Billy the Kid) and his gang took refuge during the winter of 1879-80 in the ruins of a stone house on the edge of Canyon Diablo.
Regardless of their authenticity, these legends persist, drawing ghost hunters and curious visitors to the abandoned buildings and to the shadowy depths of the canyon.
According to the Arizona Historical Society, Richardson, in addition to his prolific writing, also worked as a trader at the Two Guns Trading Post while maintaining a house in nearby Flagstaff.
Richardson's knack for mixing fact and fiction was not limited to Arizona. He spun similar yarns about ghost towns in New Mexico and probably elsewhere.
As intriguing as these ghostly tales are, the real history of Two Guns is just as fascinating. Beyond the legends, the town played a crucial role in early travel through Arizona, and its story is deeply intertwined with the challenges of crossing the rugged Canyon Diablo.
Canyon Diablo was a formidable obstacle for settlers, travelers, and the Southern Pacific Railroad. Before bridges were built, wagons (and later, automobiles) had to zig-zag down the canyon slope and hope that the riverbed was dry enough to cross.
In the early 20th century, the Santa Fe Highway became one of the most important routes for travelers crossing the American Southwest. It was part of the National Old Trails Road, a network of highways linking the country before numbered routes existed.
Once the Santa Fe Highway began bringing tourists, prospectors, and pioneers through the Arizona desert, Two Guns became a natural stopping point along the way. In 1914, plans were set in motion to build a bridge at Two Guns. Arizona State Engineer Lamar Cobb selected the site, and for $9,000, contractor Thomas Maddock of Williams, Arizona, agreed to construct the bridge. Designed to withstand flash floods, the Canyon Diablo Bridge opened on March 17, 1915, and instantly became an integral part of the Santa Fe Highway.
In 1926, when the Santa Fe Highway was incorporated into Route 66, Two Guns found itself in a perfect spot to capitalize on the new wave of automobile travelers. Businesses sprang up, offering fuel, food, and entertainment to weary drivers making their way across the country. For a time, Two Guns flourished, riding the golden age of the American road trip.
But progress was fleeting. In 1938, traffic was routed onto a new bridge to the north, beginning the decline of Two Guns. In 1988, the original Canyon Diablo Bridge was added to the National Register of Historic Places; a silent tribute to a town that once stood at the crossroads of adventure and survival.
Today, Two Guns is a shell of its former self. The once-bustling roadside stop is now a collection of crumbling stone buildings, graffiti-covered ruins, and scattered remnants of a bygone era. Unlike many Western ghost towns, Two Guns remains largely untouched; no gift shops, no guided tours, just the echoes of history whispering through the desert wind.
For reasons unknown, the town still has its own dedicated exit off I-40; perhaps the only off-ramp in the country that leads to nothing but the past. Those who take the exit will find themselves standing amid the ruins, left to wonder about the people who once called this place home. Was Two Guns a town cursed by its own history, or just another victim of progress? Either way, the ghosts of Two Guns and Route 66 are waiting for those who are willing to stop and listen.
See more of Jeff’s Two Guns pictures at the Two Guns Gallery.
Jeff Goulden is a nature, landscape, wildlife photographer and writer based in Flagstaff, Arizona. His work has appeared in Audubon, National Geographic, Nature Conservancy, Wilderness Society and other publications.
See more of Jeff's photography at www.JeffGouldenPhotography.com. Downloads are available at Getty Images. Selected fine art prints and other unique photo products are available at Fine Art America.