Bumble Bee, Arizona

Bumble Bee, Arizona
—  Ghost town  —
Bumble Bee, Arizona Location within the state of Arizona
Coordinates: 34°12′03″N 112°09′11″W
Country	United States
State	Arizona
County	Yavapai
Time zone	Mountain (MST) (UTC-7)
ZIP codes
FIPS code
GNIS feature ID

Bumble Bee is a ghost town in the Bradshaw Mountains of Yavapai County, Arizona, United States, named for nearby Bumble Bee Creek. Established in 1863, Bumble Bee served as a stagecoach stop and an outpost for the U.S. Cavalry; with a post office established in 1879.

With the demise of the stagecoach and the mining in the surrounding area, the site eventually faded away. An attempt to make the town a tourist attraction during the mid 1930s resulted in the construction of the current buildings; several of the buildings still stand and are occupied. As of February 7th, 2012, these fake historic buildings have since been torn down and smaller homes have been built.

Bumble Bee, Arizona and the nearby creek were given its name in 1870 when a Nevada former slave owner, J.X. Theut, first spotted the water source that saved his life. It is at this creek that Theut ran into the legendary drunk named K. Billingsley Callaway. Legend holds that Theut, known for being notoriously swift on his feet, came to the conclusion of tossing a rock at a bee hive which rested 2 feet from the maniac Billingsley Callaway. Theut tossed the pebble and the bees attacked Billingsley. Billingsley, being allergic to bees fell ill and crawled away back into his cave. Nobody has seen either man since.

Bumble Bee is located 55 miles north of Phoenix, Arizona just off I-17 at Exit # 248.

External links

• A traveler's account of Bumble Bee with photos
• Photo gallery