The first killing was that same year after a Mexican man was shot in a local eatery by mistake as an unknown assailant was trying to kill the woman waiting tables. The first lynching happened two years later when another man, drunk on whisky, shot up a dance hall, killing one and wounding two others. Similar incidents and lawlessness would prevail for several years as the town slowly grew more civilized.

Brewery Gulch

German-Swiss immigrants in town founded the first breweries on what became known as Brewery Gulch on Brewery Avenue in 1881. According to Jim Barnett, long time Bisbee resident, and "unofficial" Bisbee historian, the Gulch at first was made up of a wood schoolhouse, Coyote Bill's cabin next to the school, the Munche home, and a brewery owned by A.B. Seiber, who had a small adobe saloon next to the brewery. He cooled his beer in a large cellar vault dug into the mountain.

After some months of brewing, Seiber decided to have a formal naming of Brewery Gulch and invited people to free samples of his beer. Many took advantage of the offer, and by the time the night was over, someone tried to rob Seiber's business, and at least one person, a rough and tough woman named Black Jack who had crashed the party, was shot and killed.

The first dance hall is said to have been opened by John Heath (also spelled Heith). Its opening just happened to coincide with his gangs robbery of the Castenada and Goldwater Store, resulting in the infamous Bisbee Massacre. Heath would later be hung from a telegraph pole in Tombstone by Bisbee vigilantes who claimed they wanted to correct a judge's "sentencing error" of life imprisonment. The rest of his gang were "legally" hung, and all of them are buried in Tombstone's Boot Hill.

Things got better for Bisbee and the Gulch as the population grew from 400 to thousands. Brewery Gulch became famous (or notorious some would say) as the number of saloons multiplied, at one time numbering 47. The Gulch was considered by some to be the "Hottest spot between El Paso and San Francisco". Barnett says the girls of the Gulch remain as legends of the old camp. Women like Crazy Horse Jill, who was called wildly immoral. Red Jean, known for her auburn hair, was beautiful and strong and could fight just about anyone and win, regardless of size. There was also Doc Holliday's mistress, Kate Elder, and the previously mentioned Black Jack, who would dress like a man and was suspected of stage coach robbery. Ma Reilley ran a dance hall with her husband and was considered respectable as any other woman in town. The wildest dance hall in the Gulch was run by Anita Romero, who was so beautiful men were killed over her. Little Irish Mag, credited with being the first dance hall girl in Bisbee, had a mining claim named after her. And Clara Allen, who operated a brothel and owned the Club Forty-One, is said to have stayed longer than any of the other girls.