Many regular railroad construction workers were encamped and waiting to recommence their work once the canyon had been spanned.

This resulted in a larger temporary camp or community springing up as the idle workers consolidated together in one place near where the bridge was being constructed.

[4] The original pillars the bridge was mounted on were excavated from the surrounding Kaibab Limestone and shaped on site by Italian stonemasons.

Crews were sent ahead to survey the route, prepare the grade and bed, cut and pre-stage railroad ties and other supplies in advance of the iron rails that would accompany the trains once the canyon was spanned when the new bridge arrived.

Originally a small mobile business community catering to the needs of railroad men, once the railroad stopped at the edge of the canyon this community quickly produced numerous saloons, brothels, dance halls, and gambling houses, all of which remained open 24 hours a day.

Scattered about in the vicinity of downtown were large numbers of tents, shotgun houses, and hastily thrown up shacks that served as local residences.

A regular stagecoach route from Flagstaff to Canyon Diablo began running and was often the victim of robberies.

A "Boot Hill" cemetery sprouted up at the end of town, which in less than a decade had 35 graves, all of whom had been killed by way of violent death.

[7] Access to Canyon Diablo is north on a very poor road from Exit 230/Two Guns off Interstate 40.