The climate in Shakespeare is cool in the winter and hot during summer and while you can visit anytime, check before visiting, the town is not always opened. Shakespeare has had many names over the years from Mexican Springs to Grant to Ralston and finally to Shakespeare.

The little town began in the late 1850s as a storied carrier with the Butterfield Overland Stage Company built an alternate route that passed through Mexican Springs. Because good water was hard to find and was abundant in Mexican Springs, The National Mail and Transport Company built a mail stop and renamed the city Grant.

Not long after William C. Ralston became interested in the little town and tried to start a mining company but the silver claims had been staked and improperly recorded. Then in the late 1870s, the Shakespeare Mining Company staked claims in silver and renamed the town. Mining continued strongly until the depression when mining ceased. The land is now a privately owned ranch so call and check on the times and be courteous.