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Tombstone is a city in Cochise County, Arizona, United States, founded in 1879 by Ed Schieffelin in what was then the Arizona Territory. According to 2006 Census Bureau estimates, the population of the city was 1,569. In the summer of 1877 prospector Ed Schieffelin was working the hills east of the San Pedro River in the southeast portion of the Arizona Territory, when he came across a vein of very rich silver ore in a high plateau called Goose Flats. When Schieffelin filed his mining claim he named it "The Tombstone", after a warning given him by a passing soldier. While telling the soldier about his rock collecting experiences, the soldier told him that the only rock he was likely to collect among the waterless hills and warring Apaches of the area would be his own tombstone. The town of Tombstone was founded in 1879, taking its name from the mining claim, and soon became a boomtown. Fueled by mineral wealth, Tombstone was a city of 1000 by the beginning of 1881, and within another year Tombstone had become the seat of a new county (Cochise County) with a population between 5,000 and 15,000, and services including refrigeration (with ice cream and later even ice skating), running water, telegraph and limited telephone service. Capitalists and businessmen moved in from the eastern U.S. Mining was carried out by immigrants from Europe, chiefly Ireland and Germany. An extensive service industry (laundry, construction, restaurants, hotels, etc.) was provided by Chinese and other immigrants. Without railroad access the increasingly sophisticated Tombstone was relatively isolated, deep in a Federal territory that was largely unpopulated desert and wilderness. Tombstone and its surrounding countryside also became known as one of the deadliest regions in the West. Uncivilized southern gangs from the surrounding countryside, known as "cow-boys", were at odds with the northern capitalists and immigrant miners who ran the city and mines. On October 26, 1881 this situation famously exploded in the Gunfight at the O.K. Corral, leading to a continued family and political feud that resulted in multiple deaths. On December 25, 1881 the Bird Cage Theater opened, and in 1882 the New York Times reported that "the Bird Cage Theatre is the wildest, wickedest night spot between Basin Street and the Barbary Coast." After the mid-1880s, when the silver mines had been tapped out, the main pump failed, causing many mines to be flooded with deep groundwater, and Tombstone declined rapidly. The U.S. census found it had fewer than 1900 residents in 1890, and fewer than 700 residents in 1900. The 1900 census was a minimum, however, and Tombstone was saved from becoming a ghost town after the decline of silver mining, partly by its status as the Cochise County seat. Even the county seat was later moved by popular vote to nearby Bisbee in 1929. However, the classic Cochise County Courthouse and adjacent gallows yard in Tombstone is preserved as a museum. Tombstone is home to perhaps the most famous graveyard of the Old West, Boot Hill. Buried at the site are various victims of violence and disease in Tombstone's early years, including those from the O.K. Corral. Boot Hill (also known as the old city cemetery) was also the destination for bad-men and those lynched or legally hanged in Tombstone. Admission to this historic site is free and donations are accepted. The lot in which the historic gunfight at the O.K. Corral occurred in 1881 is also preserved, but this has been walled off, and admission is charged. However, since much of this streetfight occurred in Tombstone's Fremont Street (modern Highway 80), much of this site is also viewable without admission charge. <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tombstone,_Arizona" rel="noreferrer nofollow">en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tombstone,_Arizona</a> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Text_of_Creative_Commons_Attribution-ShareAlike_3.0_Unported_License" rel="noreferrer nofollow">en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Text_of_Creative_Commons_...</a>
Tombstone is a city in Cochise County, Arizona, United States, founded in 1879 by Ed Schieffelin in what was then the Arizona Territory. According to 2006 Census Bureau estimates, the population of the city was 1,569. In the summer of 1877 prospector Ed Schieffelin was working the hills east of the San Pedro River in the southeast portion of the Arizona Territory, when he came across a vein of very rich silver ore in a high plateau called Goose Flats. When Schieffelin filed his mining claim he named it "The Tombstone", after a warning given him by a passing soldier. While telling the soldier about his rock collecting experiences, the soldier told him that the only rock he was likely to collect among the waterless hills and warring Apaches of the area would be his own tombstone. The town of Tombstone was founded in 1879, taking its name from the mining claim, and soon became a boomtown. Fueled by mineral wealth, Tombstone was a city of 1000 by the beginning of 1881, and within another year Tombstone had become the seat of a new county (Cochise County) with a population between 5,000 and 15,000, and services including refrigeration (with ice cream and later even ice skating), running water, telegraph and limited telephone service. Capitalists and businessmen moved in from the eastern U.S. Mining was carried out by immigrants from Europe, chiefly Ireland and Germany. An extensive service industry (laundry, construction, restaurants, hotels, etc.) was provided by Chinese and other immigrants. Without railroad access the increasingly sophisticated Tombstone was relatively isolated, deep in a Federal territory that was largely unpopulated desert and wilderness. Tombstone and its surrounding countryside also became known as one of the deadliest regions in the West. Uncivilized southern gangs from the surrounding countryside, known as "cow-boys", were at odds with the northern capitalists and immigrant miners who ran the city and mines. On October 26, 1881 this situation famously exploded in the Gunfight at the O.K. Corral, leading to a continued family and political feud that resulted in multiple deaths. On December 25, 1881 the Bird Cage Theater opened, and in 1882 the New York Times reported that "the Bird Cage Theatre is the wildest, wickedest night spot between Basin Street and the Barbary Coast." After the mid-1880s, when the silver mines had been tapped out, the main pump failed, causing many mines to be flooded with deep groundwater, and Tombstone declined rapidly. The U.S. census found it had fewer than 1900 residents in 1890, and fewer than 700 residents in 1900. The 1900 census was a minimum, however, and Tombstone was saved from becoming a ghost town after the decline of silver mining, partly by its status as the Cochise County seat. Even the county seat was later moved by popular vote to nearby Bisbee in 1929. However, the classic Cochise County Courthouse and adjacent gallows yard in Tombstone is preserved as a museum. Tombstone is home to perhaps the most famous graveyard of the Old West, Boot Hill. Buried at the site are various victims of violence and disease in Tombstone's early years, including those from the O.K. Corral. Boot Hill (also known as the old city cemetery) was also the destination for bad-men and those lynched or legally hanged in Tombstone. Admission to this historic site is free and donations are accepted. The lot in which the historic gunfight at the O.K. Corral occurred in 1881 is also preserved, but this has been walled off, and admission is charged. However, since much of this streetfight occurred in Tombstone's Fremont Street (modern Highway 80), much of this site is also viewable without admission charge. <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tombstone,_Arizona" rel="noreferrer nofollow">en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tombstone,_Arizona</a> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Text_of_Creative_Commons_Attribution-ShareAlike_3.0_Unported_License" rel="noreferrer nofollow">en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Text_of_Creative_Commons_...</a>

Tombstone: 30 Seconds That Built a Legend

arizonaold-westgunfightearpmining-town
5 min read

The gunfight at the O.K. Corral lasted about 30 seconds. On October 26, 1881, three Earp brothers and Doc Holliday faced the Clanton and McLaury brothers in a vacant lot near Tombstone's O.K. Corral. When the smoke cleared, three men were dead, three wounded. The actual shootout - confused, brutal, possibly illegal - has been argued about ever since: were the Earps lawmen doing their duty or murderers hiding behind badges? The answer depends on which historian you believe, which movie you watched, which version of the West you want to exist. Tombstone itself nearly died when the silver mines flooded in the 1880s, but the town that was 'too tough to die' survived on its legend. The gunfight lasted 30 seconds. The argument continues.

The Context

Tombstone boomed after silver was discovered in 1877, growing to 10,000 residents by 1881 - larger than San Francisco at the time. The boom attracted miners, merchants, gamblers, and outlaws. The Cowboys - a loose confederation of cattle rustlers and bandits - clashed with the Earps, who represented town business interests. Wyatt Earp dealt faro; his brothers Virgil and Morgan held law enforcement positions. Doc Holliday, a tubercular dentist turned gambler, was Wyatt's friend. The Clantons and McLaurys ran cattle, sometimes rustled, associated with the Cowboys. The tensions were political as much as personal: Republicans versus Democrats, town versus range, capital versus rustlers. The gunfight resolved nothing but created immortal legend.

The Fight

The confrontation happened in a vacant lot near Fremont Street, not actually inside the O.K. Corral. Virgil Earp, serving as town marshal, led his brothers and Holliday to disarm the Cowboys, who'd been seen carrying weapons in violation of town ordinance. What happened next is disputed: who drew first, who surrendered, who shot whom. In 30 seconds, Billy Clanton and both McLaury brothers were dead or dying; Virgil and Morgan Earp were wounded; Holliday grazed. The survivors gave conflicting testimony. The Earps were charged with murder, then acquitted. Wyatt killed additional Cowboys in subsequent months. The violence scattered the participants across the West.

The Legend

The gunfight became legend almost immediately, but the legend changed. Contemporary accounts saw the Earps as reckless or murderous; later retellings made them heroic lawmen taming the frontier. Wyatt Earp lived until 1929, long enough to consult on Hollywood Westerns and shape his own myth. Stuart Lake's 1931 biography, 'Wyatt Earp: Frontier Marshal,' created the definitive legend: noble Earps versus villainous Cowboys. Countless films followed - 'My Darling Clementine,' 'Gunfight at the O.K. Corral,' 'Tombstone,' 'Wyatt Earp' - each version reflecting its era's anxieties about law, violence, and justice. The 30-second gunfight became a screen for American self-mythology.

The Town

Tombstone should have died when the silver mines flooded in 1881 and fires devastated the business district. The population collapsed; the boom ended. But the county seat remained, providing enough economic activity to sustain a remnant population. When Western tourism emerged in the mid-20th century, Tombstone was ready. The town preserved its historic buildings, staged daily gunfight reenactments, and marketed itself as 'The Town Too Tough to Die.' The tourism economy succeeded where mining failed. Boothill Cemetery, the Bird Cage Theatre, Big Nose Kate's Saloon - the attractions celebrate violence and vice, the mythology the town created from its chaotic boom years.

Visiting Tombstone

Tombstone is located in southeastern Arizona, roughly 70 miles southeast of Tucson via I-10 and AZ-80. Allen Street, the main historic thoroughfare, is closed to vehicles; boardwalks line the storefronts as they did in 1881. The O.K. Corral offers historical exhibits and reenactments of the famous gunfight. Boothill Graveyard contains graves from the town's violent era, including the McLaurys. The Bird Cage Theatre preserves a remarkably intact 1880s saloon and theater. Wyatt Earp's name appears everywhere. The town is small; a few hours covers the attractions. Bisbee, a more authentically preserved mining town, lies 25 miles south. The Arizona desert provides the backdrop the legend requires.

From the Air

Located at 31.71°N, 110.07°W in the high desert of southeastern Arizona. From altitude, Tombstone appears as a small grid of streets in the San Pedro Valley, surrounded by desert grassland and distant mountain ranges. The town is tiny - the boom that created 10,000 residents left a settlement of under 2,000. The mining landscape that justified the town's existence has largely vanished; the legend remains. The Dragoon Mountains rise to the east; the Huachuca Mountains to the west. The Mexican border lies 30 miles south. The desert emptiness emphasizes what the town always was: a temporary camp that extracted silver, created legend, and somehow survived.

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