Tag: Wyatt Earp

Wyatt Earp was a prominent figure in the American Old West, renowned as a lawman, gambler, and sometimes outlaw. Born on March 19, 1848, in Monmouth, Illinois, Earp is perhaps best known for his role in the legendary Gunfight at the O.K. Corral in 1881, which cemented his status as a frontier hero. Throughout his life, Earp worked in various capacities, including as a deputy sheriff, marshal, and mining investor. His life was marked by both law enforcement successes and controversies, and he became a symbol of the rugged individualism and tumultuous nature of the West. Earp’s legacy has been immortalized in numerous books, films, and television series, reflecting his complex and often mythologized role in American history.

The Gunfight at the O K Corral

Posted on April 16, 2024 by Destination4x4

The Gunfight at the O K Corral, one of the most iconic events in American Old West history, occurred on October 26, 1881, in Tombstone, Arizona Territory. This brief but deadly confrontation, lasting approximately 30 seconds, pitted lawmen against a loosely organized group of outlaws known as the “Cowboys.” The shootout resulted in three deaths and several injuries, cementing its place in popular culture as a symbol of frontier justice and lawlessness. This report examines the background, events, aftermath, and historical significance of the gunfight, providing a detailed account as of March 12, 2025.

Historical Background

Tombstone, founded in 1877 after prospector Ed Schieffelin discovered silver in the Goose Flats area, rapidly grew into a bustling mining town. By 1881, it boasted a population of around 7,000–10,000, fueled by the riches of the Tough Nut Mine and others in the San Pedro Valley. The town’s prosperity attracted a mix of miners, merchants, and a rough element of cattle rustlers and outlaws, including the Cowboys—a gang of about 50–100 men involved in smuggling, rustling, and robbery across the U.S.-Mexico border.

Tensions in Tombstone were exacerbated by political and economic rivalries. The Earp brothers—Virgil, Wyatt, Morgan, and James—arrived in 1879–1880, seeking opportunities in the booming town. Virgil became Tombstone’s city marshal in June 1881, while Wyatt, a former lawman and gambler, served as a deputy sheriff for Pima County and later worked for Wells Fargo. They were aligned with Tombstone’s business elite and Republican interests, often clashing with the Cowboys, who were tied to rural ranchers and Democratic factions.

The Cowboys, including figures like Ike and Billy Clanton, Tom and Frank McLaury, Billy Claiborne, and Johnny Ringo, were notorious for their lawless activities. By mid-1881, their confrontations with the Earps escalated. A key incident occurred on October 25, 1881, when Ike Clanton, drunk and armed despite a town ordinance banning firearms, threatened the Earps and their friend, John H. “Doc” Holliday, a dentist-turned-gambler with a volatile reputation. Virgil arrested Ike, pistol-whipping him, and fined him $27.50, further inflaming tensions.

The Gunfight

On the morning of October 26, 1881, the Cowboys gathered near the O.K. Corral, a livery and horse stable owned by John Montgomery, located on Fremont Street between Third and Fourth Streets. Reports indicated they were armed and possibly planning to leave town or confront the Earps. Virgil, as marshal, decided to disarm them to enforce the no-weapons ordinance, enlisting Wyatt, Morgan, and Doc Holliday (temporarily deputized) to assist.

Around 2:30 p.m., the four lawmen approached the Cowboys—Tom and Frank McLaury, Ike and Billy Clanton, and Billy Claiborne—in a narrow lot west of the O.K. Corral’s rear entrance, adjacent to Fly’s Photography Studio. The exact sequence of events remains disputed, with conflicting testimonies from survivors and witnesses. According to most accounts, Virgil demanded the Cowboys surrender their weapons, shouting, “Throw up your hands; I want your guns!” What followed was a chaotic exchange of gunfire.

Wyatt later claimed the Cowboys drew first, with Frank McLaury and Billy Clanton firing simultaneously. Virgil testified that he fired only after being shot at. Ike Clanton and Billy Claiborne fled early in the fight, leaving the McLaury brothers and Billy Clanton to face the lawmen. The shootout involved an estimated 30 shots fired in 30 seconds. Tom McLaury was killed by a shotgun blast, likely from Holliday, who wielded a double-barreled coach gun. Frank McLaury and Billy Clanton, despite being wounded, exchanged fire with the Earps and Holliday before succumbing to their injuries.

The lawmen were not unscathed: Virgil took a bullet in the calf, Morgan was shot through the shoulder, and Holliday was grazed. Wyatt emerged unharmed. By 3:00 p.m., the shooting ceased, leaving three Cowboys dead and the lot strewn with blood and spent cartridges.

Aftermath

The bodies of Tom & Frank McLaury and Bill Clanton after the shoot-out in Tombstone

The gunfight sparked immediate controversy. The Cowboys’ allies, including Cochise County Sheriff Johnny Behan, a political rival of the Earps, accused the lawmen of murder, claiming the Cowboys were ambushed. Behan arrested Virgil, Wyatt, Morgan, and Holliday, but a preliminary hearing before Justice of the Peace Wells Spicer began on October 31, 1881. After weeks of testimony from over 30 witnesses, Spicer ruled on November 30 that the evidence was inconclusive and the lawmen acted within their authority to enforce the ordinance. No formal charges were filed.

Public opinion remained divided. The pro-Cowboy Tombstone Nugget decried the Earps as killers, while the Tombstone Epitaph, supportive of the lawmen, framed it as a necessary stand against lawlessness. The Cowboys sought revenge, ambushing Virgil on December 28, 1881, crippling his left arm, and assassinating Morgan on March 18, 1882, while he played pool. Wyatt, now a deputized U.S. Marshal, led a vendetta ride with Holliday and others, killing several Cowboys, including Frank Stilwell and Curly Bill Brocius, in the following months.

The Earps and Holliday eventually left Tombstone. Wyatt died in 1929 in Los Angeles, Holliday in 1887 in Colorado, and Virgil in 1905 in Nevada. The Cowboys’ power waned as federal authorities cracked down on border crime.

Historical Significance

Historical photo of Ike Clanton in 1881 by photographer Camillus S. Fly, Tombstone, Arizona Territory.

The Gunfight at the O.K. Corral was a minor skirmish in its immediate context—only three deaths in a town accustomed to violence—but its legacy looms large. It epitomized the clash between law and disorder in the frontier, reflecting broader tensions over control of resources and governance in the post-Civil War West. Tombstone’s silver boom faded by the late 1880s, but the gunfight endured as a cultural touchstone.

Hollywood amplified its fame, beginning with Stuart N. Lake’s 1931 biography Wyatt Earp: Frontier Marshal, which romanticized the Earps as heroic lawmen. Films like Gunfight at the O.K. Corral (1957) and Tombstone (1993) further mythologized the event, often exaggerating its scale and simplifying its moral complexities. Historians, however, note its ambiguity: the Earps were not unblemished heroes, nor were the Cowboys mere villains; both sides operated in a gray area of frontier ethics.

Current Status

As of March 12, 2025, the O.K. Corral site in Tombstone is a preserved historic landmark, part of the Tombstone Historic District, designated a National Historic Landmark in 1961. The original corral burned in 1882, but the adjacent lot and Fly’s Studio remain, managed as a tourist attraction with daily reenactments. Artifacts like Doc Holliday’s shotgun and period photographs are displayed in local museums, such as the Tombstone Courthouse State Historic Park. Archaeological digs have uncovered bullets and casings, corroborating witness accounts of the fight’s location and intensity.

Conclusion

The Gunfight at the O.K. Corral was a fleeting yet pivotal moment in Tombstone’s history, encapsulating the volatile spirit of the American West. Its blend of documented fact and embellished legend has ensured its place in the national imagination. Countless books and movies feature the story and the legend castes a long shadow across the history of Arizona. Beyond the gunfire, it reveals the fragility of order in a lawless land and the enduring human drive to impose it—or resist it. As a historical event, it remains a lens through which to view the complexities of justice, power, and survival on the frontier.

The Tombstone Epitaph, March 20, 1882

Posted on June 28, 2023 by Destination4x4

The Tombstone Epitaph, March 20, 1882 reports of the murder of Tombstone Resident Morgan Earp while playing pool in Tombstone, Arizona. This event followed the O K Corral shootout and the attempted murder of Virgil Earp. These two events caused Wyatt Earp to lead a vendetta ride across the desert hunting the assassins. The death of Moargan made the right side of page three.

Morgan Earp historical photo, 1881. Probably taken by C.S. Fly.

March 20, 1882
THE DEADLY BULLET
The Assassin at Last Successful in His Devilish Mission

Morgan Earp Shot Down and Killed While Playing Billiards

At 10:00 Saturday night while engaged in playing a game of billiards in Campbell & Hatch’s Billiard parlor, on Allen between Fourth and Fifth, Morgan Earp was shot through the body by an unknown assassin.

At the time the shot was fired he was playing a game with Bob Hatch, one of the proprietors of the house and was standing with his back to the glass door in the rear of the room that opens out upon the alley that leads straight through the block along the west side of A.D. Otis & Co.’s store to Fremont Street.

This door is the ordinary glass door with four panes in the top in place of panels. The two lower panes are painted, the upper ones being clear. Anyone standing outside can look over the painted glass and see anything going on in the room just as well as though standing in the open door.

At the time the shot was fired the deceased must have been standing within ten feet of the door, and the assassin standing near enough to see his position, took aim for about the middle of his person, shooting through the upper portion of the whitened glass.

The bullet entered the right side of the abdomen, passing through the spinal column, completely shattering it, emerging on the left side, passing the length of the room and lodging in the thigh of Geo. A.B. Berry, who was standing by the stove, inflicting a painful flesh wound.

Instantly after the first shot a second was fired through the top of the upper glass which passed across the room and lodged in the wall near the ceiling over the head of Wyatt Earp, who was sitting as a spectator of the game.

Morgan fell instantly upon the first fire and lived only about one hour. His brother Wyatt, Tipton, and McMasters rushed to the side of the wounded man and tenderly picked him up and moved him some ten feet away near the door of the card room, where Drs. Matthews, Goodfellow and Millar, who were called, examined him and, after a brief consultation, pronounced the wound mortal.

He was then moved into the card room and placed on the lounge where in a few brief moments he breathed his last, surrounded by his brothers, Wyatt, Virgil, James and Warren with the wives of Virgil and James and a few of his most intimate friends.

Notwithstanding the intensity of his mortal agony, not a word of complaint escaped his lips, and all that were heard, except those whispered into the ear of his brother and known only to him were, “Don’t, I can’t stand it. This is the last game of pool I’ll ever play.” The first part of the sentence being wrung from him by an attempt to place him upon his feet.

The funeral cortege started away from the Cosmopolitan hotel about 12:30 yesterday with the fire bell tolling its solemn peals of “Earth to earth, dust to dust.”

References

Library of Congress

Tombstone Daily Nugget, October 27, 1881

Posted on June 26, 2023 by Destination4x4

The Tombstone Daily Nugget, October 27, 1881 described the the infamous Gunfight at the O K Corral between the Earps and the Clanton faction in Tombstone.

A Desperate Street Fight

Tombstone Daily Nugget, October 27, 1881

Marshal Virgil Earp, Morgan and Wyatt Earp and Doc Holliday Meet the Cowboys – Three Men Killed and Two Wounded, One Seriously – Origins of the Trouble and its Tragic Termination.

The 26th of October, 1881, will always be marked as one of the crimson days in the annals of Tombstone, a day when blood flowed as water, and human life was held as a shuttlecock, a day always to be remembered as witnessing the bloodiest and deadliest street fight that has ever occurred in this place, or probably in the Territory.The origin of the trouble dates back to the first arrest of Stilwell and Spencer for the robbery of the Bisbee stage. The co-operation of the Earps and the Sheriff and his deputies in the arrest caused a number of cowboys to, it is said, threaten the lives of all interested in the capture. Still, nothing occured to indicate that any such threats would be carried into execution. But Tuesday night Ike Clanton and Doc Holliday had some difficulty in the Alhambra saloon. Hard words passed between them, and when they parted it was generally understood that the feeling between the two men was that of intense hatred. Yesterday morning Clanton came on the street armed with a rifle and revolver, but was almost immediately arrested by Marshal Earp, dismissed and fined by Justice Wallace for carrying concealed weapons. While in the Court room Wyatt Earp told him that as he had made threats against his life he wanted him to make his fight, to say how, when and where he would fight, and to get his crowd, and he (Wyatt) would be on hand.

In reply, Clanton said: “Four feet of ground is enough for me to fight on, and I’ll be there.” A short time after this William Clanton and Frank McLowry [sic] came into town, and as Thomas McLowry was already here the feeling soon became general that a fight would ensue before the day was over, and crowds of expectant men stood on the corner of Allen and Fourth streets awaiting the coming conflict.

It was now about two o’clock, and at this time Sheriff Behan appeared upon the scene and told Marshal Earp that if he disarmed his posse, composed of Morgan and Wyatt Earp, and Doc Holliday, he would go down to the O.K. Corral where Ike and James [sic] Clanton and Frank and Tom McLowry were and disarm them. The Marshal did not desire to do this until assured that there was no danger of attack from the other party. The Sheriff went to the corral and told the cowboys that they must put their arms away and not have any trouble. Ike Clanton and Tom McLowry said they were not armed, and Frank McLowry said he would not lay his aside. In the meantime the Marshal had concluded to go and, if possible, end the matter by disarming them, and as he and his posse came down Fremont Street towards the corral, the Sheriff stepped out and said: “HOld up boys, don’t go down there or there will be trouble: I have been down there to disarm them.” But they passes on, and when within a few feet of the the Marshal said to the Clantons and McLowrys: “Throw up your hands boys, I intend to disarm you.”

As he spoke, Frank McLowry made a motion to draw his revolver, when Wyatt Earp pulled his and shot him, the ball striking on the right side of his abdomen. About the same time Doc Holliday shot Tom McLowry in the right side using a short shotgun, such as is carried by Wells-Fargo & Co.’s messengers. IN the meantime Billy Clanton had shot at Morgan Earp, the ball passing through the point of the left shoulder blade across the back, just grazing the backbone and coming out at the shoulder, the ball remaining inside his shirt. He fell to the ground but in an instant gathered himself, and raising in a sitting position fired at Frank McLowry as he crossed Freemont Street, and at the same instant Doc Holliday shot at him, both balls taking effect either of which would have proved fatal, as one struck him in the right temple and the other in the left breast. As he started across the street, however, he pulled his gun down on Holliday saying, “I’ve got you now.” “Blaze away! You’re a daisy if you have, ” replied Doc. This shot of McLowry’s passed through Holliday’s pistol pocket, just grazing the skin.

While this was going on Billy Clanton had shot Virgil Earp in the right leg, the ball passing through the calf, inflicting a severe flesh wound. In turn he had been shot by Morgan Earp in the right wrist and once in the left breast. Soon after the shooting commenced Ike Clanton ran through the O.K. Corral, across Allen Street into Kellogg’s saloon and thence into Toughnut street where he was arrested and taken to the county jail. The firing altogether didn’t occupy more than twenty-five seconds, during which time fully thirty shots wree fired. After the fight was over Billy Clanton, who, with wonderful vitality, survived his wounds for fully an hour, was carried by the editor and foreman of the Nugget into a house near where he lay, and everything possible was done to make his last moments easy. He was “game” to the last, never uttering a word of complaint, and just before breathing his last he said, “Goodbye boys; go away and let me die.” The wounded were taken to their houses, and at three o’clock next morning were resting comfortably. The dead bodies were taken in charge by the Coroner, and an inquest will be held upon them at 10 o’clock today. Upon the person of Thomas McLowry was found between $300 and $400 and checks and certificates of deposit to the amount of nearly $3,000.

During the shooting Sheriff Behan was standing nearby commanding the contestants to cease firing but was powerless to prevent it. Several parties who were in the vicinity of the shooting had “narrow escapes” from being shot. One man who had lately arrived from the east had a ball pass through his pants. He left for home this morning. A person called “the Kid” who shot Hicks at Charleston recently, was also grazed by a ball. When the Vizina [mine] whistle gave the signal that there was a conflict between the officers and cowboys, the mines on the hill shut down and the miners were brought to the surface. From the Contention mine a number of men, fully armed, were sent to town on a four-horse carriage. At the request of the Sheriff the “Vigilantes,” or Committee of Safety, wre called from the streets by a few sharp toots from the Vizina’s whistle. During the early part of the evening there was a rumor that a mob would attempt to take Ike Clanton frm the jail and lynch him, and to prevent any such unlawful proceedings a strong guard of deputtes [sic] was placed around that building and will be so continued until all danger is past.

At 8 o’clock last evening Finn Clanton, a brother of Billy and Ike, came to town, and placing himself under the guard of the Sheriff, visited the morgue to see the remains of his brother, and then passed the night in jail in company with the other.

OMINOUS SOUNDS

Shortly after the shooting ceased the whistle at the Vizina mine sounded a few short toots, and almost simultaneously a large number of citizens appeared on the streets armed with rifles and a belt of cartridges around their waists. These men formed in line and offered their services to the peace officers to preserve orderin case any attempt at disturbance was made, or any interference offered to the authorities of the law. However, no hostile move was made by anyone, and the quiet and order was fully restored, and in a short time the excitement died away.

AT THE MORGUE

The bodies of the three slain cowboys lay side by side, covered with a sheet. Very little blood appeared on their clothing, and only on the face of young Billy Clanton was there any distortion of the features or evidence of pain in dying. The features of the two McLowry boys looked as calm and placid in death as if they had died peaceably, surrounded by loving friends and sorrowing relatives. No unkind remarks were made by anyone, but feeling of unusual sorrow seemed to prevail at the sad occurrence. Of the two McLowry brothers we could learn nothing of their previous history before coming to Arizona. The two brothers owned quite an extensive ranch on the lower San Pedro, some seventy or eighty miles from this city, to which they had removed their band of cattle since the recent Mexican and Indian troubles. They did not bear the reputation of being of a quarrelsome disposition, but were known as fighting men, and have generally conducted themselves in a quiet and orderly manner when in Tombstone.

References

Wikisource.org

The Tombstone Epitaph, October 27, 1881

Posted on June 21, 2023 by Destination4x4

The following is the original transcript of The Tombstone Epitaph published on October 27, 1881 on the infamous gun fight at the O K Corral between the Earps and the Clanton faction in Tombstone. The Tombstone Epitaph offers historical editions for purchase.

YESTERDAY’S TRAGEDY

Tombstone Daily Epitaph – October 27, 1881

Three Men Hurled Into Eternity in the Duration of a Moment

Stormy as were the early days of Tombstone nothing ever occurred equal to the event of yesterday. Since the retirement of Ben Sippy as marshal and the appointment of V.W. Earp to fill the vacancy the town has been noted for its quietness and good order. The fractious and much dreaded cowboys when they came to town were upon their good behaviour and no unseemly brawls were indulged in, and it was hoped by our citizens that no more such deeds would occur as led to the killing of Marshal White one year ago. It seems that this quiet state of affairs was but the calm that precedes the storm that burst in all its fury yesterday, with this difference in results, that the lightning bolt struck in a different quarter from the one that fell a year ago. This time it struck with its full and awful force upon those who, heretofore, have made the good name of this county a byword and a reproach, instead of upon some officer in discharge of his duty or a peaceable and unoffending citizen.

Since the arrest of Stilwell and Spence for the robbery of the Bisbee stage, there have been oft repeated threats conveyed to the Earp brothers — Virgil, Morgan and Wyatt — that the friends of the accused, or in other words the cowboys , would get even with them for the part they had taken in the pursuit and arrest of Stilwell and Spence. The active part of the Earps in going after stage robbers, beginning with the one last spring where Budd Philpot lost his life, and the more recent one near Contention, has made them exceedingly obnoxious to the bad element of this county and put their lives in jeopardy every month.

Sometime Tuesday Ike Clanton came into town and during the evening had some little talk with Doc Holliday and Marshal Earp but nothing to cause either to suspect, further than their general knowledge of the man and the threats that had previously been conveyed to the Marshal, that the gang intended to clean out the Earps, that he was thirsting for blood at this time with one exception and that was that Clanton told the Marshal, in answer to a question, that the McLowrys were in Sonora. Shortly after this occurrence someone came to the Marshal and told him that the McLowrys had been seen a short time before just below town. Marshal Earp, now knowing what might happen and feeling his responsibility for the peace and order of the city, stayed on duty all night and added to the police force his brother Morgan and Holliday. The night passed without any disturbance whatever and at sunrise he went home to rest and sleep. A short time afterwards one of his brothers came to his house and told him that Clanton was hunting him with threats of shooting him on sight. He discredited the report and did not get out of bed. It was not long before another of his brothers came down, and told him the same thing, whereupon he got up, dressed and went with his brother Morgan uptown. They walked up Allen Street to Fifth, crossed over to Fremont and down to Fourth, where, upon turning up Fourth toward Allen, they came upon Clanton with a Winchester rifle in his hand and a revolver on his hip. The Marshal walked up to him, grabbed the rifle and hit him a blow on the head at the same time, stunning him so that he was able to disarm him without further trouble. He marched Clanton off to the police court where he entered a complaint against him for carrying deadly weapons, and the court fined Clanton $25 and costs, making $27.50 altogether. This occurrence must have been about 1 o’clock in the afternoon.

The After-Occurrence

Close upon the heels of this came the finale, which is best told in the words of R.F. Coleman who was an eye-witness from the beginning to the end. Mr. Coleman says: I was in the O.K. Corral at 2:30 p.m., when I saw the two Clantons and the two McLowrys in an earnest conversation across the street in Dunbar’s corral. I went up the street and notified Sheriff Behan and told him it was my opinion they meant trouble, and it was his duty, as sheriff, to go and disarm them. I told him they had gone to the West End Corral. I then went and saw Marshal Virgil Earp and notified him to the same effect. I then met Billy Allen and we walked through the O.K. Corral, about fifty yards behind the sheriff. On reaching Fremont street I saw Virgil Earp, Wyatt Earp, Morgan Earp and Doc Holliday, in the center of the street, all armed. I had reached Bauer’s meat market. Johnny Behan had just left the cowboys, after having a conversation with them. I went along to Fly’s photograph gallery, when I heard Virg Earp say, “Give up your arms or throw up your arms.” There was some reply made by Frank McLowry, when firing became general, over thirty shots being fired. Tom McLowry fell first, but raised and fired again before he died. Bill Clanton fell next, and raised to fire again when Mr. Fly took his revolver from him. Frank McLowry ran a few rods and fell. Morgan Earp was shot through and fell. Doc Holliday was hit in the left hip but kept on firing. Virgil Earp was hit in the third or fourth fire, in the leg which staggered him but he kept up his effective work. Wyatt Earp stood up and fired in rapid succession, as cool as a cucumber, and was not hit. Doc Holliday was as calm as though at target practice and fired rapidly. After the firing was over, Sheriff Behan went up to Wyatt Earp and said, “I’ll have to arrest you.” Wyatt replied: “I won’t be arrested today. I am right here and am not going away. You have deceived me. You told me these men were disarmed; I went to disarm them.”

This ends Mr. Coleman’s story which in the most essential particulars has been confirmed by others. Marshal Earp says that he and his party met the Clantons and the McLowrys in the alleyway by the McDonald place; he called to them to throw up their hands, that he had come to disarm them. Instantaneously Bill Clanton and one of the McLowrys fired, and then it became general. Mr. Earp says it was the first shot from Frank McLowry that hit him. In other particulars his statement does not materially differ from the statement above given. Ike Clanton was not armed and ran across to Allen street and took refuge in the dance hall there. The two McLowrys and Bill Clanton all died within a few minutes after being shot. The Marshal was shot through the calf of the right leg, the ball going clear through. His brother, Morgan, was shot through the shoulders, the ball entering the point of the right shoulder blade, following across the back, shattering off a piece of one vertebrae and passing out the left shoulder in about the same position that it entered the right. The wound is dangerous but not necessarily fatal, and Virgil’s is far more painful than dangerous. Doc Holliday was hit upon the scabbard of his pistol, the leather breaking the force of the ball so that no material damage was done other than to make him limp a little in his walk.

Dr. Matthews impaneled a coroner’s jury, who went and viewed the bodies as they lay in the cabin in the rear of Dunbar’s stables on Fifth street, and then adjourned until 10 o’clock this morning.

The Alarm Given

The moment the word of the shooting reached the Vizina and Tough Nut mines the whistles blew a shrill signal, and the miners came to the surface, armed themselves, and poured into the town like an invading army. A few moments served to bring out all the better portions of the citizens, thoroughly armed and ready for any emergency. Precautions were immediately taken to preserve law and order, even if they had to fight for it. A guard of ten men were stationed around the county jail, and extra policemen put on for the night.

Earp Brothers Justified

The feeling among the best class of our citizens is that the Marshal was entirely justified in his efforts to disarm these men, and that being fired upon they had to defend themselves, which they did most bravely. So long as our peace officers make an effort to preserve the peace and put down highway robbery — which the Earp brothers have done, having engaged in the pursuit and capture, where captures have been made of every gang of stage robbers in the county — they will have the support of all good citizens. If the present lesson is not sufficient to teach the cow-boy element that they cannot come into the streets of Tombstone, in broad daylight, armed with six-shooters and Henry rifles to hunt down their victims, then the citizens will most assuredly take such steps to preserve the peace as will be forever a bar to such raids.

References

Tombstone Arizona

Posted on June 19, 2023 by Destination4x4

Tombstone Arizona is a historical point of interest, and the location of the O K Corral Gunfight, located in Cochise County, Arizona. The history and the stories of this small silver mining city are legend and cast a large shadow on the history of the desert southwest.

Tombstone, Arizona in 1881 photographed by C. S. Fly. An ore wagon at the center of the image is pulled by 15 or 16 mules leaving town for one of the mines or on the way to a mill. The town had a population of about 4,000 that year with 600 dwellings and two church buildings. There were 650 men working in the nearby mines. The Tough Nut hoisting works are in the right foreground. The firehouse is behind the ore wagons, with the Russ House hotel just to the left of it. The dark, tall building above the Russ House is the Grand Hotel, and the top of Schieffelin Hall (1881) is visible to the right.

Tombstone was founded in 1877 by prospector Ed Schieffelin, who had been told that the only thing he would find in the area was his own tombstone due to the dangerous Apache territory. Ignoring the warning, Schieffelin discovered a rich silver vein in the region, sparking a mining boom. The town quickly grew as prospectors and miners flocked to the area in search of silver.

The name “Tombstone” was chosen in reference to Schieffelin’s earlier remark, and the town became a symbol of the rough and lawless frontier during the late 19th century. It was home to cowboys, miners, gamblers, outlaws, and lawmen, all contributing to the town’s legendary reputation.

In the early 1880s, Tombstone experienced significant growth and development. The population surged to over 10,000 people, making it one of the largest cities in the American Southwest at the time. The town boasted numerous businesses, including saloons, theaters, brothels, and a thriving red-light district. The Bird Cage Theatre, known for its raucous entertainment and gambling, became an iconic landmark of the era. The silver mines paid for everything. Silver ore from the mines is hauled by wagon, 9 miles to the southwest to the town of Millville, Arizona.

"Old South Shaft Ore Quarry, Face of Tough-nut Mine, part of Town of Tombstone, Arizona. Dragoon Mountains, with Cochise Stronghold in background," mammoth plate, by the American photographer Carleton E. Watkins — “Old South Shaft Ore Quarry, Face of Tough-nut Mine, part of Town of Tombstone, Arizona. Dragoon Mountains, with Cochise Stronghold in background,” mammoth plate, by the American photographer Carleton E. Watkins

The Gunfight

One of the most infamous incidents occurred on October 26, 1881, when a confrontation known as the Gunfight at the O.K. Corral took place. The shootout involved the Earp brothers (Wyatt, Virgil, and Morgan) and Doc Holliday on one side, and a group of outlaws known as the Cowboys on the other. The gunfight resulted in several deaths and injuries and became one of the most legendary events of the Wild West.

This ends Mr. Coleman’s story which in the most essential particulars has been confirmed by others. Marshal Earp says that he and his party met the Clantons and the McLowrys in the alleyway by the McDonald place; he called to them to throw up their hands, that he had come to disarm them. Instantaneously Bill Clanton and one of the McLowrys fired, and then it became general. Mr. Earp says it was the first shot from Frank McLowry that hit him. In other particulars his statement does not materially differ from the statement above given. Ike Clanton was not armed and ran across to Allen street and took refuge in the dance hall there. The two McLowrys and Bill Clanton all died within a few minutes after being shot. The Marshal was shot through the calf of the right leg, the ball going clear through. His brother, Morgan, was shot through the shoulders, the ball entering the point of the right shoulder blade, following across the back, shattering off a piece of one vertebrae and passing out the left shoulder in about the same position that it entered the right. The wound is dangerous but not necessarily fatal, and Virgil’s is far more painful than dangerous. Doc Holliday was hit upon the scabbard of his pistol, the leather breaking the force of the ball so that no material damage was done other than to make him limp a little in his walk.
Tombstone Daily Epitaph – October 27, 1881

C. S. Fly's Photography Gallery, Tombstone, Arizona on fire 1912, Photograph by Mary "Mollie" Fly — C. S. Fly’s Photography Gallery, Tombstone, Arizona on fire 1912, Photograph by Mary “Mollie” Fly

Tombstone settled down to respectable prosperity. Two fires (June 22, 1881, and May 25, 1882) had wiped out most of the business district. It was promptly rebuilt, and the good times lasted through 1883. By 1884 the price of silver led the mine owners to attempt to reduce wages from $4.00 a day to $3.50. The union struck, and violence at the mines brought what outlawry had never brought troops from Fort Huachuca.

In 1886 water filled the mines, and despite attempts to pump, the mines were closed. Two-thirds of the population left the town. Two brief flurries of prosperity occurred, one in 1890 and one in 1902, but they did not last. In 1929 (the same year Wyatt Earp died in Los Angeles), the county seat was moved to Bisbee, and Tombstone lost its last reason for being, but the town proved
“too tough to die.”

“almost as hell-roaring a place as Leadville. The boys were all decorated with six-guns and believe me, they knew how to use them. The handiest on the draw stayed in town, but those that were too slow made a one-way trip to Boot-Hill
Frank Shorty Harris – On Tombstone in 1885

In the decades that followed, Tombstone gradually reemerged as a tourist attraction and historical landmark. Efforts were made to preserve the town’s historical buildings and artifacts. The Tombstone Historic District was established in 1962, ensuring the preservation of the town’s rich heritage.

Today, Tombstone attracts visitors from around the world who come to experience its Old West charm. The town has been meticulously restored, and many of the original buildings, including the O.K. Corral and the Bird Cage Theatre, have been preserved as museums and tourist attractions. Visitors can explore the streets, watch reenactments of the gunfight, and learn about the fascinating history of the American frontier.

Tombstone City Map

Tombstone Arizona is located in the South East Corner of Arizona along State Route 80.

Tombstone Summary

Name	Tombstone, Arizona
Location	Cochise County, Arizona
Latitude, Longitude	31.7233, -110.0797
Elevation	4,406 ft (1,343 m)
GNIS	2412081
National Register of Historic Places	66000171
Newspaper	Tombstone Epitaph Tombstone Daily Nugget
National Historic Landmark	66000171

Newspapers of Tombstone Arizona

The Tombstone Epitaph

The Arizona Historical Newspaper, the Tombstone Epitaph announces the gunfight at the O K Coral. The Tombstone Epitaph is a historic newspaper in the American…

Tombstone Daily Nugget Newspaper

Tombstone Daily Nugget Newspaper The Tombstone Daily Nugget was a significant newspaper published in Tombstone, Arizona, during the early 1880s, a period marked by the…

References

People of Tombstone

Albert Clay Bilicke

Albert Clay Billicke ( June 22, 1861 - May 7, 1915 ) Albert Clay Bilicke was a prominent businessman and hotelier in Tombstone, Arizona, during…

Billy Claiborne

William "Billy" Claiborne was one of five outlaw Cowboys at the Gunfight at the O.K. Corral. He was unarmed and fled Billy Claiborne was an…

C. S. Fly's Photography Gallery, Tombstone, Arizona

Camillus Sydney Fly – Tombstone Photographer

Camillus Sydney Fly was a photographer and eyewitness to one of the most notorious gunfights in western history. Camillus Sidney Fly was born in Andrew…

Celia Ann Blaylock

Celia Ann Blaylock Early Life Celia Ann Blaylock, known as "Mattie," was born in January 1850 in Monroe Township, Johnson County, Iowa, to Henry Blaylock…

Dr. George E. Goodfellow, the “Gunfighter’s Surgeon”

Dr. George E. Goodfellow, also known as the "Gunfighter's Surgeon" Dr. George Emory Goodfellow (1855–1910) was a renowned physician and surgeon in Tombstone, Arizona, during…

Edward Lawrence Schieffelin

Edward Lawrence Schieffelin, a rugged and determined prospector, carved his name in the annals of American history as the man who discovered silver and founded…

Frank “Shorty” Harris

Frank Harris was a prospector, desert rat and perhaps the best known character in western mining history. He looked the part, often travelling the desert…

Frank Stilwell

Frank Stilwell was a businessman, lawman, and outlaw in Arizona Territory, and was murdered by Wyatt Earp after the Gunfight at the O K Coral.…

Fred White

Fred White Early Life Frederick G. "Fred" White was born around 1849 in New York City, as recorded in the 1880 Census. Little is known…

James Cooksey Earp

James Cooksey Earp ( June 28, 1841 - January 25, 1926 ) James Cooksey Earp ( June 28, 1841 - January 25, 1926 ) was…

Photograph of John Henry Holliday taken by photographer D.F. Mitchell in Prescott, Arizona, 1879-80.

John Henry Holliday – Doc Holliday

John Henry "Doc" Holliday (1851–1887) John Henry Holliday, commonly known as Doc Holliday, was an American gambler, gunfighter, and dentist who became a legendary figure…

John Peters “Johnny” Ringo

Johnny Ringo was an American gunfighter and outlaw most commonly associated with the infamous happenings in Tombstone, Arizona. He was often portrayed as the hired…

John Philip Clum

John Philip Clum John Philip Clum (1829–1900) was an American frontiersman, Indian agent, and newspaper editor. Appointed by President Grant, he served as Indian agent…

Johnny Behan

John H. Behan - Sheriff of Cochise County in the Arizona Territory Johnny Behan was a notable figure in the American Old West, best known…

Joseph Isaac Clanton

Joseph Isaac Clanton, commonly knows as "Ike" Clanton was a notable figure in the American Old West, primarily recognized for his involvement in the notorious…

Josephine Sarah Earp

Josephine Sarah Marcus, known as "Josie" or "Sadie," Josephine Sarah Marcus Earp, known as "Josie" or "Sadie," was the common-law wife of Wyatt Earp, a…

Mary ("Mollie") Goodrich Fly was a photographer who married photographer C.S. Fly in San Francisco. They arrived in Tombstone, Arizona Territory in December 1879 where they established a photography business and boarding house.

Mary Edith Fly

Mary Edith "Mollie" Fly (c. 1847–1925) was a pioneering American photographer who, with her husband Camillus "Buck" Fly, documented life in Tombstone, Arizona, during its…

Mary Katherine Horony

Mary Katherine Horony, better known as Big Nose Kate, was a Hungarian-born figure of the American Old West, renowned for her independence, resilience, and her…

Morgan Seth Earp

Morgan Seth Earp, born on April 24, 1851, in Pella, Iowa, was a notable figure of the American Old West, primarily recognized for his association…

Newman Haynes “Old Man” Clanton (1816 – 1881 )

Newman Haynes Clanton

Newman Haynes Clanton was a central figure in the tumultuous period of the American frontier, representing the complex interplay of law, crime, and social dynamics…

Newton Jasper Earp

Early Life and Family Newton Jasper Earp was born on October 7, 1837, in Ohio County, Kentucky, to Nicholas Porter Earp and his first wife,…

Robert Findley McLaury

The only known portrait photo of Frank McLaury of Tombstone. Robert Findley McLaury, known as Frank McLaury (1857–1881) was a notable figure in the American…

Thomas McLaury

Thomas McLaury of Tombstone in 1879 Tom McLaury, born as Thomas McLaury, was a key figure in the tumultuous environment of the American frontier during…

Virgil Walter Earp

Virgil Walter Earp ( July 18, 1843 – October 19, 1905) was born in Lincoln County, Kentucky, was a prominent lawman and frontier figure known for his…

Warren Baster Earp ( March 9, 1855 - July 6, 1900 )

Warren Baxter Earp

Warren Baxter Earp ( March 9, 1855 - July 6, 1900 ), the youngest of the Earp brothers, was born into a family that would…

Wells Spicer

Wells Spicer (1831–1885 or 1887) was an American journalist, lawyer and judge whose over saw the trial after the gunfight at the O.K. Corral in Tombstone Arizona. Historical photo of Wells…

William Brocius

William "Curly Bill" Brocius William Brocius, better known as "Curly Bill" Brocius, was a notorious outlaw of the American Old Old West, born around 1845, though…