In the southeastern corner of Arizona is Tombstone the famous Wild West township of the silver boom.
The town has preserved many of the original buildings and in fact restored them to the point that they no longer look historical. Some are replicas. Actors dressed in Western style walk through town and staged gunfights breakout in the streets.
However, the town now has almost a polished feel to it. The historic Boothill Graveyard which once felt like you were walking through an old cemetery now has freshly painted grave markers which look like they were erected last year. The town has a much more commercial feel than historical feel although the history is still very evident.
The OK Corral is perhaps the most well known site in Tombstone. This was the scene of the famous shoot-out in 1881 between the Earp and Clanton gangs, a legendary event in the Old West. Today life-size replicas of the nine gunfighters stand on the spots where they began the gunfight, giving a sense of the distance, or lack of distance, between each of the men, and the overall layout. The setting remains much the same as it was in 1881.
A re-enactment of the gunfight takes place daily inside the OK Corral at 2 p.m.
Allen Street in Tombstone is the tourist main street through town, where visitors will inevitably find themselves. This is where many of the major attractions are, as well as the restaurants and shops, and the famous old saloons. Allen Street is also the scene of occasional historical re-enactments, where performers put on staged gunfights and barroom brawls. Even if nothing is taking place, actors roam the street in western costumes.
On one of the corners on Allen Street is the famous O.K. Corral.
The Bird Cage Theatre in Tombstone was built in 1881, and never closed during its first three years. A theater, dance hall, saloon and brothel, the Bird Cage is said to have 140 bullet holes in the wall and ceiling.
Original fixtures and furnishings are still on display with the hand painted stage and orchestra pit in original condition. The stage of the Bird Cage Theatre features photos and stories of the many entertainers that performed. Some rooms located below the bird cage, which were sealed off since 1889, have been opened to the public. They remain as they were found in recent days.
The building is also believed by many to be haunted.
Address: Bird Cage Theatre, 517 East Allen Street, Tombstone, AZ 85638, United States
Phone: 1 (520) 457-3421, Fax: 1 (520) 456-3189
Hours:
8am-6pm
Always closed on: Christmas - Christian (December 25)
Boothill Graveyard in Tombstone is the final resting place for all the town's hanging, lynching, and shootout victims. The number of graves is estimated at 276, many of them unmarked. Boot Hill was founded in 1878 and houses many unknown grave markers because so few people at the time carried identification. Many were only known by their nicknames!
In more recent years the graveyard was restored, with the crosses redone and repainted, giving it a much less authentic feel. Unfortunately the graveyard looks quite new and has lost much of its appeal.
The Tombstone Courthouse, now a State Historic Park, was built in 1882, but abandoned in 1929 when the county seat moved to Bisbee. The courthouse housed the sheriff, recorder, treasurer, and the board of supervisors, with a jail located at the rear.
The building is today a museum, where the lives of local citizens from the late 19th and early 18th C are portrayed through antiques and artifacts. Outside in the courtyard stands a replica of the gallows where criminals were publicly hanged.
The old courthouse that is today Courthouse State Historic Park in Tombstone.
Gallows outside the courthouse at the Courthouse State Historic Park in Tombstone.
The Crystal Palace Saloon in Tombstone was built in 1882 following a fire that destroyed the original Golden Eagle Brewing Company which stood at this location. The new structure was designed as an upscale watering hole and quickly became the best dining establishment in the town. It changed hands and businesses many times over the years. In 1964 it was completely reconstructed, maintaining the character and detail of the original.
Today visitors can still come here for a meal and see the history. Costumed characters mingle with visitors and the Crystal Palace has still maintained much of its past glory.
Address: Crystal Palace, Box 374, Tombstone, AZ 85638-0399, United States
Phone: 1 (520) 457-3611, Fax: 1 (520) 457-9171
The Historama offers a multimedia presentation, narrated by Vincent Price, which describes the history of Tombstone from the first Apache inhabitants to modern times. Facts surrounding the OK Corral Gunfight are also presented. This is a good overview for visitors looking for a brief but comprehensive idea of the history of the town.
Hours:
9:30am-4:30pm
Always closed on: Thanksgiving - USA (4th Thursday, November ), Christmas - Christian (December 25)
The Rose Tree Museum in Tombstone is named for the Lady Banksia tree that has been growing here since it was sent from Scotland in 1885. The Guinness Book of World Records confirms yearly that the world's largest rosebush is located here, it covers nearly 9,000 square feet and looks more like a tree than a bush, with a thick stock and the branches laid out on trellises.
The museum itself displays local artifacts from the 1880s, along with books.
Hours:
9am-5pm
Always closed on: Thanksgiving - USA (4th Thursday, November ), Christmas - Christian (December 25)
Schieffelin Hall is named for the man who founded Tombstone, Ed Schieffelin. Ed's brother, Al Schieffelin, built the hall in 1881. The hall served as a theater, recital hall and meeting place for mine officials, doctors, lawyers, and businessmen.
The Silver Nugget, housed in a restored brothel, is just one of several Tombstone museums showing artifacts from the Old West era, including photos, guns and furnishings.
St Paul's Episcopal Church in Tombstone was built in 1881, and is the oldest standing Protestant Church in Arizona. It is made of adobe bricks and is a National Historic Landmark. This little church has an interesting design with a single tower and steep pitched roofs that match the arched doorway of the main entrance. A lone cross stands on the top of the tower.
The Tombstone "Epitaph" paper was founded in 1880 by John Philip Clum. It was the local newspaper of the day and covered the stories which today comprise Tombstone's history. One of the first "big" stories was the gunfight at the O.K. Corral.
The Epitaph itself has a long history but is today still being published by students in the Community Journalism class at the University of Arizona. The newspaper has taken a much different focus, and still reports as if it were back in the olden days. The paper is designed to be fun and entertaining, while portraying the history of the Old West.
The original press is on display.
Address: Tombstone Epitaph, UA School of Journalism, Box 210158B University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85721, United States
Phone: 1 (520) 621-7556, Fax: 1 (520) 621-7557
Charleston was once even more notoriously tough than Tombstone, eight miles to the northeast. Charleston was the milltown for nearby Tombstone until the mines were flooded. A few scraps of metal and heaps of rubble are all that remain of the mining camp today. The U.S. Army used Charleston as a combat training site during WWII.
Tips: Park at the San Pedro River Bridge on Charleston Road. Walk north 1/2 mile to ruins.
Contention City is an abandoned town where ore from nearby Tombstone was processed. Contention City had three mills that were on the San Pedro river for the water.
Courtland was once a booming copper town named for Courtland Young, a mining engineer. There are two buildings and a few ruins left to see, as well as one single resident who doesn't like visitors.
The ghost town of Fairbank was named for railroad financier and mining entrepreneur Nathanial Kellogg Fairbank. It is located within the San Pedro Riparian National Conservation Area, along the San Pedro River.
The ghost town of Garcés, south of Sierra Vista, was once a mining camp with a population of approximately 200 people. Garcés went through numerous name changes before the townspeople settled on Garcés to honor Father Fransisco Garcés.
The ghost town of Gleeson, named for prospector John Gleeson, was once the site of a turquoise mine. Operations ended in 1953. A saloon is still open, and ruins include the jail, cemetery, school and hospital.
The ghost town of Middlemarch got its name as the halfway point between Fort Bowie and Fort Huachuca. The remains include rock walls and a steam boiler.
The ghost town of Millville is located southwest of Tombstone, across the San Pedro River from Charleston. It was established as a processing site for silver ore from the Tombstone mines.
The town of Pearce is named for the man who discovered gold nearby in 1894. The successful Commonwealth Mine boosted the local population to 1,500 before it closed in the 1930s. The numerous ruins include a store, cemetery and post office.
The San Pedro Riparian National Conservation Area runs along the San Pedro River, south of Tombstone and north toward St David. Riparian refers to an area where plants and animals thrive because of an availability of water.
San Pedro Riparian Area is home to 400 species of birds, 82 species of mammals and as well as reptiles and amphibians. It is also home to some of the largest cottonwood trees in the country.
Address: San Pedro Riparian National Conservation Area, 1763 Paseo San Luis, Sierra Vista, AZ 85635-2240, United States
Phone: 1 (520) 439-6400, Fax: 1 (520) 458-3559
Tips: No hunting, shooting, fishing or trapping.
Closed to private vehicles, but parking is available.
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Courthouse State Historic Park, Tombstone
Courthouse State Historic Park, Tombstone
Fairbank, Tombstone
Pearce, Tombstone
Boothill Graveyard, Tombstone
Tombstone
