Arizona, Tombstone - Monday, April 27, 2015 - Tombstone Tour Day One

We are staying at the Wells Fargo RV Park for a couple of days.

 

 

Tombstone reached its pinnacle of riches and then faded all within the short span of eight years.  Ed Schieffelin prospected the nearby hills in 1877.  Friends from Fort Huachuca told him the only thing he would ever find out there was his tombstone.  Instead he found silver, lots of it.

 

 

Miners flocked to the area and built a shantytown on the closest level space to the mines, then known as Goose Flats.  They soon changed the name to Tombstone remembering the prophecy given to Schieffelin. 

In 1881 the population had reached 10,000 rivaling both Tucson (county seat) and Prescott (territorial capital).  This year the Earp and Clanton feud ended in the famous gunfight near the OK Corral.  The first of at least a couple of disastrous fires burned out much of the infant town, but it was immediately rebuilt.

When water began to seep into the shafts, pumps were installed, but the mines soon flooded to the point that they couldn’t be worked.  By 1886, Tombstone’s heyday was over, but not before $37,000,000 worth of silver had been taken from the mines.

Granted today there is a lot of tourist hype, doodads and t-shirts.  But, if you can look beyond that there is a lot of history here too.

Lots of movies have been made about Tombstone.  This one is probably the most recent.

 

This hand painted movie poster is a rare one from 1939 (I think I got the date right).

We strolled through town to get a feel for what was available.  Ran across these cowboys keeping the town safe.

This is a view down one side of the boardwalk that goes down Allen Street, the main street in town.

This area is blocked off to modern day vehicles.  The stagecoach runs regularly.

This lightweight buggy was one that could have been rented from the OK Corral to get around town and the nearby countryside.

I’m sure the Harley shop isn’t an original, but we checked it out anyway.

 

If you are into western wear for square dancing or just because you like it, this is the place to come.

 

I liked the sign out front.

 

Some of the interesting items we spotted in a museum today.  The saddle ridden by Kurt Russell in his role as Wyatt Earp in the movie “Tombstone”.

A 1879 hearse with an array of embalming tools inside.  The tools made me squeamish, but I thought the hearse was beautiful.

I didn’t realize buggies had foot warmers.  I’m sure they must have been for the more affluent.  Hot coals were placed in the warmers for passenger comfort.  However, I guess when they hit really rough roads the coals could spill out making for an exciting ride.

 

 

These are views of the OK Corral. 

 

 

The gunfight at the OK Corral didn’t actually happen in the Corral, just near it.  The bad guys, cowboys Tom and Frank McLaury and Billy and Ike Clanton walked through the corral to Fremont Street.  The actual gunfight happened three lots west of the corral.  This information is documented by a map drawn by Wyatt Earp in 1924 showing the location of those involved. 

The gunfight happened on October 26, 1881 next to Fly’s Photography Studio on Fremont Street.

This is part of a map showing the location of mines around Tombstone.  Note the red Tombstone and Lucky Cuss mines, they were the first in the area.

This is some of the equipment that was used in the mines.

 

 

We attended a live reenactment of the gunfight at the OK Corral which was pretty entertaining.

 

These are the actors portraying the Earp brothers.

 

 

We had lunch at Big Nose Kate’s Saloon.  I understand that she was called Big Nose not because her nose was big but because she was always sticking it into everyone else’s business.  She was supposedly the first prostitute to show up in the Arizona territory, but her real claim to fame was that she was Doc Holliday’s girlfriend.

 

 

 

 

This little guy and mom were strolling down Allen Street.  The little one is just seven days old.

 

Schieffelin Hall was built in 1882 so that touring actors would have a place to bring some culture to Tombstone.  It has also housed the King Solomon Territorial Masonic Lodge for well over 100 years now.  It and the newspaper office were saved from destruction in one of the fires that destroyed most of Tombstone by dynamiting some other nearby buildings to provide a fire break.  It is reputed to be the largest adobe building in the U.S.

 

 

Among the historical buildings still standing is St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, the oldest Protestant church building in Arizona.  It still stands on its original site and holds weekly services.

The church was completed in 1882 at a cost of $5,000.  The stained glass windows are the original ones imported from Belgium.  I was hoping the church would be open so we could see the windows from the inside.

I don’t know whether or not the door is original, but it is beautiful.

The Tombstone Epitaph newspaper was founded by John Clum, May 1, 1880 and still stands.  This was the original printing press.

Greg said he learned typesetting in printing class using this same type of process.  We agreed that is about as useful to him now as the shorthand I worked so hard to conquer.

This photograph taken by Clum in 1884, is the first known photo of Geronimo.

This caught our eye as a replacement for our failing good luck plant.

I also thought this guy would be a nice addition to the decorative rock trays I usually have on the dash when we are parked.  I haven’t put them out right now since this is just a short stop.