MEDIA CONTEST: TOMBSTONE’S RICH HISTORY Arizona’s national landmark — little town still too tough die

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ACC MEDIA CONTEST --  Tombstone is no longer the lawless frontier mining town once terrorized by Apache warriors, half-mad prospectors and trigger-happy gunslingers. But the rugged, can-do spirit of the Old West can still be found in the scrappy desert town, and draws tourists by the hundreds of thousands each year.

Tombstone is the town that silver built, back in the 1880s, and a town that the legendary Gunfight at the O.K. Corral keeps alive today. Once a thriving boomtown peopled with more than 10,000 miners, frontier merchants, prostitutes, card sharks and others, the community now has a population of less than 2,000 -- but continues to enchant visitors from around the world.

"Tombstone was the last hurrah, the last big mining boom in the Southwest," said Bill Hunley, owner of the historic Bird Cage Theatre. "If you took all the history from the major mining towns of the West, they probably wouldn't come up to the bootstraps of Tombstone."

Tombstone was founded in 1879 by Ed Schieffelin, who discovered high-grade silver ore in the surrounding hills. Bolstered by mining wealth, the rough-and-tumble community grew from a tent-flap camp into a full fledged boomtown, replete with hotels, theaters, churches, newspapers -- as well as saloons, gambling halls and brothels that serviced the hardy souls who labored in service to the mines.

The town, declared a National Historic Landmark in 1962, continues to rehabilitate its past and align its future with a thriving tourism industry. Tombstone is located about 70 miles from Tucson, and 25 miles from the former copper-mining town (and current artists' enclave) of Bisbee.

Although modest in size, Tombstone buzzes with activity. Horse-drawn wagons and stagecoaches rumble down the streets, ushering visitors of all nationalities past historic attractions and colorful, recreated Western buildings. On one corner, Japanese tourists pose for photographs with costumed, pistol-packing Old West gunfighters. A few streets over, Germans saddle up for horseback trail rides through hills that gave up millions of
dollars of silver and gold ore in fewer than 10 years. On Allen Street, urbanites from the East Coast gleefully swagger through the swinging saloon doors at Big Nose Kate's, ordering up sarsaparillas from sassy dance hall girls.

Of course, all roads in Tombstone lead back to the historic O.K. Corral, where sheriff Virgil Earp, his brothers Morgan and Wyatt, and friend Doc Holliday faced off against outlaws Frank McLaury, Tom McLaury and Billy Clanton. The 30-second gun battle became Wild West legend, retold in scores of motion pictures, television programs and history books. For a fee, visitors can see where the gunfight started on Oct. 26, 1881, and learn what events led up to the hail of bullets exchanged on Fremont Street.

Nearby is Boot Hill graveyard, featuring hand-painted grave markers for colorful Tombstone ex-residents like Red River Tom ("Shot by Ormsby"), George Johnson ("Hanged by mistake") and Margarita, reportedly stabbed to death by a rival dance hall girl nicknamed Gold Dollar. The most sought-out gravesites are those for the
McLaury brothers and Clanton, all of whom were killed at the O.K. Corral shootout. Notably absent are markers for the Earp brothers and Holliday -- all of whom survived the gunfight.

As befits any tourist town, Tombstone has a plethora of souvenir shops and Western wear boutiques along its wide, wooden boardwalks. Not to be missed (and hard to miss) are daily gunfight reenactments in the streets, and rollicking, Wild West saloons like the Crystal Palace, Johnny Ringo's and Crazy Horse. You'll also find various and sundry tours -- including ghost tours, group and walking tours, horse-drawn jaunts, and Jeep tours.

At the end of Allen Street sits Bird Cage Theatre, one of the few notable original buildings left in Tombstone, which was ravaged by two turn-of-last-century fires, as well as a flood.

Back in the day, the theater operated as a saloon, gambling hall and bawdyhouse. In 1882, it is said, no less than The New York Times described it as the wildest nightspot between New Orleans' Basin Street and the San Francisco's Barbary Coast.

The Bird Cage shut down in 1889 -- about the same time as the well-worked silver mines flooded with groundwater, leading to the boomtown's eventual bust. According to Hunley, the theater was boarded up until 1934, which happily preserved the building's original contents -- including stage curtains, hand-painted wallpaper and chandeliers.

A bit off the beaten path, but worth visiting, is the Tombstone Courthouse State Historic Park, just off Highway 80. The two-story courthouse contained a courtroom, jail cell and outdoor gallows, as well as offices for a variety of elected officials, including the sheriff. In 1929, after the Cochise County seat was moved from faded Tombstone to flourishing Bisbee, the building essentially sat vacant until a local restoration group turned it
into a Western artifacts museum and state park.

With a mild climate year 'round, Tombstone has no one "best" season to visit. Indeed, the plucky community hosts more than a few festivals aimed at bringing tourists to town. The celebrations include a Western Music Festival in November; Rose Festival in April; Balloon Festival in June; and Wyatt Earp Days in May, featuring a chili-cookout, mock hangings, street entertainment and a Victorian-era fashion show.

This weekend, the town will host the 13th annual Clanton Days Rendezvous. The three-day event (wrapped around an actual family reunion for the far-flung members of the Clanton clan) also offers activities for the public, including walking and ghost tours, music, dancing, historical presentations, and -- but of course -- gunfight reenactments.

More information about the Clanton rendezvous, and other upcoming Cochise County events, can be found online at https://www.explorecochise.com/events.htm, or by contacting the Tombstone Visitors Center at 520- 457-3929.