On this day in 1881 a 30 second shootout between some outlaws and the Earps along with Doc Holliday happened in Tombstone Arizona.
It has been written about and "documented" hundreds of times in all forms of media from comic books to the silver screen and now here on my blog.
I have visited historical sites like this before, see the links below
Being a gun nut and a lover of history, I am always looking for the chance to visit these places. So, when my Wife said she wanted to go to Tombstone and Bisbee there was no argument from me.
I have written about this shootout before; one was about the two most recent movies about the shootout. The other is the debate about which revolver Wyatt Earp used during the action.
The first thing you need to know about Tombstone, is forget what you saw in the movies, that is Hollywood.
Here we go: Tombstone has been dubbed the "Town too Tough to Die", that is due to the numerous fires that consumed the town, this is important to the story.
Let's start at the beginning. in 1877 Ed Schieffelin was a scout for the U.S. Army, he was also a prospector and perhaps his work for the Army was just a way of getting paid to prospect. While scouting on the Goose Flats mesa, he found some silver ore in a dry wash.
He left his job with the Army and set out to stake a claim, when fellow scout Al Sieber heard where he was headed, he told Ed "the only rocks you will find there is your own tombstone".
Ed did find more silver there and soon word got out.....you can guess what happened next. The town sprung up on a semi flat area right next to one of the larger claims knows as "The Good Enough Mine".
The town was "officially" founded in March of 1879.
Before we go further, I should mention that the shootout at the OK Corral was not the only killings that occurred in Tombstone, just the most famous of them.
It is not an exaggeration to say the old west was lawless, 24-hour drinking, gambling, prostitution and drugs were all legal in Tombstone. While murder was still illegal, that didn't prevent it from happening. An example of this is the killings of two men in front of the Oriental Saloon, nearly two years apart in unrelated confrontations.
At the height of its population Tombstone had over 100 saloons, 14 gambling halls, numerous brothels and prostitution "cribs" as well as opium dens, but only four churches. This was to satisfy a population of just 15,000 people.
The streets were laid out in a grid pattern, although not following the compass. The numbered streets ran SE to NW and the named streets ran SW to NE. The three main streets in town were Fremont, Allen and Toughnut. Allen street housed most of the gambling halls and saloons, while Fremont is where C.S. Fly's photography studio was as well as Tombstone's 1st boarding house. It is also the street in which brothers Wyatt and Virgil Earp lived.
The trouble came when outlaws known as "the Cowboys" would cause trouble in town. They were known for cattle rustling; they would steal cattle from north or south of the border and drive them to buyers on the opposite sides. For those that don't know, Tombstone is only 30 miles north of the Mexican border. Also, US Marshals and Mexican Federales were not allowed to pursue outlaws across the border, making it a convenient escape.
You probably know the story about the Earps becoming the town Marshals and the shoot out, but many of the details became blurred.
The issue was the carrying of firearms cowboys and the threats they had made against the Earps & Holliday. Rather than wait to be ambushed, they decided to chase them down and disarm them.
The tensions probably started just after midnight on October 27th 1880, almost one year before the OK Corral shootout. Curly Bill Brocious killed Marshal Fred White on the lot where the Bird Cage Theater would be built later, Wyatt responded to the scene, knocking out Curly Bill by beating him over the head with his pistol. Curly Bill never forgave Wyatt.
Add in the fact that Wyatt was eyeballing Johnny Behan's well-paying job as Cochise County Sheriff and had a falling out with the man after he reneged on a promise to make Wyatt is Undersheriff. Let's not forget there was Johnny's good-looking girlfriend Josie who secretly admired Wyatt.
Then there was the Bisbee Stagecoach robbery in which two Cowboys were suspected. The Earps participated in the posse to catch the two men.
One other thing to note, the Earps were Republicans, while Behan and the cattle rustling Cowboys were Democrats.
On October 17th, 1881, due to increased tensions, Morgan was deputized as "Special Police Officer" by his brother Virgil.
On the 21st Morgan went to find Doc in Tuscon. Doc and Big Nose Kate were at the San Augustin Feast and Fair. Morgan, Doc and Kate returned the next day.
On the 25th, brothers Ike and Billy Clanton and brothers Frank and Tom Mclaury arrive in Tombstone, they spend the night drinking and have an argument with Doc in the Alhambra saloon (next to the Golden Eagle brewery).
On the morning of the 26th, Ike was arrested and brought before the judge for brandishing a rifle and making threats, Ike was fined and released. As Wyatt left the courtroom, Tom Mclaury verbally accosted Wyatt, which resulted in Wyatt hitting Tom over the head with his pistol. Throughout the day reports came into the Earps that the Cowboys were threatening to kill them.
In early afternoon the Clantons and McLaurys were seen in Spangenberg's Gun Shop (on 4ths street between Allen and Fremont streets), loading their belts with fresh ammunition.
Around 3pm, Virgil, Morgan, Wyatt and Doc headed up 6th street towards Fremont Street, turning left (north) on Fremont and towards Fly's Boarding House which is where they were told the Cowboys were waiting to ambush Doc.
The confrontation happened in an 18-foot-wide vacant lot on Fremont Street, between Fly's Boarding House/Photography Studio and the residence of William Harwood, it wasn't at the OK Corral, but a few lots down from the back gate to the corral.
The map below shows the location of everything.
This painting from True West Magazine shows it pretty well.
The sketch below was created by Wyatt Earp in 1924, some 43 years after the gunfight, it is the only recreation by an actual participant.
There were others not included in the sketch, like Ike Clanton, who ran from the gun fight (represented by the unlabeled X next to Frank), Billy Claiborne who also fled the scene (and was killed a year later). Bob Hatch (co-owner of the Campbell & Hatch Saloon) & C.S. Fly who both assisted after the shooting stopped. There was also Johnny Behan who was there before the shooting started and claimed to have "disarmed the Cowboys", as well as Big Nose Kate, who witnessed the gun fight from her room at Fly's boarding house.
25 shots were fired in 30 seconds, Billy Clanton and brothers Tom & Frank McLaury were dead, while Virgil was shot in the leg, Morgan in the shoulder and Doc was grazed by a bullet on his hip. Wyatt Earp was the only participant unscathed.
After being prepared (and photographed) at the funeral parlor, the three dead outlaws were buried at the Boothill cemetery, just north of town.
The battle continued. On the 28th of December Virgil Earp was shot in the arm in front of the Golden Eagle Brewery, the shots came from across the intersection on the other side of fifth street from the Owl Cafe & Hotel which was under construction at the time.
The picture below was taken in front of the Oriental Saloon on Allen Street looking NW. The two-story building on the right is the Golden Eagle Brewery, which later became the Crystal Palace Saloon, the two-story building on the left was the Grand Hotel, which after the fire was rebuilt and is now the home of "Big Nose Kate's Saloon". The Cambell and Hatch Billard Saloon is a few doors down on the right.
The OK corral is just down Allen Street on the right. The cross street is Fifth Street.
As town Marshal, Virgil had an office above on the second floor of the Golden Eagle.
What it looks like today:
The following March 18th, Morgan Earp is murdered while playing pool with friend and saloon owner Bob Hatch, the billiards tables were in the back of the saloon and the shots came from the alley behind the saloon.
After the murder of Morgan Earp, Wyatt decides to rid the planet of the Cowboys and goes on his famous "Vedetta Ride". Accompanying him were his younger brothers Warren and James, Doc Holliday, "Turkey Creek" Jack Johnson, "Texas" Jack Vermillion, Sherman McMaster, Charles Smith and Dan Tipton.
The posse killed four Cowboys they believed were involved in the revenge shootings of Virgil and Morgan, the four killed were Curly Bill Brocious, Frank Stillwell, Johnny Barnes and Florentino Cruz (aka Indian Charlie). It has never been proven that Johnny Ringo was a victim of the vendetta riders, it is suspected that he committed suicide, but that debate rages on. It is hard to believe that Ringo did not meet his end at the hands of the Earps as he was suspected of being involved in the shootings of Morgan and Virgil and his death was just after the vendetta supposedly ended. Perhaps he heard about the vendetta and knew he would meet his end at their guns, so he took away their last chance for vengeance?
The story of Tombstone went on for a few more years, but two events crippled the town, one was the drop in the price of silver and the other was a mining operation that accidentally tapped into an aquifer that flooded most of the mines.
With no silver to be had, Tombstone almost died, but the genre of western movies made it a tourist destination. There is, of course more stories to tell, but the best way to hear them is to visit the town. It is about an hour and 15 min south-east of Tuscon Arizona.
Timeline of Events
1877 - Ed Schieffelin discovers silver ore in a wash just SW of Goose Flats
1878 - Tombstone is laid out and plots begin to be filled by stores and saloons; the Boot Hill cemetery is established north of town.
March 1879 - Tombstone "officially" founded by Ed Schieffelin
December 1879 - The Earps arrive in Tombstone
June 22, 1880 - Frank "Buckskin" Leslie kills Mike Killeen
September 1880 - Doc Holliday and Big Nose Kate arrive in Tombstone
October 28, 1880 - Curly Bill Brocius shoots Marshal Fred White
October 30, 1880 - Marshal Fred White dies
June 22, 1881 - A fire burned most of Tombstone to the ground
September 10, 1881 - Virgil Earp attempts to arrest Sherman McMaster for a stagecoach robbery.
October 26, 1881 - The Shootout at the OK Corral
December 26, 1881 - The Bird Cage Theater opens on the lot where Fred White was shot
December 28, 1881 - Virgil Earp is ambushed and shot in the arm
March 18, 1882 - Morgan Earp is assassinated in a pool hall
March 20, 1882 - Wyatt Earp kills Frank Stillwell, Vendetta Ride begins
March 22, 1882 - Earp's posse kills Florentino "Indian Charlie" Cruz
March 24, 1882 - Wyatt Earp kills Curly Bill Brocius & Johnny Barnes
April 15, 1882 - Earp Vendetta Ride ends
May 26, 1882 - A second fire destroys most of Tombstone.
July 13, 1882 - Johnny Ringo is believed to have committed suicide
November 14, 1882 - Frank "Buckskin" Leslie kills Billy Claiborne
1884 - Boothill Cemetery closes, a new cemetery is created farther north of town
November 8, 1887 - Doc Holliday dies in Glennwood Springs, Colorado
January 13, 1929 - Wyatt Earp dies in Los Angeles.
November 2, 1940 - Big Nose Kate dies, she is the last witness of the shootout to die.
Sources
C.S. Fly, The Photographer-Turned-Sheriff Who Captured The Wild West
The American Cowboy Chronicles: Tombstone's Baptism Of Fire, 1881 & 1882
Historical Fires Down Through History - Tombstone Still Survives!
HISTORY of TOMBSTONE ⋆ Discover Tombstone Arizona
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