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History

Thanks to Hollywood, Tombstone is famous for a 30-second shoot out, called The Gunfight at the OK Corral. Unfortunately, the singular focus on that one event has relegated the best of Tombstone's 140 year history to the dust bin. Our town had schools, the finest restaurants in Arizona, a semi-pro baseball team, numerous civic clubs, and other genteel activities. This web page includes links to short reports I've written from my research about Tombstone. If you want to know more about the Earps, then this is not the right place for you; but if you want to know how the common folks lived and worked, then you may enjoy my essays.

  • Albert Blair and Samuel Barrow. The deaths of Albert Blair and Samuel Barrow, two children killed in a fire, was one of the saddest chapters in Tombstone's history.
  • Albert Bloomquist. Mining was a dangerous occupation and Mr. Bloomquist was a victim.
  • Baseball In Tombstone. Tombstone formed a semi-pro baseball team in 1882--and it seems like the team was pretty good.
  • Boothill Graveyard. Boothill was the first graveyard in Tombstone and it contains the remains of 273 of our earliest pioneers. There are bad guys here, but also the innocent and even the unknown. Note: this page contains information about the historic Boothill graveyard. For information about Boothill's paranormal activity, see Boothill Ghosts.
  • Charleston. Today, Charleston is only a spot on a map near the San Pedro River, but at one time it was one of the most important mill towns supporting the Tombstone mines.
  • City Hall. The original City Hall housed our city government for more than a century and is still home to the city Marshal's Office.
  • Doling Driving Park. Tombstone had a racetrack on the edge of town and I found a few newspaper articles about events there.
  • Earp Mining Claim. Everyone knows about the Earps' gunfights, but few know about the mine they owned.
  • Faro. This article introduces faro, the most popular game in the saloons of Tombstone.
  • Gunfights. Despite the Hollywood mythos, there were very few gunfights in Tombstone. This is a listing of those who died by gunshot between 1878 and 1890.
  • Historical Courthouse. The Courthouse is a wonderful museum and peaceful place to visit. 
  • Huachuca Water Company. Drinking water was a significant problem in early Tombstone. Here is the story of the solution.
  • James Burnett. Jim Burnett was killed in cold blood in front of the OK Corral. This post tells why.
  • James Burnett: Another View. Jim Burnett's killer was exonerated, but this post provides a different view of that tragic event.
  • Jewish Memorial. The Jewish Memorial commemorates the Jews who were part of our origin.
  • Mines Near Tombstone. This post describes the more important of the mines in and around Tombstone.
  • Morgan Earp's Death. Morgan was killed on March 18, 1882. This is what the Epitaph printed about his death.
  • Morgan Earp's Inquest. This is the report printed in the Epitaph about the Coroner's Inquest concerning Morgan Earp's death.
  • Mountains North of Tombstone. There are many mountain ranges visible from the Schieffelin Monument north of Tombstone.
  • Nicholas McCormick. Nicholas was believed to be murdered during a robbery.
  • Nino Cochise. Nino Cochise purported to be the grandson of Chief Cochise, but was he a fraud?
  • Parson Brown. The first "preechin'" at Charleston was memorable, but not for the reason that Parson Brown had hoped.
  • Prospector's Loliloquy. Not everthing printed in the Epitaph was bad news. Here is a bit of fun poked firmly at prospectors.
  • Railroad. We had rail service from 1903 until 1960 and this post describes the plans and eventual right-of-way.
  • Roller-Skating In Tombstone. It surprises many of our guests, but Tombstone citizens in the early 1800’s enjoyed roller skating.
  • The Tombstone Land Fraud. Tombstone's earliest years were marred with governmental corruption that fueled a land fraud that haunted our town for decades.
  • Tombstone Businesses. This article lists a few of the many places Tombstone citizens could do business in 1885.
  • Tombstone Cemetery. The Tombstone City Cemetery is the final resting place for more than 1800 of our citizens who have died since 1884.
  • The Tombstone Mining District. The Tombstone Mining District was nearly 100 square miles and included about 100 producing mines. This post introduces all of the mining districts in Cochise County and includes a map outlining the Tombstone District.
  • Turnverein. The “Turners” opened the Turnverein Hall in Tombstone and it became important part of our social life.
  • What Was The Population of Tombstone? Tour guides report wildly different numbers about the population in early Tombstone and this article gets to the bottom of that question.
  • Why Did the Mines Close? People often think that water killed mining here, but the truth is far different.