Tombstone, AZ

Tombstone, AZ  was founded in 1879 by Ed Schieffelin who was an Indian Scout and Prospector.  He discovered silver in Tombstone.  It was one of the last wide-open frontier boomtowns in America's Old West,  From 1877 to 1890 the town's mines produced $40 million to $85 million dollars in Silver bullion.  The largest productive silver district in Arizona.  Tombstone's population grew from 100 to around 14,000 in less than 7 years.  It became a western metropolitan city, the largest in the southwest, by 1881.  Tombstone had a bowling alley, four chuches, an ice house, a school, two banks, three newspapers and an ice cream party.  It also had 110 saloons, 14 gambling halls, an opera house, theaters,  and numberous dance halls and brothels.  The gentlemen and ladies attended the Opera and the cowboys and miners went to see shows at the theater.  One theater, the Bird Cage Theater was considedered the "wildest, wickedest" night spot between Basin street in New Orleans, LA to the Barbary coast in San Francisco, CA.  There were over 26 murders in the theater and is considered the most haunted theater is the west. 
There were lots of tension in Tombstone especially between the cowboys/miners and the businessmen/lawmen.  Their opinions were opposite of eachother which grew into deadly conflicts.  Shootings and stabbings were the way of working out these conflicts.  One huge conflict that developed was between the Earps and the Clantons - McLaurys.  The Earp brothers, Virgil, Wyatt, Morgan and Warren came to Tombstone between December 1879 through the summer of 1880.  They were all lawmen at one time.  They were were not liked by the cowboys and had ongoing conflicts especially with Ike & Billy Clanton and Tom & Frank McLaury.  After repeated threats against the Earps by the cowboys over many months the conflict escalated into a confrontation that happened on October 26, 1881 at 3:00 pm known as the Gunfight at the O.K. Corral.  It was a 30 second gunfight where Frank and Tom McLaury along with Billy Clanton were killed and Morgan and Virgil Earp along with Doc Holiday were wounded but survived.  Wyatt Earp came out of the fight unharmed.  Doc Holiday was a dentist, gambler and good friend to Wyatt Earp.  The Earps and Doc Holiday were acquitted for murder by a judge and grand jury from this conflict.
In the mid 1880s the silver mines penetrated the water table which created massive flooding through the mines.  Despite efforts taken to get the water out and keep it out eventually it became a lost cause and the mining operations were unable to continue and the mines closed down.  The city's population dwindled with miners and businesses moving on and by the early 1900s the poputlation dropped to 800.  Today tourism is the economy of Tombstone.  Its population today is 1569 with a median income of $26,600 with a median age of 49. 
Boothill Cemetary, located on the west side of Tombstone, was laid out as a burial place for the town's first pioneers in 1878 and was called Tombstone Cemetary.  It was used until 1884 when a new cemetary was built.  It was known as Boothill grave yard because of the many violent deaths of the early days of Tombstone.  Buried there were outlaws with their victims, suicides, hangings (legal and unlegal) along with the hardy citizens.  It was called Boothill to refer to the many men buried there who died with their boots on.  Aprroximately 300 people were buried there.  With the closing of the cemetary it was neglected and started to return to nature.  Several years later it was saved and became a historic site.
Our time in Tombstone was interesting.  It was like being in the old west and we tried to imagine what it would be like to live during that time.  Boot Hill was really interesting and it was "fun" to walk around, looking at the headstones and markers of the people buried.  Several have stories of how they died which made it even more interesting.  Let me just say, all were brutal deaths of sickness, drownings, shootings, stabbings, mining accidents, horse and wagon accidents, suicides, poisonings,etc.  There were  only one or two people who died of natural causes.  Tombstone is a  pretty well preserved town set in its old west mottif and the citizens dress up like the old west to keep the illusion going.  You see horses and riders and stage coaches along Allen street.  Walking into the saloons took you back to the old west with a big bar and bartender, the dance hall girls and live musical entertainment.  We had lunch at Big Nose Kate saloon.  Kate was the girlfriend of Doc Holiday.  The saloon was dark and you could picture the citizens of Tombstone sitting there playing poker and having a whiskey.  The food was very reasonable and pretty good too.  I am so glad we visited Tombstone to get the experience of the old west and be in town that was the old west.  It is as experience I will not forget and if you are ever in this area I highly reccommend Tombstone as a place to stop and take in life as it was in the old west.  There are so many interesting stories in Tombstone and there are so many books and movies written about Tombstone.  Now I see why.  I  have a new found interest in the Old West  that started with my visit to Lincoln, New Mexico and Billy the Kid and has just  grown stronger with Tombstone and Wyatt Earp and Doc Holiday.  This has been a great journey so far and there is still more to go!