Few pictures and a short paragraph Tombstone, AZ 1885

[GON]

For a late bloomer- all of the USA has great stories and a new but rich history. I really enjoy coming across these pictures and the stories that go along.

Pictured here is the boom town of Tombstone, Arizona in 1880. Famous prospector Shorty Harris spent time in Tombstone, Arizona in 1885, which he described as "almost as hell-roaring a place as Leadville. The boys were all decorated with six-guns and believe me, they knew how to use them. The handiest on the draw stayed in town, but those that were too slow made a one-way trip to Boot-Hill."

Tombstone History​

Tombstone, Arizona is certainly one of the most famous, and infamous, mining towns in the West. When Ed Schieffelin, a scout for the U.S. Army, left Camp Huachuca to prospect in 1877, he was told that the discovery of his tombstone was more likely than precious metals. Schieffelin did find silver however, and he named his first claim the Tombstone.

 

[97prizm]

It's always neat to see how towns get their names and the history behind them. I know that Leadville was famous for its lead mines and Telluride had tellurium mines.

 

[Kira]

And the Kia Telluride is named for a tellurium alloy of steel, from which it's made!
(groan)
Seriously, I wonder what the time difference is between pictures 1 and 5.

 

[burbguy82]

Been to Tombstone during a JROTC trip to Ft. Huachuca. Cool place. Funny thing.....at the time you could carry any gun in the open on the street as was the law. But the "Shootout at the OK Corral" was about a feud about disarming citizens.

 

[dippschtick]

Didn't realize there were so many power lines back then.

​

 

[Owen Lucas]

Didn't realize there were so many power lines back then.

I presume they are telegraph lines.

 

[KGMtech]

No wimen folks in them photos! Tough places.

 

[scoot]

Looked it up and Tombstone got electricity in 1902 . I love old west photography

 

[scoot]

No wimen folks in them photos! Tough places.

The women were busy.

 

[2005jettatdi]

Tombstone is a great place to visit. Boot Hill is historically worth the price of admission, to visit that is.

The last picture reminds me of the question, how many mules are there in a 20 mule team?

 

[fantastic]

History lessons from @GON

 

[dwgwater]

https://truewestmagazine.com/the-pen-is-mightier/

One of the duelists mentioned in this is a distant ancestor. John Clum was the publisher of the Epitaph, and sold a lot of papers with his wild west stories. One of the consequences of the national press picking up the stories of the Earps & Hollidays was some pressure to bring in the US Army to restore order in the Arizona Territory. Some AZ Territorial legislators bought out Clum, the Epitaph stopped publishing the 19th Century equivalent of clickbait, and talk of sending in the military went away

 

[gfh77665]

. But the "Shootout at the OK Corral" was about a feud about disarming citizens.

And the shootout at the OK Corral actually happened about a block and a half away, not actally in the Corral.

 

[AZjeff]

Tombstone didn't seem nearly that hilly when we visited. Far too touristy for us, the best part was the Tombstone Courthouse State Historic Park.

@burbguy82 , you can still open carry almost anywhere no permits needed. See it all the time.

 

[burbguy82]

Tombstone didn't seem nearly that hilly when we visited. Far too touristy for us, the best part was the Tombstone Courthouse State Historic Park.

@burbguy82 , you can still open carry almost anywhere no permits needed. See it all the time.

Yeah, open carry sure. But there in Tombstone, a few guys were open carrying AK47s and Ruger Minis.....a bit different story of course.

Today I have no idea, just remarking on my tour back in the late 80s

 

[burbguy82]

And the shootout at the OK Corral actually happened about a block and a half away, not actally in the Corral.

thats history for you.

 

[BHopkins]

And the shootout at the OK Corral actually happened about a block and a half away, not actally in the Corral.

Yea, Shootout at Frank's General Mercantile, or Shootout at Tombstone Barber Shop, just isn't quite as catchy.

 

[GON]

A bit more on Tombstone. Both pictures are reported to be of Tombstone's founder Ed Schieffelin.

Also- a newly released book for sale reference Tombstone (its theater): https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/157441948X/ref=ox_sc_saved_image_3?

Attracted by immense Tombstone wealth, a Washington DC newspaperman traveled across the country to the wilds of Arizona in 1879. Upon arriving he met Tombstone's founder, Ed Schieffelin (pictured) whose appearance was shockingly different from those he knew back east. Struck by his frontier presence he described Ed in a letter back home.

"He has a large head, covered with long matted hair, large blue eyes, expressive of resoluteness, yet good nature; bronzed features; high forehead; full neck and chest; six feet high; wears a red shirt; pants in his boot tops; agreeable in talk; cool and unimaginative; a hard working and slow talker. He is worth half a million, no doubt, lives a bachelor, and manages the Tough Nut mine, one of his discoveries, now organized into a company of 500,000 shares of $10 each."

 

[Kira]

That fellow looks "tougher than a fast food steak".

 

[2005jettatdi]

Yea, Shootout at Frank's General Mercantile, or Shootout at Tombstone Barber Shop, just isn't quite as catchy.

Try Fly's Photography Gallery. The shootout was right outside.