Tombstone, Arizona: Walking Through the Real History of Wyatt Earp and the Wild West

Tombstone, Arizona

I traveled to Tombstone during the winter while van camping on the outskirts of town. When I woke the next morning, I was surprised by just how cold the Arizona desert could become. The rugged drive into Tombstone also left an impression on me. The town sits about 24 miles south of Interstate 10 at Benson, reached by following Arizona Highway 80 through open, mountainous country.

Tombstone Arizona - Dragoon Mountains

As I traveled that isolated stretch of road, I could not help thinking about the miners, settlers, stagecoach passengers and outlaws who crossed this same harsh country during the 1800s. They made the journey without paved highways, dependable vehicles or roadside services. What now feels like a lengthy detour from the interstate would have once been a difficult and sometimes dangerous trip through the Arizona Territory.

Tombstone downtown

When I arrived, Tombstone was nearly vacant. The severe cold had frozen water pipes around town, and most businesses were closed. The Longhorn Restaurant was one of the few places with running water, so that was where I was able to sit down and eat. Although I had not expected to find Tombstone so quiet, walking through the nearly deserted downtown gave me the unusual opportunity to appreciate its historic buildings without the normal crowds.

"Old Tombstone's Cowboy Skillet" breakfast at the Longhorn Restaurant

Later, the museum opened, and it proved well worth the wait. That was where I learned more about Ed Schieffelin, the prospector whose 1877 silver discovery led to the creation of Tombstone. Schieffelin had reportedly been warned that the dangerous country would provide him with nothing but his own tombstone. After discovering silver, he named his mining claim Tombstone, and the growing settlement eventually took the same name.

Tombstone founder - Ed Schieffelin

The discovery transformed the remote area into a booming silver town. Miners, merchants, gamblers, saloonkeepers and fortune seekers poured into Tombstone. Wyatt Earp, his brothers and Doc Holliday later became part of its story, especially after the famous 1881 gunfight associated with the O.K. Corral. Hollywood has focused heavily on the gunfighters, but Tombstone’s survival depended just as much on mining, transportation and access to water.

Allen R. English was Tombstone's best-known attorney, famous for his brilliant legal mind, quick wit, and colorful courtroom antics during the town's silver boom years.

Where did my scissors go?

One of my favorite exhibits in the museum was a quote from George Parsons, a young businessman whose daily journal became one of the most valuable firsthand accounts of life in Tombstone. His words captured just how wild the booming silver town had become in 1880: "A man will go to the devil pretty fast in Tombstone... Faro, whiskey, and bad women will beat anyone.

Water in a Desert Mining Town

Water was a constant concern in early Tombstone. Drinking water was initially brought from springs north of town and stored in tanks. A more ambitious pipeline was later built to carry spring water from the Huachuca Mountains. Sections of that historic system continued supplying the community long afterward.

Virgil Earp - Tombstone City Marshal and Deputy U.S. Marshal

The lack of dependable water made everyday life difficult and made fires especially dangerous. Major fires swept through Tombstone in 1881 and 1882, destroying large portions of the business district. With too little water available to stop the flames, some buildings had to be dynamited to keep the fire from spreading.

Wyatt Earp, Deputy City Marshal of Tombstone

Ironically, water was scarce above ground but eventually became too plentiful underground. As miners followed the silver veins deeper, they reached the water table at around 520 feet. Powerful pumps were installed to keep the mines operating, but removing the water became increasingly expensive. After a major pumping plant burned and silver prices weakened, many mines could no longer remain profitable. Workers left, businesses closed and Tombstone’s population fell dramatically.

Morgan Earp, Deputy City Marshal of Tombstone

Doc Holliday, Deputy City Marshal of Tombstone

In many ways, water helped determine whether Tombstone would live or die. The town needed it for drinking, cooking, firefighting and supporting thousands of residents, yet underground water helped bring its silver boom to an end.

Big Nose Kate Saloon

The Real Big Nose Kate

Big Nose Kate was also a real person, not merely a character created for Western movies. Born Mary Katherine Horony in Hungary, she became best known as the longtime companion of Doc Holliday. She was remembered as independent, outspoken and unafraid of the rough people and places of the frontier West. The present-day Big Nose Kate’s Saloon is named in her honor, although visitors should view it as a historic-themed attraction rather than assume every story told about her is fully documented.

fashion in those days

My winter visit was much quieter than the Tombstone most tourists experience. I missed the crowds and reenacted gunfights, but I gained something different—the chance to walk its historic streets almost alone and imagine how isolated and unforgiving this landscape must have been during the silver-mining years.

Tombstone drought

For anyone traveling Interstate 10 through southern Arizona, Tombstone is well worth the approximately 24-mile drive from Benson. Arrive when the town is active and you may see staged gunfights, visit the museums, walk Allen Street and stop inside Big Nose Kate’s Saloon. Just remember that the Arizona desert is not always hot. In winter, Tombstone can become surprisingly cold—and, as I discovered, even its water pipes can freeze.

If you'd like to explore Tombstone's history firsthand, you can create a free account at the Internet Archive, a nonprofit digital library. After signing in, you'll be able to borrow and read thousands of historic books online, including The Private Journal of George Whitwell Parsons: The Tombstone Years, 1879–1887.

1867 (Age 17) – A photograph of Big Nose Kate seated beside her sister shortly after arriving in the United States from Hungary. This is generally considered the earliest known image of her and appears in many history books.