It’s only about 8 a.m., so the southern Arizona desert is still cool under an intensely blue sky. There’s no better time to walk amid the 400 or so graves in the nation’s first cemetery to be called Boothill.
A woman working at the cemetery’s gift shop has given me a printed diagram with the graves numbered in rows, accompanied by a few details on those buried there. The cemetery has recently been spruced up, she notes, so visitors can get an easier look at Tombstone’s past.
It’s immediately obvious that this is not a cemetery without humor. Near the center of the graveyard is the oft-quoted marker declaring, “Here Lies/Lester Moore/Four Slugs/From A 44/No Les/No More.”
Nearby, the graves of Billy Clanton, Frank McLaury and Tom McLaury-all with markers noting “KILLED Oct. 26, 1881”-commemorate the incident that assured Tombstone’s conspicuous place in American history. The three outlaws were gunned down by Wyatt Earp and Co. in the infamous gunfight at the O.K. Corral.
And so Boothill makes a clear introduction to Tombstone. To see rows and rows of crudely fashioned graves, to look at the hundreds of names, followed by HANGED, SHOT, MURDERED or KILLED, is to gain an understanding of how perilous existence was in a town with a short but colorful life.
Soon it’s obvious that the Boothill scenario is repeated all over Tombstone: Within the framework of historic buildings and sites are all the makings of an all-American roadside tourist trap. Inside authentic, 110-year-old buildings lining downtown’s Allen Street, where once were gunfighters and whiskey-soaked card games, now there are teddy bears, cactus jelly gift sets and Christmas ornaments shaped like adobes.
Aside from a slap of paint here and there, Tombstone hasn’t been prettied up or reproduced-the structures are just as they were in 1880, only older. And being a designated national historic site, the place called “The Town Too Tough to Die” forever will be protected from opportunists who would make it a theme park.
In the name of commerce, however, Tombstone has been rendered more tacky than realistic. It’s certainly not a famous historic site that takes itself too seriously, but the surviving symbol of the Wild West would probably succeed without so much unabashed schlock.
Aptly, the most infamous among all Arizona’s mining camps was named Tombstone in a moment of good humor. A determined mining prospector was told by neighbors at a cavalry post that his missions into untamed Apache areas would turn up his own tombstone before they would silver. Upon making a claim right in that forbidden land in 1877, he remembered their admonishment and named the site Tombstone.
Tombstone’s mines produced millions in silver and gold over a seven-year period, the population swelled to 10,000, and the Arizona legislature created Cochise County in 1881, naming Tombstone the seat. A striking $50,000 courthouse was finished in 1882, but underground flooding halted the boom in 1886. Tombstone became considerably more quiet.
Tombstone’s 70-odd historic buildings remain clustered within a compact area, easy to cover in a morning or afternoon.
For orientation, start at the Historama, adjacent to the O.K. Corral on Allen Street. Vincent Price’s recorded account of events-peppered with Apache war cries, popping whips and fire bells-is paired with groupings of mechanical characters on a revolving stage to tell Tombstone’s infamous history.
Next door at the O.K. Corral, the sign urges visitors to “walk where they fell.” At the rear of the corral yard, life-size mannequins stand in the positions held by Wyatt, Morgan and Virgil Earp and Doc Holliday in their gun battle with Billy and Ike Clanton, Frank and Tom McLaury and Billy Claiborne on Oct. 26, 1881. Visitors happening upon the town on the first and third Sunday of the month will find a re-enactment of the gunfight taking place at 2 p.m.
A block east on Allen Street, the Bird Cage Theatre is a fair representation of Tombstone in its heyday. Built in 1881, the saloon-dance hall has original fixtures and a wonderfully ornate cherry wood bar.
Two blocks down on Toughnut Street, the Tombstone Courthouse is a beauty built in 1882. Now a state historic park and museum, the courthouse is home to exhibits detailing the history of Tombstone and Cochise County, plus original furniture from local homes and tools from area mines.
———-
All Tombstone sidewalks have ramps with handrails for the disabled, as do some buildings such as the post office and bank. Plans for providing access to the courthouse have been on hold for the past few years, pending state funding. Rooms in Tombstone’s motels, though not specifically outfitted for disabled guests, are accessible from parking lots.
EVENTS, TOURS AND MORE TO ENHANCE YOUR VISIT
Before you go to Tombstone and its environs, here’s more to know:
Getting there: Tombstone is 70 miles southeast of Tucson, via Interstate Highway 10 and Arizona Highway 80.
Events: Party with the locals at Territorial Days, first weekend in March; Wyatt Earp Days, last weekend in May; Revue of Gunfighters, first weekend in September; and Helldorado Days, third weekend in October.
Sightseeing: The town generally opens by 8 a.m., although the best orientation stop-the Historama-opens at 9 a.m. Nominal admission charges ($1-$2) are charged at most sites.
Tours: Tombstone Stage Lines (602-457-3234) arranges stagecoach rides, hayrides, campfire cookouts and overnight trips. Tombstone Western Tours (800-228-1224) gives a narrated tour of Tombstone and nearby ghost towns.
Dining: Don Teodoro’s Mexican Restaurant & Tortilla Factory, lunch and dinner, 4th Street between Safford and Fremont Streets; and Cactus Rose Cafe, with homemade pizza, big deli sandwiches, video arcade, 5th Street, between Toughnut and Allen Streets.
Lodging: Adobe Lodge, a motel downtown on Fremont Street (602-457-2241); Tombstone Motel, Fremont and 5th Streets (602-457-3478); Buford House, Safford and 2nd Streets, a bed and breakfast in an adobe building built in 1880 (800-355-1880); and Priscilla’s B&B, Safford and 3rd Streets, in a 1904 Victorian home (602-457-3844).
Belly up: Big Nose Kate’s Saloon, in the heart of Allen Street, is an 1880 building named for Doc Holliday’s sweetheart; Legend of the West, on Allen Street, just around the corner from the Crystal Palace, offers a photo gallery of local gunfighters; and Vogan’s Alley, right across the street, is an 1880 bar with big screen TV and half-pound burgers.
Detours: Bisbee, 24 miles south via Arizona 80. Boom town in 1880s upon discovery of the Copper Queen Lode. Mines produced more than $2 billion in copper, gold, silver and zinc. Old downtown district is replete with shops; museums are open; and mine tours are offered.
For more information: Tombstone Courthouse State Historic Park, 602-457-3311; Tombstone Visitors Center at 4th and Allen Streets, 602-457-3929; Arizona Office of Tourism, 800-842-8257.
