Tombstone, Arizona - a taste of the old wild west
Cheney Anne Markun
February 19, 2009
"The cemetery has a gift shop?" I exclaimed, turning to look at my husband who looked equally surprised as we walked towards Boot Hill Graveyard just outside of Tombstone, Arizona. Like a lot of people I know, I had always assumed that Tombstone and Boot Hill werenīt real places, just fictional ones that served well as locations for all the tales of the old wild west. I knew that the stories (or at least most of them) were real, but assumed that with the passing of time the real locations had been lost to memory, and so places like Tombstone were used as a coverall, a legendary place that had never actually existed. So it was with some surprise that I learnt that the "town too tough to die" was indeed real, and that I could go there.
Heading into town on State Highway 80 the barren hills and rough scrubland that shivered under the relentless sun gave me some idea as to how hard life in Arizona must have been in those days, and to prove my point we arrived at Boot Hill graveyard. Pulling off the road we then walked across the dusty parking lot towards the low building that served as the aforementioned gift shop, although maybe visitor centre would be more accurate as the staff inside welcome you with a guide book (cost around $2) and a wealth of knowledge should you have any questions (of course there were also T-shirts, mugs, stickers and all the other merchandise of a modern tourist attraction). The graveyard is well marked out and the guide book gave details of each grave that you pass, telling you a little about who is buried there and how they met their fate. To really appreciate this monument to prospectors and cowboys alike though you have to adopt a little of the wild west spirit and try to forget that youīre walking around a graveyard. Some of the headstones are genuinely funny, like that of Frank Bowles which reads "As you pass by remember that as you are so once was I and as I am soon you will be, remember me" or Lester Mooreīs "Four slugs from a 44 no less no more". Some though are honestly tragic, like that of George Johnston, who was hanged by mistake after being found in possession of a stolen horse which he had, it turned out later, bought legitimately "He was right, we was wrong, but we strung him up and now heīs gone". Before Boot Hill closed itīs gates in 1884 around 250 of Tombstoneīs earliest residents were interred here and a lot of work has gone into getting the site as close as possible to itīs original appearance (it was left abandoned for many years and the harsh climate took itīs toll, rotting away some of the wooden monuments). Due to this some of the graves are marked as "unknown" but the majority are now identified and wandering around here is like taking a step back in time - well worth a visit.
Back in the car and shaking the dust from our clothes we carried on down highway 80 into Tombstone itself. As we parked the car up on a side road and headed back to the main street I was completely stunned. Walking through Tombstone feels like stepping onto a very realistic film set, and you can so easily imagine the cowboys and their women running riot in this arid desert city which, in itīs heyday housed over 15, 000 people. The wooden fronted buildings contain shops selling cowboy boots and hats, woven rugs and tasselled leather waistcoats (for the modern cowboy) and horse drawn carriages wait patiently in the shade to take you on a trip round town, olden day style. If you get thirsty from the wandering the place to stop off for a drink is Big Nose Kateīs Saloon, which is now on the site of the old Grand Hotel and is the only original Tombstone bar still in use today. Although Big Nose Kate herself never actually ran a saloon on this site, she did run Tombstones first combined saloon and brothel, and her partner Doc Holliday certainly drank here when it was the Grand. Sitting at the bar and ordering a cold beer whilst taking in the period décor definitely gives you a feel of the old wild west.
Whilst in town you can also visit the site of the OK Corral gun fight, which happened in October 1881 when Doc Holliday and the Earpīs murdered Billy Clanton and Frank and Tom Mclaury. Although now fenced off (there is a small charge to enter) the gun fight itself really happened in what was then little more than an alleyway between the building where Doc was living with Big Nose Kate and the one next door. Nearby, you can also find the infamous Bird Cage Theatre, which is now a museum, and imagine the sort of raucous evening that went on here before it was closed in 1889.
My only regret in visiting Tombstone was that I didnīt spend the night and, to be honest, this is purely because I didnīt realise quite how much there was to see here. I imagine that taking lodgings here for the night would be a truly unforgettable experience and, next time Iīm passing through, I plan on doing just that. Tombstone has managed to get the mixture of tourism and reality just right, making it fun without being tacky, and informative without boring, and I would thoroughly recommend it as a great place to lose yourself in the old wild west.
Heading into town on State Highway 80 the barren hills and rough scrubland that shivered under the relentless sun gave me some idea as to how hard life in Arizona must have been in those days, and to prove my point we arrived at Boot Hill graveyard. Pulling off the road we then walked across the dusty parking lot towards the low building that served as the aforementioned gift shop, although maybe visitor centre would be more accurate as the staff inside welcome you with a guide book (cost around $2) and a wealth of knowledge should you have any questions (of course there were also T-shirts, mugs, stickers and all the other merchandise of a modern tourist attraction). The graveyard is well marked out and the guide book gave details of each grave that you pass, telling you a little about who is buried there and how they met their fate. To really appreciate this monument to prospectors and cowboys alike though you have to adopt a little of the wild west spirit and try to forget that youīre walking around a graveyard. Some of the headstones are genuinely funny, like that of Frank Bowles which reads "As you pass by remember that as you are so once was I and as I am soon you will be, remember me" or Lester Mooreīs "Four slugs from a 44 no less no more". Some though are honestly tragic, like that of George Johnston, who was hanged by mistake after being found in possession of a stolen horse which he had, it turned out later, bought legitimately "He was right, we was wrong, but we strung him up and now heīs gone". Before Boot Hill closed itīs gates in 1884 around 250 of Tombstoneīs earliest residents were interred here and a lot of work has gone into getting the site as close as possible to itīs original appearance (it was left abandoned for many years and the harsh climate took itīs toll, rotting away some of the wooden monuments). Due to this some of the graves are marked as "unknown" but the majority are now identified and wandering around here is like taking a step back in time - well worth a visit.
Back in the car and shaking the dust from our clothes we carried on down highway 80 into Tombstone itself. As we parked the car up on a side road and headed back to the main street I was completely stunned. Walking through Tombstone feels like stepping onto a very realistic film set, and you can so easily imagine the cowboys and their women running riot in this arid desert city which, in itīs heyday housed over 15, 000 people. The wooden fronted buildings contain shops selling cowboy boots and hats, woven rugs and tasselled leather waistcoats (for the modern cowboy) and horse drawn carriages wait patiently in the shade to take you on a trip round town, olden day style. If you get thirsty from the wandering the place to stop off for a drink is Big Nose Kateīs Saloon, which is now on the site of the old Grand Hotel and is the only original Tombstone bar still in use today. Although Big Nose Kate herself never actually ran a saloon on this site, she did run Tombstones first combined saloon and brothel, and her partner Doc Holliday certainly drank here when it was the Grand. Sitting at the bar and ordering a cold beer whilst taking in the period décor definitely gives you a feel of the old wild west.
Whilst in town you can also visit the site of the OK Corral gun fight, which happened in October 1881 when Doc Holliday and the Earpīs murdered Billy Clanton and Frank and Tom Mclaury. Although now fenced off (there is a small charge to enter) the gun fight itself really happened in what was then little more than an alleyway between the building where Doc was living with Big Nose Kate and the one next door. Nearby, you can also find the infamous Bird Cage Theatre, which is now a museum, and imagine the sort of raucous evening that went on here before it was closed in 1889.
My only regret in visiting Tombstone was that I didnīt spend the night and, to be honest, this is purely because I didnīt realise quite how much there was to see here. I imagine that taking lodgings here for the night would be a truly unforgettable experience and, next time Iīm passing through, I plan on doing just that. Tombstone has managed to get the mixture of tourism and reality just right, making it fun without being tacky, and informative without boring, and I would thoroughly recommend it as a great place to lose yourself in the old wild west.