No Bad Days RVing: Tombstone, AZ

Coined as the town too tough to die, Tombstone AZ reached its greatest and then faded in eight short years. Today it is a very popular tourist attraction and that is where our quest for worldly knowledge takes us.

In 1877 this wild mining town owes its beginning to Ed Schieffelin. He was warned several time by friends and military troops because of the hostile Apaches that all he would find would be his own tombstone. Hence that is how the town got it's name.

Pictures of Schieffelin and his belongings

Schieffelin Hall built in 1881 by Ed's brother was a first class opera house, theater, and meeting place for Tombstone residents.

Schieffelin Hall

As the population reached 10,000 in 1881 the town started to expand. Within two years Tombstone had several building including saloons, dancing halls, churches, and brothels.

City Hall - 1882

While gentlemen and ladies attended operas at Schieffelin Hall, miners and cowboys watched shows at the Bird Cage Theater. At the time it was named the wildest and the most wicked place in Tombstone. Today this is the only place in Tombstone that has never been renovated, it stands the same way today as it did in 1881 bullet holes included.

Bird Cage Theater - 1881

C.S. Fly and his wife Mollie were frontier photographers arriving in town in 1879. Although the gunfight at O.K. Corral occurred beside their studio it was never photographed, cameras of the day did not allow for quick action.

C.S. Fly Studio

In the 1880's prostitution was perfectly legal in Arizona. Small buildings called "cribs" lined the streets in Tombstone. Most cribs looked the same, so the ladies would paint their name on the door so they could be easily found. Wyatt Earp's second wife and Doc Holliday's girlfriend both worked in this profession.

A typical looking crib

The city license below was dated in 1881 in the amount of $4.30 for the business "House of Ill Fame". Note on the side, payment refused and signed by Wyatt Earp.

City License for "House of Ill Fame"

As we walked the streets (in a good way) of Tombstone, on several occasions we saw Wyatt, Virgil, and Morgan Earp along with Doc Holliday and his girlfriend.

Heading for the gunfight at O.K. Corral

As Tombstone grew in population in 1882 the stylish Cochise County Courthouse was built at a cost of $50,000. It housed the sheriff office, courtroom, and the jail in the back. Susan and I both thought this was the best place for Tombstone history and information.

Cochise County Courthouse - 1882

John F Ross Attorney's Office - 1914

Courtroom

The gallows outside the courtroom

All this sightseeing found Susan and myself hungry so we decided on The Crystal Palace Saloon. Original known as the Golden Eagle Brewing Company it was one of the first saloons in Tombstone.