This town has been through everything any town could ever go through. But, what the town is most famous for is, of course, The Shootout At The OK Corral. The Earps, the Clantons, the McLaurys, all were part of the great legacy that Tombstone has left to the history of the American Southwest.

Much history has been written about the saga of this town. Depending on who you listen to, you will find that the history of this town varies as much as the weather. There are quite a few written documents that are reliable, but to fill in the blanks one must decide for themselves what is true and what is folklore or a tall tale. Then, there are the parts of the history in which the folklore is accepted as fact over factual history. If you have a discerning mind you can get a good sense of what is the truth in the history of Tombstone.

The beginnings of Tombstone lie at nearby Camp Huachuca. The camp was in the area to defend the new American border with Mexico and also to have a close gathering point in the chase of Cochise, leader of the local Native American tribe. Anyway, to get back to the point, Ed Schieffelin, a hopeful miner, decided to go where others had written off years before to seek his fortune. The soldiers at Camp Huachuca told Schieffelin that all he would find in the indian infested mountains would be his "tombstone". Well, after much diligence, Ed found a small vein of silver in a remote outcropping in the mountains. He named this paticular vein, "Tombstone" just to prove the soldiers right.

The actual town of Tombstone is about 10 miles from that original vein of silver. It is on top of a small plateau in the local mountain range. It was an excellent spot to set up a mining town. It was a terrible spot to set up a city. Running water was 15 miles away. Everything leading to the site was uphill to it. It was a very undefendable spot from local indian attacks. But, because of the plethora of silver veins in the hills surrounding Tombstone, the town became so attractive that it at one time was the largest city west of the Mississippi. Even larger than the city of San Fransisco.

The size of Tombstone invited many types of people to the area. There were many fine and upstanding citizens of the town. Inspite of this, the town has received its reputation from the "low lifes" of the town. Especially the group known as the "cowboys". Many have argued the rights and wrongs of this group, but one fact remains. The bulk of this group were accused and convicted thieves, rustlers and murderers. The leaders of this group were half of the problem in the now in"famous" Shootout At The OK Corral. The other half, of course, being the Earp brothers and Doc Holliday. This group was at fault also, but were mainly reacting to the Clantons and McClaurys. In a court of law, in the weeks following the shootout, the Earps and Holliday were found innocent of all charges.

In all actuality, the shootout did not even take place in The OK Corral. It took place on Freemont Street just outside the corral, but how enticing would "The Shootout Just Outside The OK Corral On Freemont Street" sound? A little play with the facts in this case is allowable.

The Earps, major players in the early history of Tombstone, were almost a nomadic family. No matter where they were, they seemed to move after two or three years in one place. The family, headed by Nick Earp, travled cross-country from Virginia to Illinois, Missouri, Kansas, Nebraska, Arizona, Califonia, back to Arizona and then back to California. The only member of the family to move out on his own was Wyatt, the middle son of five. After the second move to Arizona, which was the Tombstone trip, Wyatt remained in Tombstone for about another year and then moved to Colorado with Doc Holliday and then to Alaska and then Northern California.

Modern Tombstone thrives on the lore of the past. Tourism is the major industry now. Mush is being done to improve the enviroment in which the everyday tourist sees the city. A trip to the Southwest would not be complete without a visit to this "town too tough to die."