If you like westerns, saloons and shootouts, then Tombstone, Arizona in Cochise County is the place to visit. On October 26, 1881, three men ended up dead, and three others wounded. The place, a gunfight at the O.K. Corral. Maybe you have seen the movies, Tombstone or Darling Clementine, and remember the names Wyatt Earp, Doc Holliday and the Clanton brothers, all who will be remembered in a town that today thrives on reenactments. Information about Tombstone and places to visit can be found on https://www.visitarizona.com/cities/tucson‐and‐southern/tombstone. Tombstone was a silver mining town. In the late 1870s, the town was booming because of the Tough Nut Mine. The University of Arizona provides an in‐depth review of mining history in the Tombstone area http://www.tombstonemining.com/index.php/properties/mining‐history. By 1878, the silver strikes had the population of Tombstone risen to 7,000 people in an area of Arizona that had once spoken of as “dark and bloody ground,” due to the famous Indian leader Cochise who had roamed this part of the country. M.E. Sheiffelin, a prosperous prospector, named Tombstone for that very reason. The extent of mining and returns from those mines is documented in the source. The population of Tombstone today is less than 2,000. During the 1880s, Tombstone, according to Smithsoian.com has a dance hall, dozen places to gamble and more than 20 saloons. Bibles, it was noted, were few and far between. The Crystal Palace Saloon was sited as “one of the bloodiest intersections in American history.” Big Nose Kate’s Saloon is mentioned in https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/tombstone‐ 117086409/. This photo program takes you back nearly two decades to what Tombstone was like then, we are sure the shooting is going on as well as the stage coach and other wagon rides.

“What are you lookin at?”

“Guess we better mozie on out of here.”

acuri.net John R. Vincenti Tombstone, Arizona 1880s