Tombstone along with the building of the Conchise County Court House, five local newspapers, the Crystal Palace, the Oriental Saloon, and the Bird Cage Theatre.
The famous Bird Cage Theatre was not only a theatre, but a gambling hall and brothel as well. “The Bird Cage was named for the cage style crib compartments suspended from the ceiling. It was in these “Bird Cages” that the “ladies of the evening” entertained their customers” (www.tombstoneweb.com).
The theatre was open everyday, all day long until it closed in 1889 (www.tombstoneweb.com). The more prominent people in the community stayed away from the Bird Cage, as it was known to be the “wildest, and wickedest night spot between Basin Street and the Barbary Coast” (www.tombstoneweb.com). There are 140 bullet holes in the ceilings and walls to prove this.
The two fires that engulfed the planked board structures of Tombstone happened not even a year apart from each other. The first fire, in 1881, supposedly started when a lit cigar set fire to a barrel of whiskey and destroyed a lot of the downtown businesses (www.tombestoneweb.com). In 1882, the second fire burned the downtown area once again. Tombstone rebuilt both times and continued to grow larger.
On October 26, 1881, the event that some people say is what has kept Tombstone alive all these years occurred. “The most famous event in Tombstone’s history was the famed Gunfight at the OK Corral, which didn’t actually happen at the corral, but in a vacant lot near it” (www.tombstoneweb.com). Wyatt, Morgan, and Virgil Earp along with their friend Doc Holliday, had a run in with members of the Cowboys. “24 shots and 30 seconds later, Billy Clanton, Tom and Frank McLaury were mortally wounded” (www.tombstoneweb.com).
“Tombstone is also the home of the first Boothill Cemetery” (www.tombstoneweb.com). The cemetery began in “1879 and was used until 1884 when the Tombstone City Cemetery opened on Allen Street” (www.tombstoneweb.com). Famous Tombstone residents are buried there such as the victims from the shooting near the O.K. Coral (www.tombestoneweb.com). After its closing in 1884, the cemetery was neglected. In the 1940s, a group of citizens began to take care of it so it could be preserved for future generations (www.tombstoneweb.com).
“In 1882 the Cochise County Courthouse was built at a cost of around $45,000. It provided offices for the county sheriff, recorder, treasurer, board of supervisors, and included a well-built jail” (www.tombstoneweb.com). The courthouse provided comfort and stability for the citizens of Tombstone during these times. “The county seat remained in Tombstone until 1929 when it was moved to Bisbee, a bustling copper mining town 29 miles away. The last county office left the courthouse in 1931” (www.tombestoneweb.com).
As time went on, the mines were dug deeper and deeper in Tombstone. “Once they hit the 520 foot level, the water table was reached which flooded the mines. Attempts to pump out the water marginally worked for a few years but soon became too costly to continue” (www.tombestoneweb.com). Because the mining slowed down, people began to leave. By the late 1920s, Tombstone’s once large population dwindled down to 150 people.
After being a major producer of manganese for the government during World War I and extracting lead during World War II, “Tombstone faded into obscurity, just to be resurrected at a later time” (www.cityoftombstone.com). The people who still lived there decided to give up on mining and focused on tourism. They worked hard to preserve the old landmarks and downtown area (www.cityoftombstone.com). Today “St. Paul's Episcopal Church, built in 1882; the Crystal Palace Saloon, one of the most luxurious saloons in the West; and the Tombstone Epitaph building, where the oldest continuously published paper in Arizona is still being printed” (www.cityoftombstone.com) still stand in Tombstone.
“Truly a Historical American Landmark, Tombstone is America's best example of our 1880 western heritage, which is well preserved with original 1880's buildings and artifacts featured in numerous museums” (www.cityoftombstone.com).
Works Cited
www.cityoftombstone.com
www.tombestoneweb.com
www.americanwest.com
