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Tombstone Arizona

Sharing true history of Tombstone, Arizona from primary resources, not fictionalized folklore. The largest Tombstone related page on social media.

The only Tombstone page dedicated to factual history and busting myths.

06/01/2026

On this day in 1887....
Ike Clanton, the cowardly instigator of the "OK Corral" gunfight, was killed by detective Jonas V. Brighton when he reached for a rifle resisting arrest for cattle rustling.

A short article published in the APACHE COUNTY CRITIC reported, "...Brighton had a warrant to arrest Clanton, on a charge of cattle stealing. A demand upon Clanton to throw up his hands was only answered by an attempt to shoot the officers. Phin Clanton, a brother of Ike, was arrested a few weeks ago, on a similar charge and is in the St. Johns jail awaiting trial."

The ARIZONA DAILY STAR of Tucson added, "...as [the officers] were eating their breakfast...Clanton rode up to the ranch. When he saw the officers he reached for his Wi******er rifle, which was fastened to his saddle and in the act of was fired at twice by Brighton, the first shot passing through the cantle of Clanton's saddle and the second passing through is body from right to left just below the armpits, killing him instantly."

05/27/2026

Last week there was an exciting auction of Western History items related to Wyatt Earp, George Armstrong Custer, Sitting Bull, Buffalo Bill Cody, and others.

Among the items was this court subpoena signed by Wyatt Earp – one of his earliest known signatures dated February 28, 1870 when he was just 21 years old (pictured around that time). He did so in the capacity of constable in Lamar, Missouri at a time when his life was about to change. Just one month earlier he married Urilla Sutherland. Within the following two years, Urilla died, Wyatt was jailed on charges of horse theft in Arkansas and found himself in the seedy brothels of Peoria, Illinois.

This signature represents a "what could have been" period of Wyatt's life. The document sold at auction in 2010 for just shy of $15,000. Last week it sold for almost $26,000 – 30% over its pre-auction estimate. It's great to see the kind of interest in western history that increases the value of items like this. (See the comments for a full view of the document.)

(Document image courtesy RR Auction.)

05/06/2026

Dana Delany portrayed the character of Josephine “Sadie” Marcus in the popular movie, “Tombstone.” Delany was 37 years-old at the time, and her character was written as an actress who arrived in Tombstone with a traveling theatrical group. Unfortunately, nothing could have been further from the truth. When the real Josephine “Sadie” Marcus arrived in Tombstone, she was only 19 years-old and had followed former Prescott politician, Johnny Behan to the boomtown to be his live-in-lover. Behan had first met her when she was a 14-year-old in Prescott, Arizona. In truth, Josephine “Sadie” Marcus had never been an actress and never set foot on a stage in her life. Researcher and author, Peter Brand, uncovered the facts about the woman, who would go on to become Wyatt Earp’s partner, and the details of her important formative years from 1870-1883. His findings were published in the multi-award-winning book, “Josephine ‘Sadie’ Earp, The Sordid Truth, 1870-1883”. The book is available world-wide at Amazon, and changes everything we thought we knew.

04/09/2026

Yes, it's true! While Doc Holliday and Wyatt Earp walked the streets of Tombstone, speed limits were enforced for those riding by them. The local ordinance plainly said...

"It shall be unlawful for any persons to drive or ride upon the streets at greater speed than seven miles per hour."

Several famous locals were convicted or speeding including Cochise County Sheriff Johnny Behan, Dr. George Goodfellow, Mayor John Clum, and future County Supervisor Milt Joyce.

(Original handwritten sources: Tombstone Recorder's Docket, 1881-1882; Tombstone Code of Ordinance 1881-1882, Tombstone City Archives)

04/01/2026

BREAKING NEWS: Historic Tombstone Epitaph building to add second story museum dedicated to the movie Tombstone. Kurt Russell to appear at the grand opening.

03/31/2026

The character of Johnny Tyler was portrayed by Billy Bob Thornton in the movie “Tombstone”. His screen time was limited to a memorable, but fictitious, scene where Wyatt Earp backed him down, assaulted him, and took over his Faro table. Screenwriter, Kevin Jarre, used Tyler as a stooge to re-enforce the character of Wyatt Earp as the fearless alpha-male in the movie. The truth was far more complex. The real Johnny Tyler was a violent professional gambler for over 30 years, who spent time in many famous frontier boom towns. He had a lot in common with Doc Holliday, which is, perhaps, why he clashed with Doc in Tombstone and later in Leadville. Both Doc and Tyler were professional gamblers; both drank heavily; both were quick to anger, and both men used a knife and/or a gun when provoked. If you ever wanted to know what the life of a gambler on the frontier was like, Tyler’s full biography is now available, world-wide, at Amazon. It contains the most comprehensive coverage of Doc in Leadville that has been published to date - “Doc Holliday’s Nemesis: The Story of Johnny Tyler & Tombstone’s Gamblers’ War” by Peter Brand.

03/19/2026

Wyatt Earp was born 178 years ago today in Monmouth, Illinois.

In 1882 he spent his last birthday in Tombstone grieving the loss of his younger brother Morgan who was murdered hours earlier right in front of him. In the coming days he would es**rt Morgan's body and other family members out of Arizona, assemble a posse of trusted confidants, and kill the men he felt were responsible. He's known as a law man, but he put justice and avenging the death of a brother ahead of the law. Such events are part of the controversial legacy of the man whose name is still talked about today.

03/18/2026

On this day in 1882 Morgan Earp (pictured) was assassinated while playing billiards at Campbell & Hatch's parlor. Robert Hatch, the proprietor, was engaged in a game with Morgan at the time and testified in the Coroner's Inquest later that day:

"About 11 o'clock pm, we went to the back end of the billiard room and commenced to play. We played one game and started on the second. I had the cue in my hand, in the act of making a play - was at the end of the billiard table...Earp was standing to my right and close to me, with his back to the [rear] door 3 or 4 feet from the door not over 12 of 18 inches from me. Just at that time went two gun or pistol shots, almost simultaneously. I saw Earp fall. I passed into the back yard [to look for the shooters] but could see no one as it was very dark. Earp lying on the floor near the card room, he having been moved by his bother and some others from where he fell in front of the door through which the shots had come. He seemed to be suffering very much. I heard his brother (Wyatt) ask him if he was going to die and he replied that he was sure. He was placed in a lounge in the card room where he died in perhaps an hour after he was shot."

Morgan was a month short of his 31st birthday.

03/15/2026

On this day in 1881....
Under a full moon just before midnight, the Tombstone to Benson stagecoach was approached by men wearing masks armed to the teeth. The driver, young and well-liked Budd Philpot was shot and killed leaving the driving and defensive shooting up to superhero-like Bob Paul (depicted here defending the coach). Paul took control of the team that risked the lives of passengers as they stampeded out of control.

The attempted robbery was a failure. No money was taken, and another passenger along with Bud was killed. In the following weeks and months, rumors swirled about the culprits, and for a time Doc Holiday was implicated by his volatile partner, Big Nose Kate. By early July Doc was exonerated, and the men who were responsible were killed in unrelated altercations. No one was ever convicted, and the events that followed, including a backdoor deal between Wyatt Earp and Ike Clanton to capture the perpetrators, laid the foundation for the famed gunfight near the OK Corral seven months later.

(Painting depicting the moment of the attempted hold up by Bill Ahrendt. See a clipping from the headlines of the Tombstone Epitaph that reported on the crime in the comments.)

02/26/2026

Exactly 89 years ago this week (and eight years after Wyatt Earp died) his wife Sadie (pictured) made an improbable visit to Tombstone. Accompanied by Wyatt's cousin, Vinnolia Earp and her husband, she walked the streets again after a 55 year absence. She visited many location and spent time with a Tombstone Epitaph newspaper correspondent for a few words. She spoke of an autobiography she was working on, and remembered Doc Holliday:

"They were always trying to get him on some count. He was really a very kind hearted man."

She stayed at the Tourist Hotel (now the location of the Longhorn Restaurant) and gazed out over the balcony onto Allen Street recalling all of the smells, sounds, businesses, people, and liveliness that filled the town only to be saddened that it was all gone but her.

There were many things she declined to talk about – most notably Wyatt's involvement in the history making events so popularized by then. Her recollections leave more to the imagination than the known. There's no way of knowing all the private memories that came to her as she walked around town that quiet February weekend, but wouldn't we all love to know.

(Source: Tombstone Epitaph, February 25, 1937)

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