New Year's Day in Tombstone, AZ

We had decided to stop in Benson so we could take a day to visit Tombstone. It was an entertaining day! We bought the "4-in-on" ticket so got to see the shoot-out at the O.K. corral, the historama, exhibits at the O.K. corral, and a reprint of the 1881 newspaper with reports on the gunfight.

We happened to go to the newspaper office first, so we saw the "reporting" on the event before we saw the re-enactment. It was interesting because some of the columns displayed in the newspaper office showed testimony from the trial (which happened immediately after the gunfight - no waiting for the courts in Arizona in the late 1800s). The man who started the newspaper, John Clum, was an interesting fellow - he was involved with many things through his lifetime, including Apache Indian agent and Post Office establisher in Alaska. When he founded the paper in a town named Tombstone, he fittingly called it "The Tombstone Epitath".

Then we saw the gunfight re-enactment. We were glad to be there in the winter rather than in the summer heat - though it was a little chilly today.

We saw the whole thing! Do you think they will want us to testify in the trial?

Then we saw the Historama. This was interesting as it was supposed to provide a balanced view of the city. Tombstone was founded by  Ed Schieffelin, who had been a scout for the U.S. Army. He was looking for valuable rocks (ore) and a friend reportedly told him that all he would find in that dangerous area was his tombstone. When he found a silver vein, he claimed the land and named it "Tombstone".

All-in-all we had a nice day!