Founded in 1879, the town takes its uniquely grave name from an old warning about what one might find there.  As the tale goes, gold prospector Ed Schieffelin came across some passing travelers who, upon hearing of his mining endeavors in the area, advised him, “The only rock you will find out there will be your own Tombstone.”  As history would have it, Schieffelin didn’t find the gold he set out for, but instead he found a plentiful supply of silver ore pumping lifeblood into the southern Arizona boomtown during the early 1880s.  A shortage of water, a limited supply of silver and repeated fire damage led to classic Tombstone’s ultimate demise, maintaining very few residents into the 20^th century.

Despite its struggles, Tombstone has been preserved as a window in to our unique heritage in the expansion era.  As a stopping point for some of the shadiest figures in the area, the city earned a rough reputation for its lawlessness and vigilante justice.  “The city too tough to die,” as it came to be known, was home the most famous shoot out in Old West history, the Gunfight at the O.K. Corral.  Portrayed in countless Western flicks, the altercation has come to signify the struggle of frontier law enforcement to subdue a region overrun with outlaws and hard to control cowboys.

Today’s Tombstone makes light of its largely violent past, with the site of famous gunfight hosting reenactments every day at 2 p.m.  The modern day O.K. Corral also displays life size figures of the participants, including historic heroes Wyatt Earp and Doc Holliday, in the precise spot they were standing when the shoot out began.  The exhibit also preserves old time Tombstone through a series of photo galleries, both entertaining and educational for the whole family.