Tombstone Travel Guide

Quite possibly one of the most famous Wild West cities in the history of America, Tombstone has been portrayed over the years in a variety of formats, ranging from film to theater to novels and beyond. These days it exists as nothing more than a tourist destination, showcasing all of the elements which initially gave this town the nickname of “The Town Too Tough to Die.” And while it's heydays are technically far behind, and the population today is around 1,600 people compared to its peak when there were 15,000 living here, it doesn't stop from people traveling from all over the world to v… read moreisit this historic western town.

In the modern era, Tombstone is mostly remembered for the period of total lawlessness just prior to and during the time that Wyatt Earp lived here. Specifically, the shootout at the O.K. Corral has gone down in history as one of the most famous Western gunfights of all time. But the history of the town itself is far from just the location of a shootout. It was initially founded in 1877 by a prospector named Ed Schieffelin after he discovered vein of silver ore. He named his claim The Tombstone after a passing soldier told him the only rock he would find there would be his tombstone.

The city rapidly transformed into a major mining town, and by 1885 the city of Tombstone was one of the wealthiest cities in the nation. For years it operated outside the law given the fact that there was no connecting railway, and its location deep inside a barren wasteland of desert wilderness transformed it into one of the deadliest regions of the old West, but after the mid 1880s the mines were tapped out and the city began to fade into the annals of history. These days, it is a National Historic Landmark District, giving visitors access to some of the best preserved historic buildings of the Wild West available in the United States.

because of the high altitude it can be very cold in the evening, so never forget to bring your coat with you