Tombstone, Arizona

Tombstone, Arizona is in Cochise County and was one of the last boomtowns in the American Frontier. Silver was discovered and the population soared from about 100 to 14,000 in the 1800s. There were 110 saloons, 14 gambling halls, and numerous brothels.

 Tombstone, Arizona

Its an old western town. The term Cowboy arose in the 1870’s and referred to the Cochise County Cowboys, a group of cattle rustlers. They would ride across the Mexican border and steal Mexican cattle selling them in the United States. When it became increasingly difficult to steal from Mexico, the Cowboys stole cattle and horses from neighboring American ranches, reselling them to butchers. They would also hold up stagecoaches for their valuables. The Cowboys were easily provoked and would kill sometimes indiscriminately. Men who drove cattle for a living at the time were called cowhands, drovers, or stockmen, not cowboys, but the meaning of cowboy changed with time.

Newman, Phin, Billy and Ike Clanton, Tom and Frank McLaury, Curly Bill, Buckskin Frank, and Johnny Ringo were part of the Cochise Cowboys believed to have numbered up to 300. The Clanton’s had a ranch outside Tombstone, Arizona which was used to keep the stolen horses and cattle.

The Earps were appointed Deputy U.S. Marshals for the area and had repeated conflicts with some of the Cowboys eventually leading to the Gunfight at the O.K. Corral in 1881. Following numerous conflicts and the Earp vendetta, the Cowboys eventually diminished by late 1882.

Boothill Cemetery

Its a graveyard in Tombstone, Arizona of approximately 250 outlaws and a few others founded in 1878 but they stopped taking new burials about 1883. The gravestones are colorful. Boot Hill was so named because those buried “died with their boots on”.

Big Nose Kate

Its a bar/restaurant in downtown Tombstone. Katie Elder was considered a “rip-roaring, hard-drinkin, gun-slinging prostitute”. She was born in Budapest, Hungry. Her father was a physician who took the family to Mexico then the United States. She met Wyatt Earp while working in a brothel in Dodge City, Kansas run by Wyatt’s older brother James’ wife Nellie. Through Wyatt, she met Doc Holliday in Fort Griffin, Texas. Over the years, Kate and Doc traveled the country and had a turbulent and sporadic relationship. They went their own ways, but before Doc died in Glenwood Springs, Colorado, she traveled to she him. She eventually died destitute at the Arizona Pioneers Home at age 90.

Pima Air & Space Museum

Its located between Tombstone and Tucson. The Pima Air & Space Museum‘s concept started in 1966 and by 1975, they had acquired 50 planes. In 1976 the museum opened to the public. The collection has since significantly grown to about 300 aircraft. There are 100,000 square feet of indoor display which is nice when its too hot outside. There were an incredible number of volunteers willing to discuss in detail the history of each plane. There was a very good space exhibit. Off site, there is the Titan Missile museum.

Boneyard

It is part of the Davis-Monthan Air Force Base. The Boneyard is officially called, “Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Group” or AMARG. Because of the hard soil, low rainfall and low humidity, Tucson is the ideal location for storing airplanes. The Army and Navy also store planes here. The planes are in varying degrees of storage, being regenerated or recycled. There are over 4,000 planes. To go on the tour, reservations had to be made 2 weeks in advance. Although time consuming because of security checks, the tour was informative and very well done.