On October 26th, 1881 in Arizona Territory, Tombstone City Marshal Virgil Earp and his brothers Morgan and Wyatt Earp and friend John “Doc” Holliday went out to confront a group of cowboys (with whom they had an ongoing feud), to disarm them in accordance to a local ordinance against carrying weapons in the Tombstone city limits. The groups encountered one another in a narrow lot next to Fly’s boarding house and photography studio, five doors down from the rear entrance of the O.K. Corral, which in turn was a place that persons without transportation could rent a horse or a horse and wagon.
Who fired the first shot is uncertain, but a 30-second shootout ensued, with 30 shots fired, three cowboys killed (Billy Clanton was only 18 or 19) and Morgan and Virgil were wounded. The feud and violence continued for several months, with Morgan killed, Virgil wounded again more seriously, Wyatt never wounded at all, and several more cowboys killed.
The original corral and stable burned in the town fire of 1882. The tragic 1881 shootout did not enter the public imagination until the mid 20th century. By then, the corral had become erroneously attributed as the shootout’s location. The town of Tombstone had declined over the years but became revitalized in the 1960s and beyond as a popular tourist location with nice shops and restaurants —-well worth a visit when you're in southern Arizona! One of the few remaining original buildings is the Bird Cage Theater, with an interesting tour, original bullet holes in the walls, and many artifacts. Our visit to Tombstone in 2018, and then watching the movie “Tombstone”, inspired me to read about the incident.
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