Parts Of Tombstone You May Not See

The Tombstone you see today is not quite the same as the original.  The town basically burned to the ground twice, but was rebuilt by those tough and hardy souls that were trying to get rich on the silver mines.

The town has never been the gun toting shoot-em-up place it's been made out to be, with the exception of the OK corral incident.  It was actually a very modern, sophisticated town that was extremely wealthy.  True, the miners made something like $4.00 a day, all of which was then spent on booze and partying.  

When they began work, they were given a candle cut to a certain length.  Down in the mines, they labored hard, digging with picks and axes.  When the candle burned out, their shift was over.  Time to relax and party with a few drinks and maybe a lady or three or four.

On the other hand, Tombstone had telephones installed in 1882.  By 1883 there were two gas companies, three water companies and FIVE ice cream parlors.  Right up my alley!!  Fresh seafood was delivered by wagon daily from Baja Mexico.  For your entertainment, there was a race track for horses and on the inside ... a baseball diamond.  Tombstone had a baseball team from 1882-1929. 

Believe it or not, they even had the first swimming pool in the Arizona Territory at the north end of Fifth Street.  This little mining town rivaled San Francisco!

 

In 1881 it became the County Seat.  50,000 bricks were ordered to build the Cochise County Courthouse which still stands today as a marvelous museum.  By 1884 Tombstone was on it's THIRD cemetery, when the current cemetery was started.  I'll have pictures on that later. 

Your horse need a little water?  Wooden water troughs were placed about town for the stagecoach horses.

 

 

In 1881 the deep shafts, mostly dug straight down, hit the water table.  In the desert?  Yes ... so much so that they brought in two huge Cornish pumps to pump out 2,500,000 gallons of water each day.  Sadly, in 1889 the pumps could not keep up and mining ceased.

 

 

True, this would not be a sight to see back in the day, but it was rather funny as I rounded the corner.  I think I need one of these for my Jeep.

In 1902 E. B. Gage returned to this area and began the second mining boom.  That's when the railroad arrived in Tombstone and it became an international sensation again. 

 

The building on the left is Jack Crabtree's Livery Stable.  There were accommodations for your horses all over town as at least two big stages ran their businesses of moving travelers across the country.  It was not a fun ride, as travelers came in covered with dirt from head to toe.

The half adobe, half wood building on the right is Tombstone's oldest building and the first boarding house.  The San Jose House on Fremont street housed many a traveler, but not the Earps.  When Morgan, Virgil and Wyatt first came to town, all the rooms were booked up.  Instead, they took their wagons down to the end of the street, set them apart about twenty feet and threw a canvas over the top for shelter from the sun.  Accommodations would be found at a later date.

 

There were some buildings of adobe (very few) and some of plain 1 x 4's.  There was no paint on these buildings until much later when the women of the town got fed up with the drabness.  Many miners lived in tent cabins (2 x 4's covered with canvas) and many more plain old tents lined the streets. 

 

 There was nothing like THIS painted on the buildings to be sure.  When they are open, which they were not on this day, they have great BBQ here at Puny Johns BBQ.

 

About that ice cream.  How did they keep it cold?  There were actually not one, but TWO ice plants here on Toughnut Street which kept the ice cream frozen and Kelly's Wine  House (with 26 imported wines) perfectly chilled.  For the pleasure of the miners, there were five billiard tables and an indoor shooting range, not to mention the bowling alley.  Truthfully though, they were more interested in the ladies.

 

 

Are all the restaurants and businesses open?  Yes they are, but during the summertime they are a little lax about posting their hours.  For awhile there, a little unrest kept the bars closed.  One seemed to be making more money than the other, which caused jealousy to call the Covid Cops.  That didn't bode well when they were ALL shut down.

Then of course there was that Bingo machine incident.  Turns out they really were NOT Bingo machines but slot machines and everyone got shut down again.  Lots of turmoil, just like in the old days.  

The good news is now everything is copacetic and OPEN.  I will tell you however that this is NOT a liberal town, as you can imagine.  I spent about two hours talking to business owners and residents with not a mask in sight.  It takes grits and guts to keep this place open, and believe me, they've got it!

 

Here's a sight you don't see often.  Kitty kitty must be a wanderer.  It's hot outside.  Why the kitty isn't indoors is beyond me!!

 

Is there more?  Why of course!!  I've got three more stops on this little tour, but at the moment the post pounder is calling my name.  We had one of the wildest crazy storms last night I've ever seen in my life.  My water station was flooded completely.  

 

I tried to pound the stake in yesterday, but got all of two inches.  It's way too rocky and hard.  But NOW, with all that water, it should go in like a knife through butter!!