| | Legends of the Old West live on in the National Historic Landmark of Tombstone. Walk along the town's wooden boardwalks, browse in the many shops that offer western souvenirs and apparel, and then sip a sarsaparilla in an authentic saloon. Gunfights still take place every day in Tombstone, staged by actors who re-create the infamous Gunfight at the O.K. Corral and perform other skits. Other annual events help celebrate the town's notorious past.Tombstone was founded in 1877 by a prospector named Ed Schieffelin. Ed was staying at what was then called Camp Huachuca as part of a scouting expedition against the Chiricahua Apaches. During his time there he would venture out into the Apache infested wilderness looking for rocks, all the while ignoring the warnings he received from the soldiers at the camp. They would tell him, "Ed, the only stone you will find out there will be your tombstone." Well, Ed did find his stone. And it was silver. So, remembering the words of warning from the soldiers, he named his first mine The Tombstone.It wasnt long before word spread about Eds silver strike. Soon prospectors, cowboys, homesteaders, lawyers, speculators, gunmen and business people flocked to the area in droves. In 1879 a town site was laid out on the nearest level spot to the mines, known at that time as Goose Flats, and appropriately named Tombstone after Ed Schieffelins first mining claim.The most famous event in Tombstones history was the famed Gunfight at the O.K. Corral, which didnt actually happen at the corral, but in a vacant lot near it. Today, Tombstone is an alive and very active town. |  | | | |
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