Tombstone

Tombstone is a historic city in Cochise County, Arizona, United States, founded in 1879 by prospector Ed Schieffelin. It became one of the last boomtowns in the American frontier. The town grew significantly into the mid-1880s as the local mines produced $40 to $85 million in silver bullion, the largest productive silver district in Arizona. Tombstone was made famous in 1881 after the gunfight at the O.K. Corral, a 30-second shootout between lawmen and members of a loosely organized group of outlaws called the Cowboys.

The town was established on a mesa above the Goodenough Mine. Within two years of its founding, Tombstone had a bowling alley, four churches, an ice house, a school, two banks, three newspapers, and an ice cream parlor, alongside 110 saloons, 14 gambling halls, and numerous dance halls and brothels.

Welcome to Tombstone: The Town too Tough to Die

The year is 1880, and the population is some 8,000 people. Under the surface, tensions are growing. The mining capitalists and townspeople are largely Republicans from the Northern states. The booming city is only 30 miles from the U.S.–Mexico border and is an open market for cattle stolen from ranches in Sonora, Mexico.