Posted on 03/24/2013 9:32:17 AM PDT by Signalman
As someone interested in the history of the American old West, I found this photograph quite interesting.
It was taken circa 1932 by photographer John Walker and shows the location of the sight where, 50 years or so earlier, the Gunfight at the O.K. Corral took place in Tombstone, AZ at 3:00PM on October 26, 1881.
The scene depicted in the photo is probably close to what it looked like at the time of the famous confrontation that occurred between the Earp brothers (Wyatt, Virgil and Morgan) and Doc Holliday, and "The Cowboys" (the Clanton Brothers, Ike and Billy and the McLaury brothers).
The scene is looking south just to the east of the intersection of Fremont St. and 3rd St. in Tombstone, AZ. The street in the foreground is Fremont St.
Contrary to popular belief, the gunfight did not take place at the O.K. Corral, which was located 150 feet or so to the east of the alley where the shootings actually occurred. The O.K. Corral was located between Fremont St. and Allen St. which runs parallel to, and is south of, Fremont St.
The structure on the left of the alley was Mollie Fly's boarding House and the one on the right was the house owned by the then Mayor William Harwood.
You can check Google Earth (Fremont and 3rd St.) to see what this location looks like currently.
More photos are at the link.
Sight? What sight was there to see at the site? And with what sight did they see it? Or did we cite this wrong?
Site. Typo on my part.
Interesting photos...a glimpse into the past. Thanks for posting!
Interesting. Thank you for the posting.
15 minutes well spent on a Sunday. Thanks for posting
Things always look so shabby in black and white. But then by the 1920s, Tombstone had fallen on pretty hard times. Once the mines played out, almost everybody left.
Interesting....we just spent two days in Tombstone...those Earp brothers were NOT the good guys often portrayed in movies....and...the OK Corral shootout really was a MINOR incident....70 people died on the main street in Tombstone in a two year period during the time they were there...
It's interesting that DeForest Kelley, veteran of many westerns, turned out to be perhaps the only actor to appear on both sides of that particular gunfight.
There was a good article in “The American Rifleman” a few years back. It was written by a member of the 6th Cavalry who was stationed outside Tombstone during the time of the gunfight.
He lived to be over a hundred. His opinion of Wyatt Earp was the same as yours. He said he was a pimp and only used the badge for his own purposes.
He didn’t think much of Doc Holliday either. He called him an insane killer.
I guess you found out: a typo on FR is the unforgivable sin. Does no good to repent here. LOL
Wyatt Earp shoed up at the Eagle Creek gold rush in Northern Idaho in 1881 and opened a saloon in a tent.
I guess he figgered that was far enough away from Tombstone that none of the Clanton clan or their friends would fnd him there. But maybe not. A few years later that gold rush had played out and it was off to Alaska for the Earps.
Kitschy, but fun and worth the jaunt.
“...it was off to Alaska for the Earps.”
As I recall, at some point after Erp returned from Alaska, he stood trial in San Francisco and was aquited. Can’t remember if it was a civil of criminal trial, but it was big news back then.
Fascinating reading and photo.
Thanks for posting that link!
Actually, my reading indicates that there were many shades of gray between the Earp and Clanton factions. neither was all good or all bad. Probably the most accurate depiction was the animosity and the gun fight was between the Democrat southern sympathizers (the Clantons) and the Republican northern sympathizers. (the Earps)
By the way, Ike Clanton was killed by a ˜detective” near Springerville, AZ about 10 years after the gunfight.
I used to have an old WESTERNER magazine that claimed the Earps spent their “off” duty time robbing stages in AZ.
Warp may not have been all that good...but my impression of the whole thing is that it was a battle between law and order (republican earps) vs. lawless democrats (clantons). Law and order (repubs) won.
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