Tombstone, Arizona
March 2000
Tombstone was founded in 1877 when silver was discovered.  The mines were closed a couple of times and were permanently flooded in 1903.  They remain flooded beneath the town today.  The Gunfight at the OK Corral is definitely the town's most infamous piece of history, but many other stories certainly rival it.  The number of "ladies of the evening" and gunfighters who actually inhabited this place reads like a who's who of bad western movies.

The Bird Cage Theater is still here with much of the original dust in tact.  Lyrics to the song popular in the century, "She's only a bird in a gilded cage..." originated with this theater. Fourteen bird cage crib compartments suspended from the ceiling overhanging the casino and dance hall is where the "ladies of the night" plied their trade.   Sixteen gunfights took place there and 140 bullet holes are in the walls and ceilings.

Boot Hill Cemetery (the first with that name) is where the infamous and unknowns are buried beneath piles of rocks.  Many tombstones simply read with a name, shot by and a date.  One poor guy was hanged by mistake, and his tombstone has an apology for that error on it.

Tombstone
City Hall
Tombstone Performance Hall
Tombstone
Statecoach ride
Tombstone Street Scene
Tombstone Street Scene
Tombstone
Birdcage Theater
Tombstone - Booth in Birdcage
Tombstone
Such a deal!
Tombstone
Hearse from previous ad
Tombstone
Saloon downstairs at Birdcase
Tombstone
Poker table at
Birdcase
Tombstone
Stagecoach
Tombstone
Stagecoach
Tombstone
Big Nose Kate's
Saloon
Tombstone
Courthouse
Tombstone
Law Library in
Courthouse
Tombstone
Law Library in
Courthouse
Tombstone
Courtroom in
Courthouse
Tombstone
Gunfight theater
Tombstone
Gunfight theater
Tombstone
Gunfighter
Tombstone
Gunfight aftermath
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