Tombstone: The Town Too Tough to Die

The Town of Tombstone is located in Cochise County Arizona. The county is named after Chief Cochise, a Chiricahua Apache Indian. Chief Cochise was inspired to change his life when in 1861 an Apache raiding party on a local ranch provoked an uprising. He was sought after by the Mexican Army whose forces captured him in 1848 and promptly exchanged him for Mexican prisoners. He and his men were driven into the Dragoon Mountains where they were able to use the unique rock formations and caves as cover to continue raids against the settlements and soldiers of the area. Cochise was taken into custody in September of 1872. He quietly retired to an Arizona reservation and died of natural causes in 1874.

In February of 1877, a commander of the Dept. of Arizona ordered a camp be established in the Huachuca Mountains in southeastern Arizona. The soldiers provided protection to settlers in the area and travelers through the San Pedro and Santa Cruz valleys. Ed Schieffelin was a miner looking to strike it rich. He learned from the soldiers he lived with that summer there was silver in the hills beyond Camp Huachuca. He also learned raiding Apaches were encamped in that area. His friends warned him "the only thing he would find there was his own tombstone". He went anyway and set up a mine he named Tombstone and became very rich. The silver mines lasted just nine short years, but the town's infamy cuts deep into western folklore.

Tombstone's long history began in 1879 when it became a town. Over the years it has been the county seat of government and just a hair's breath away from dying when the mines flooded. Its demise was almost certain until tourists rediscovered it in the 1900's. The townsfolk began saving those infamous pieces of history known as the OK Corral, Boothill Cemetery, Big Nose Kate's Saloon, the Crystal Palace and much more. The town gets 400,000 visitors each year and is currently the number two attraction in the State of Arizona behind the Grand Canyon.