Tombstone Courthouse State Historic Park — Attraction in Tombstone

It was Saturday morning, the beginning of our three-day drive from Tucson back to Chicago, in tombstone appeared to be 27 miles off I10. How much time would it add to the trip? But why take driving vacations if you don't stop to see what's between point A and point B. So, detour we did. Because hey, Wyatt Earp, square-jawed Hugh O'Brian with his flat brimmed hat and Buntline Special, Doc Holliday, the gunfight at the OK Corral? Ya gotta do it! This particular Saturday happened to be the 138th anniversary of said gunfight. The Cochise County Courthouse is the actual State Park/museum, where, after paying a nominal fee of a few dollars, we spent well over an hour. Leaving the courthouse, we were confronted with 200 riders on horseback commemorating Wyatt Earp's vendetta ride to capture the men who had murdered his brother Morgan. We then wandered the wooden sidewalks of Main St, soaking up the atmosphere as men in Stetsons, knee-high boots, jingling spurs, and dual silver-plated ivory handled forty-fives wandered the wooden sidewalks, and rode up and down the dusty street. Unable to get a table at the Bird Cage Theater, Tombstone's lone surviving original building, we opted for cowboy breakfast and a beer at the Longhorn. After breakfast, we chose not to stay another half hour to see the reenactment of the gunfight, mounted our trusty gray steed (minivan), and made it back to I10, glad for the...

This is quite frankly one of only a few attractions in town that isn't a total tourist trap. Sadly, most of Tombstone has been completely overtaken by melodramatic gunfight reenactments, "ghost" tours, and overpriced souvenir shops. If you want a peek at the authentic history of "the town too tough up die", then this is your place.

The displays are informative and well put together, if at times a little dry. The famed O.K. Corral gunfight is well covered of course, but so are a host of other notable events and personalities. After all, the Earps and Clantons were certainly not the only people to leave their mark on this little boomtown! Be sure not to miss the courtyard with its gallows. They are of course reconstructed, but it's still a very evocative sight.

$7 is definitely a reasonable price for this slice of history. Just keep in mind that it does get a little toasty on hot days and carry water with you.

For history buffs, those interested in the real old west, or anyone who wants a break from the touristy main drag, this...

If you're in Tombstone for the history--and honestly, why else would you be there?--then you definitely want to take the time to stop in at the Courthouse Museum. It is fairly large museum that offers a comprehensive history of Tombstone and the surrounding area, beginning with the original native inhabitants up through the 20th century. Of course there is an entire room devoted to Wyatt Earp and the OK Corrall shoot-out, which provides a detailed, shot-by-shot account of the fight along with items that belonged to the combatants, but there is also interesting info about the local mining, ranching and historical businesses and people, as well as newspaper articles about the agitation over labor rights which occurred in the early 1900s. The main courtroom is preserved more or less as it was around the 1880s, and was my favorite part of the museum. The fee for adults (as of summer 2021) was $7, and that seemed about for the size...