Tombstone and Boothill

A visit to Tombstone, AZ is like stepping back into history. Tombstone, AZ otherwise known as the “Town too Tough to Die” is the home of the infamous Gunfight at the OK Corral, Boothill Graveyard and the World Largest Rose Bush. Tombstone, AZ boasts a mild year round climate, many wonderful shops, gunfight shows, re-enactments and museums. Our guests can learn Tombstone’s history while taking a scenic ride on a stagecoach or on one of the area’s Trolley’s.r

Boothill Graveyard in historic Tombstone is known throughout the world as the final resting place of the wild west's most legendary characters. The Clantons and McLowrys, Billy Claiborne, Billy Grounds, China Mary, Dutch Annie, Quong Kee, Red River Tom and dozens of other famous and infamous are buried here.

Boothill was established as Tombstone's cemetery in 1879. It was closed in 1884 because it was full. Located on a hill facing the Dragoon Mountains, Boothill is designed in long narrow piles of stones marking its occupants. One area of the graveyard was reserved for Chinese citizens. Another isolated area in the far northeast corner is a space once dedicated as a Jewish cemetery.

Local Jews were buried some distance from the good and the bad who had died naturally or violently in the rip-roaring days of Tombstone's silver rush. Boothill has been visited by thousands, but the existence of the Jewish cemetery was recalled by only a few.

The grand Hotel opened 1880

In September of 1880 a new adobe structure, the Grand Hotel, opened for business. It boasted all the luxury and comfort that 1880 had to offer. It displayed Brussels carpets, a black walnut baluster, walnut furniture and rare oil paintings. John Behan was a bartender here and it quickly became the Cowboys hangout. Among it's clients were the Clantons and McLaurys.
The hotel burned in the 1882 fire that left only the adobe walls standing.
After the fire a new building was erected that housed three businesses, two on the first floor and one in the basement. In May of 1924, a fire wiped out most of the structure. When it was rebuilt, the old adobe facade became a functional part of the structure. In the 1970s it became "Big Nose Kate's Saloon". Charred wood beams, charred adobe walls and arches from yester-year remain a part of the structure.

Tombstone's Boot Hill ~ A Serene Cemetery With a Past ...
They call it Boot Hill because the people buried there often "died with their boots on," meaning they died violently from gunfights or other sudden, rough circumstances in the Old West. These cemeteries were a burial ground for those who met a premature, often violent end, and were frequently buried with their boots still on, sometimes in a hasty burial without a coffin

THE BIRD CAGE THEATRE.
The Bird Cage Theatre was built in 1881 by Billy and Lottie Hutchinson on the site of the killing of Marshal Fred White. After the fire of 1881, it became the only other theatre in Tombstone except Schieffelin Hall. It quickly became a first class variety theatre, bringing professional artists and performers to Tombstone. Many came from San Francisco. Among the favorites were vim and Lola Holly, Pearl Ardine, Irene Osborn and Eddie Foy. Hutchinson was a showman, sometimes staging his own little dramas for the entertainment of the audience. There was a heckler who was "shot" and his body thrown on the stage. The "body" was made of straw. It was very successful, for a time, bringing vaudeville and burlesque shows to the city. The Bird Cage has had different names over the years, including the Elite and the Olympic, but closed as a theatre in 1892. It has been a museum for a number of years and is the original 1881 building.Read more