The Tombstone We Know Today Might Not Have Existed

After the mines closed for good, Tombstone lost most of its population. What was once a town of 10,000, sat at a measly 700. For a while it looked like Tombstone was headed for the same fate as every other boomtown. As stores began to close, and The Great Depression hit, legends from the streets of Tombstone were carried elsewhere. By 1955, books and tv retellings of old cowboy stories brought eyes back to Tombstone, turning it into the tourist town we know today.

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Tombstone Was Almost a Ghost Town

In 1881, over 2,500,000 gallons of water were being pumped into the mines each day. In 1889, the price of silver dropped, and the mines flooded, causing miners to pitch in their hats and move on. In 1901 the Tombstone Consolidated Mines Company took over 95 percent of the mines and reopened them. In 1911, the company closed up shop, but mining continued sporadically for the next decade before ending forever.

Despite the mines still running, Tombstones population never got above 2,000 according to the U.S Census. In 1930, when the great depression struck, Tombstone lost more people than ever. There were less then 200 residents, and surviving seemed unlikely.

READ: The History Behind Tombstone's Enormous Rose Tree

The Rise in Stories

In the late 1920's, retellings and romanticisms of the glory days of Tombstone began being sold, and in the 1930's, the first book about the OK Corral was published. By the 1950's and 1960's movies and comic books were being made, and Tombstone had returned to the public eye.

As these narratives spread, curiosity turned to tourism. People wanted to walk the streets of Tombstone and see the OK Corral for themselves. This tourism brought in money, and Tombstone experienced a new type of boom. Celebrations like Helldorado Days, have been bringing in people since the mines first closed, and as stories continued to be told, more people began showing up.

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Tombstone Today

Today you can find novelty items, ghost tours, and gunfight reenactors every day on the streets of Tombstone. Places like the Bird Cage Theater allow for tourists to walk through history and learn about the more accurate parts of Tombstones lore.

Roughly 40,000 tourists walk through any given building in Tombstone, Arizona every year. Without them, Tombstone may have become just another ghost town.

CONTINUE READING: How Ed Shefflin Discovered Silver And Founded Tombstone