The OK Corral - What Really Happened

I lived in Arizona for 7 years. If you have never been there I recommend you at least visit this state once in your lifetime. Arizona is rich in history, cowboys and indian history. It is not uncommon to see someone walk down the street wearing a gun strapped to their side, or horses in the middle of the city. There are still hitching posts outside the old taverns in Scottsdale.  The desert is absolutely beautiful and comes alive in the spring with flowers of all colors. The temperature in the summer can reach up to 120 degrees (but it's a dry heat) and in the winter can be in the 50's. You can freeze to death in the desert if you are not well equipped. If you love history, you will never be bored in Arizona as there are so many places to visit. Walking through the desert you may find gold nuggets or you may find an old family cemetary plot covered in rocks with homemade wooden markers.

One of the must-sees is Tombstone, Arizona Territory. This is an actual working town. The people who work there live there. As you walk down the dirt covered streets dust devils swirl around you. There is no shade to seek refuge from the hot sun. Tombstone is located in the middle of nowhere in the brush covered desert with the nearest town being Tucson a decent 40 minute trip by car. Tucson is where John Wayne made most of his movies.

Tombstone relives the famous OK Corral shoot out between Wyatt Earp, Virgil Earp, Morgan Earp, Doc Holliday, Billy Clanton, Ike Clanton, Billy Claibourne and Tom McLaury everyday. This is the most authentic western town you could ever visit. The only car you see is the Marshals vehicle and he too looks like a cowboy right out of the movies. The town is currently under construction as much of it was lost during the last fire the town had. However, most of the buildings you see and walk through are the actual buildings that the famous cowboys walked through themselves with the wooden sidewalks being well worn from spurred cowboy boots. Known for it's copper mining and gambling, Tombstone was quite the bustling town in the 1800s. Cowboys came from as far away as California to live, work, or just visit.

We have all seen the various Hollywood films of the famous Shoot Out at the OK Corral. Each one tells a different story however the ending stays the same. During my sons and my visit of course we had to see the reinactment of this history making shoot out. A historian who currently lives in Tombstone told us the following story of the Gunfight at the OK Corral:

Apparently, Doc Holliday was visiting Tombstone while on vacation from his ranch in Colorado. Doc was there to gamble and rest as he was sick. (He later died of tuburculosis). On that fateful day, October 26, 1881, Doc Holliday was having a few shots of whiskey at one of the many saloons that was located in Tombstone. While in the saloon, Doc Holliday learned that Billy Clanton was looking to gun him down as Doc Holliday implicated Billy Clanton in a recent stage coach robbery.

Doc left the saloon and went looking for Wyatt Earp who was the marshall of Tombstone along with Wyatt's brothers Virgil Earp and Morgan Earp. Now, the favorite past time in Tombstone was drinking and gambling as there was nothing else to do in the middle of the desert. When Doc Holliday found the Earp brothers in yet another saloon, Doc told these famous brothers of the impending shooting by Billy Clanton.

Wyatt Earp was fed up with Billy Clanton, Ike Clanton, Frank McLaury, Tom McLaury and Billy Claibourne, as they were nothing but rogue cowboys, however, successful ranchers. This group always rode together as they were related by blood. Now, keep in mind that everyone had been drinking shots of whiskey and gambling throughout the day.

At around 3:00 pm the Earps along with Doc Holliday went to seek out Billy and his gang. As they walked toward where Doc Holliday was staying in a local boarding house, all men met up in an alley that was 14 feet wide. There Wyatt Earp was going to arrest the rogue cowboys for the stage coach hold up and for the attempted murder of Doc Holliday.

Suddenly, shots rang out as Billy and his gang tried to kill Doc. There were approximately 30 shots in 30 seconds, leaving Frank McLaury, Tom McLaury and Billy Clanton killed and Morgan Earp, Virgil Earp and Doc Holliday wounded. Billy Claibourne and Ike Clanton ran away just as the shots were fired.

Now, these men were standing approximately 5 feet across from each other in a 14 foot wide alley. It is hard to imagine that kind of shoot out in such a small space and yet only 3 men lay dead.  The Earp brothers and Doc Holliday recovered from their gunshot wounds.  Doc Holliday went back to his ranch in Colorado and Wyatt Earp moved to California to live out his days, never to be a lawman again.

I hope you have enjoyed this story and the photos that accompany this hub.  I am only writing what was told by the historian.  Oh, by the way, the local newspaper was called The Epitaph which I think is quite interesting since the definition of epitaph means an inscription on a tombstone.