O.K. Corral (building)

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O.K. Corral
A090, OK Corral, Tombstone, Arizona, USA, 2004.jpg
Allen Street frontage
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Location Tombstone, Arizona
Coordinates 31°42′46.9″N110°4′3.6″W / 31.713028°N 110.067667°W / 31.713028; -110.067667
Part of Tombstone Historic District (ID66000171)
Designated CPOctober 15, 1966 [1]

The O.K. Corral (Old Kindersley [2] ) was a livery and horse corral from 1879 to about 1888 in the mining boomtown of Tombstone, Arizona Territory, in the southwestern United States near the border with Mexico.

Contents

Despite its association with the Gunfight at the O.K. Corral, the historic gunfight did not take place within or next to the corral on Allen Street, but in a narrow lot on Fremont Street, six doors west of the rear entrance to the corral. The lot was between Harwood's home and C. S. Fly's 12-room boarding house and photography studio. [3]

The 1957 film Gunfight at the O.K. Corral made the shootout famous and the public was incorrectly led to believe it was the actual location of the altercation. Despite the historical inaccuracy, the corral is marketed as the location of the shootout, and visitors can pay to see a re-enactment of the gunfight. The corral is now part of the Tombstone Historic District.

Origins

Only the corral's sign remained after the May 25, 1882 fire Tombstone fire 1882.jpg
Only the corral's sign remained after the May 25, 1882 fire

At the time of the gunfight on October 26, 1881, the O.K. Corral and Livery was one of eight liveries and corrals in the city of about 5,300 residents, [4] excluding Chinese people and children. The others included the Dexter Livery (owned by John Dunbar and Johnny Behan), Pioneer Livery, Tombstone Livery, West End Corral, P.W. Smith Corral, C.N. Thomas West End Corral, and the Fashion Stables. [5]

The O.K. Corral was owned at the time by "Honest John" Montgomery and Edward Monroe Benson. [6] Most residents of the town did not own a horse; when they needed to go out of town, they rented a horse from one of the liveries or corrals. The corral and livery also cared for transient stock, and provided buggies, carriages, and wagons with teams of horses. As of 1886, they also rented an 11-passenger excursion coach. [7]

The corral and buildings were completely destroyed by a fire that burned almost all of the western business district on May 25, 1882. [8] The re-built corral began to gain attention from the American public in 1931, when author Stuart Lake published an initially well-received biography, Wyatt Earp: Frontier Marshal , two years after Earp's death. [9] Published during the Great Depression, the book captured American imaginations. It was also the basis for the 1946 film, My Darling Clementine, by director John Ford. [9] After the film Gunfight at the O.K. Corral was released in 1957, the shootout became known by that name and the corral became wrongly fixed in the public's consciousness as the location of the shootout.

Location

Allen Street Allen Street Tombstone.jpg
Allen Street

According to testimony after the shootout, the outlaw Cowboys who fought the Earps and Doc Holliday went from Dexter's Livery Stable, where they had left their horses, to Spangenberg's gun shop on Fourth Street. [10] : 181 : 185  Wyatt Earp saw them inside and later said he thought they were filling their cartridge belts with bullets. The Cowboys then walked over to the O.K. Corral where witnesses overheard them threatening to kill the Earps. Citizens reported the threats and the armed Cowboys' movements to Tombstone City Marshal Virgil Earp.

On April 19, 1881, the city had passed ordinance#9 requiring anyone carrying a bowie knife, dirk, pistol or rifle [11] [12] to deposit their weapons at a livery or saloon soon after entering town. [13] The ordinance was the legal basis for City Marshall Virgil Earp's decision to confront the Cowboys that resulted in the shoot out. [14]

Map with O.K. Corral highlighted yellow and the gunfight location highlighted green Tombstone lithograph map shootout.png
Map with O.K. Corral highlighted yellow and the gunfight location highlighted green

The Earps and Doc Holliday walked west on Fremont Street, looking for the Cowboys. After passing the rear entrance to the O.K. Corral, they found the Cowboys gathered in a narrow 15–20 feet (4.6–6.1 m) wide lot [15] adjacent to C. S. Fly's 12-room boarding house and photography studio at 312 Fremont Street. [3] [16] : 4  The gunfight took place within the narrow lot and on Fremont Street.

The O.K. Corral at 326 Allen Street [17] is within the Tombstone Historic District. [18]

Current status

Re-enactment of the Gunfight at the O.K. Corral Gunfight at the OK Corral 2.jpg
Re-enactment of the Gunfight at the O.K. Corral

Investors from Detroit, Michigan, led by attorney Harold O. Love, purchased the O.K. Corral, along with The Tombstone Epitaph newspaper, the Crystal Palace Saloon, and Schieffelin Hall in 1964. [19] As of 2018, the Love family continues to operate the O.K. Corral as an historic site. [20] The museum property extends from the Allen Street frontage northward to Fremont Street, including the land where the historic gunfight began. The narrow lot where much of the gunfight took place is now maintained as part of the O.K. Corral Historic Complex. Life-sized figures of the gunfighters are positioned using a map drawn by Wyatt Earp. As the gunfight proceeded, some of the participants fled onto Fremont Street (Arizona State Route 80). Re-enactments take place four times daily. [21]

In 2004, the town's focus on tourism led the National Park Service (NPS) to threaten to remove its designation as a National Historic Landmark District, a status it earned in 1961 as "one of the best preserved specimens of the rugged frontier town of the 1870s and '80s." The community has since worked closely with the NPS to develop and implement a new more appropriate stewardship program.[ citation needed ]

Historical significance

Although the historical corral was not the actual site of the gunfight, the association between the two largely contributed to the establishment of the historic district and its placement on the National Register. [22] Another O.K. Corral is known to have existed in Globe, Arizona Territory. The O.K. Corral and Feed Stable was opened before November 8, 1879. [7]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gunfight at the O.K. Corral</span> 1881 shootout in Tombstone, Arizona, United States

The gunfight at the O.K. Corral was a thirty-second gunfight between lawmen led by Virgil Earp and members of a loosely organized group of outlaws called the Cowboys that occurred at about 3:00 p.m. on Wednesday, October 26, 1881, in Tombstone, Arizona, United States. It is generally regarded as the most famous gunfight in the history of the American Old West.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tombstone, Arizona</span> City in Arizona, United States

Tombstone is a city in Cochise County, Arizona, United States, founded in 1879 by prospector Ed Schieffelin in what was then Pima County, Arizona Territory. It became one of the last boomtowns in the American frontier. The town grew significantly into the mid-1880s as the local mines produced $40 to $85 million in silver bullion, the largest productive silver district in Arizona. Its population grew from 100 to around 14,000 in less than seven years. It is best known as the site of the Gunfight at the O.K. Corral and presently draws most of its revenue from tourism.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Doc Holliday</span> Gambler, gunfighter, and dentist in the American West (1851–1887)

John HenryHolliday, better known as Doc Holliday, was an American gambler, gunfighter, and dentist. A close friend and associate of lawman Wyatt Earp, Holliday is best known for his role in the events leading up to and following the Gunfight at the O.K. Corral in Tombstone, Arizona. He developed a reputation as having killed more than a dozen men in various altercations, but modern researchers have concluded that, contrary to popular myth-making, Holliday killed only one to three men. Holliday's colorful life and character have been depicted in many books and portrayed by well-known actors in numerous movies and television series.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wyatt Earp</span> American gambler, miner, and frontier marshal (1848–1929)

Wyatt Berry Stapp Earp was an American lawman and gambler in the American West, including Dodge City, Deadwood, and Tombstone. Earp was involved in the famous gunfight at the O.K. Corral, during which lawmen killed three outlaw Cochise County Cowboys. While Wyatt is often depicted as the key figure in the shootout, his brother Virgil was both Deputy U.S. Marshal and Tombstone City Marshal that day and had considerably more experience in law enforcement as a sheriff, constable, and marshal than did Wyatt. Virgil made the decision to enforce a city ordinance prohibiting carrying weapons in town and to disarm the Cowboys. Wyatt was only a temporary assistant marshal to his brother.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Virgil Earp</span> American Old West figure (1843–1905)

Virgil Walter Earp was both deputy U.S. Marshal and Tombstone, Arizona, City Marshal when he led his younger brothers Wyatt and Morgan, and Doc Holliday, in a confrontation with outlaw Cowboys at the Gunfight at the O.K. Corral on October 26, 1881. They killed brothers Tom and Frank McLaury and Billy Clanton. All three Earp brothers had been the target of repeated death threats made by the Cowboys who were upset by the Earps' interference in their illegal activities. All four lawmen were charged with murder by Ike Clanton, who had run from the gunfight. During a month-long preliminary hearing, Judge Wells Spicer exonerated the men, concluding they had been performing their duty.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Morgan Earp</span> American lawman and Earp family brother (1851–1882)

Morgan Seth Earp was an American sheriff and lawman. He served as Tombstone, Arizona's Special Policeman when he helped his brothers Virgil and Wyatt, as well as Doc Holliday, confront the outlaw Cochise County Cowboys in the Gunfight at the O.K. Corral on October 26, 1881. All three Earp brothers had been the target of repeated death threats made by the Cowboys who were upset by the Earps' interference in their illegal activities. The lawmen killed Cowboys Tom and Frank McLaury and Billy Clanton. All four lawmen were charged with murder by Billy's older brother, Ike Clanton, who had run from the gunfight. During a month-long preliminary hearing, Judge Wells Spicer exonerated the men, concluding they had been performing their duty.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Billy Claiborne</span> American outlaw (1860–1882)

Billy Claiborne was an American outlaw cowboy, drover, miner, and gunfighter in the American Old West. He killed James Hickey in a confrontation in a saloon, but it was ruled self-defense. He was present at the beginning of the Gunfight at the O.K. Corral, but was unarmed and ran from the shootout. Only a year later, while drunk, he confronted gunfighter "Buckskin" Frank Leslie and was killed.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ike Clanton</span> Rancher and member of the Cochise County Cowboys, Arizona Territory (1847–1887)

Joseph Isaac Clanton was a member of a loose association of outlaws known as The Cowboys who clashed with lawmen Wyatt, Virgil and Morgan Earp as well as Doc Holliday. On October 26, 1881, Clanton was present at the Gunfight at the O.K. Corral in the boomtown of Tombstone, Arizona Territory but was unarmed and ran from the gunfight, in which his 19-year-old brother Billy was killed.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Johnny Behan</span> American old west sheriff (1844–1912)

John Harris Behan was an American law enforcement officer and politician who served as Sheriff of Cochise County in the Arizona Territory, during the gunfight at the O.K. Corral and was known for his opposition to the Earps. Behan was sheriff of Yavapai County from 1871 to 1873. He was married and had two children, but his wife divorced him, accusing him of consorting with prostitutes. He was elected to the Seventh Arizona Legislative Assembly, representing Yavapai County. In 1881, Wyatt Earp served for about five months as undersheriff of the eastern half of Pima County. When Wyatt resigned, Behan was appointed to fill his place, which included the mining boomtown Tombstone. When Cochise County was formed in February 1881, Behan was appointed as its first sheriff. Tombstone became the new county seat and the location of Behan's office. Sadie Marcus was his mistress, possibly as early as 1875 in Tip Top, Arizona, and certainly from 1880 until she found him in bed with another woman and kicked him out in mid-1881.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Newman Haynes Clanton</span> American outlaw (c. 1816–1881)

Newman Haynes Clanton, also known as "Old Man" Clanton, was a cattle rancher and father of four sons, one of whom was killed during the Gunfight at the O.K. Corral. Two of his sons were involved in multiple conflicts in Cochise County, Arizona Territory including stagecoach robbery and cattle rustling. His son, Ike Clanton, was identified by one witness as a participant in the murder of Morgan Earp. Billy Clanton and Ike were both present at the Gunfight at the O.K. Corral in which Billy was killed. "Old Man" Clanton was reportedly involved with stealing cattle from Mexican ranchers and re-selling them in the United States. Records indicate he participated in the Skeleton Canyon Massacre of Mexican smugglers. In retaliation, Mexican Rurales are reported to have ambushed and killed him and a crew of Cowboys in the Guadalupe Canyon Massacre.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Earp Vendetta Ride</span> Search by Wyatt Earp for outlaw cowboys

The Earp Vendetta Ride was a deadly search by a federal posse led by Deputy U.S. Marshal Wyatt Earp for a loose confederation of outlaw "Cowboys" they believed had ambushed his brothers Virgil and Morgan Earp, maiming the former and killing the latter. The two Earp brothers had been attacked in retaliation for the deaths of three Cowboys in the Gunfight at the O.K. Corral on October 26, 1881. From March 20 to April 15, 1882, the federal posse searched southeast Cochise County, Arizona Territory for the men they believed were responsible for the attacks on Virgil and Morgan. Several suspects had been identified and were charged, but were soon released by the court, owing in some cases to legal technicalities and in others to the strength of alibis provided by Cowboy confederates. Wyatt hoped that the legal system would bring the Cowboys to justice, but after suspects in both ambushes were freed, Wyatt resolved to take matters into his own hands.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nicholas Porter Earp</span> Father of the Western lawmen Earp family (1813–1907)

Nicholas Porter Earp was the father of well-known Western lawmen Virgil, Wyatt, and Morgan, and their lesser-known brothers James, Newton and Warren Earp. He was a justice of the peace, a farmer, cooper, constable, bootlegger, wagon-master, and teacher.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Frank McLaury</span> American gunman (1849–1881)

Frank McLaury born Robert Findley McLaury was an American outlaw. He and his brother Tom owned a ranch outside Tombstone, Arizona, Arizona Territory during the 1880s, and had ongoing conflicts with lawmen Wyatt, Virgil, and Morgan Earp. The McLaury brothers repeatedly threatened the Earps because they interfered with the Cowboys' illegal activities. On October 26, 1881, Tom, Frank, and Billy Clanton were killed in the Gunfight at the O.K. Corral.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tom McLaury</span> American outlaw (1853–1881)

Tom McLaury was an American outlaw. He and his brother Frank owned a ranch outside Tombstone, Arizona, Arizona Territory during the 1880s. He was a member of a group of outlaws Cowboys and cattle rustlers that had ongoing conflicts with lawmen Wyatt, Virgil, and Morgan Earp. The McLaury brothers repeatedly threatened the Earps because they interfered with the Cowboys' illegal activities. On October 26, 1881, Tom and Frank were both killed in the Gunfight at the O.K. Corral in Tombstone, Arizona Territory. The Tombstone shootout was his only gunfight.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Billy Clanton</span> Outlaw of the old American West

William Harrison Clanton was an outlaw Cowboy in Cochise County, Arizona Territory. He, along with his father Newman Clanton and brother Ike Clanton, worked a ranch near the boomtown of Tombstone, Arizona Territory and stole livestock from Mexico and later U.S. ranchers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Billy Breakenridge</span> Figure in the American Old West (1846–1931)

William Milton Breakenridge was an American lawman, teamster, railroader, soldier and author.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cochise County Cowboys</span> Informal confederation of rustlers and robbers in Old West Arizona

The Cochise County Cowboys is the modern name for a loosely associated group of outlaws living in Pima and Cochise County, Arizona in the late 19th century. The term "cowboy", as opposed to "cowhand," had only begun to come into wider usage during the 1870s. In that place and time, "cowboy" was synonymous with "cattle rustler". Such thieves frequently rode across the border into Mexico and stole cattle from Mexican ranches that they then drove back across the border to sell in the United States. Some modern writers consider them to be an early form of organized crime in America.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cochise County in the Old West</span> Aspect of Arizona history

Cochise County in southeastern Arizona was the scene of a number of violent conflicts in the 19th-century and early 20th-century American Old West, including between white settlers and Apache Indians, between opposing political and economic factions, and between outlaw gangs and local law enforcement. Cochise County was carved off in 1881 from the easternmost portion of Pima County during a formative period in the American Southwest. The era was characterized by rapidly growing boomtowns, the emergence of large-scale farming and ranching interests, lucrative mining operations, and the development of new technologies in railroading and telecommunications. Complicating the situation was staunch resistance to white settlement from local Native American groups, most notably during the Apache Wars, as well as Cochise County's location on the border with Mexico, which not only threatened international conflict but also presented opportunities for criminal smugglers and cattle rustlers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">O.K. Corral hearing and aftermath</span> Results following the Gunfight at the O.K. Corral in Tombstone, Arizona

The O.K. Corral hearing and aftermath was the direct result of the 30-second Gunfight at the O.K. Corral in Tombstone, Arizona Territory, on October 26, 1881. During that confrontation, Deputy U.S. Marshal and Tombstone Town Marshal Virgil Earp, Assistant Town Marshal Morgan Earp, and temporary deputy marshals Wyatt Earp and Doc Holliday shot and killed Billy Clanton, and Tom and Frank McLaury. Billy's brother Ike, who had repeatedly threatened to kill the Earps for some time, had been present at the gunfight but was unarmed and fled. As permitted by territory law, he filed murder charges against the Earps and Doc Holliday on October 30.

References

  1. ↑ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places . National Park Service. January 23, 2007.
  2. ↑ Bell, Bob Bose (2006) True West Magazine
  3. 1 2 Ziegler, Jack (May 5, 2000). "C.S. Fly: Frontier Photographer". Benson News-Sun. Archived from the original on November 9, 2017. Retrieved August 27, 2014.
  4. ↑ "882 Census Index of Tombstone Arizona Territory". Archived from the original on April 10, 2013. Retrieved September 25, 2014.
  5. ↑ "Map of Tombsone". Sanborn Fire Insurance. Retrieved September 24, 2014.
  6. ↑ Traywick, Ben. "Wyatt Earp's Thirteen Dead Men". The Tombstone News. Retrieved September 24, 2014.
  7. 1 2 Rose, John. "The O.K. Corral". Wyatt Earp Explorers. Retrieved September 24, 2014.
  8. ↑ "After the May 25, 1882 fire in Tombstone". Fern Canyon Press. Archived from the original on June 16, 2008. Retrieved October 24, 2014.
  9. 1 2 Goodman, Michael (July 30, 2005). Wyatt Earp. The Creative Company. p. 95. ISBN   1583413391.
  10. ↑ Weir, William (2009). History's Greatest Lies: the Startling Truths Behind World Events our History Books Got Wrong . Beverly, MA: Fair Winds Press. p.  288. ISBN   978-1-59233-336-3.
  11. ↑ "The Law in Tombstone". Archived from the original on December 13, 2013. Retrieved March 8, 2014.
  12. ↑ Johnson, Paul Lee (July 30, 2012). The McLaurys in Tombstone, Arizona: An O. K. Corral Obituary (First ed.). Denton, Texas: University of North Texas Press. p. 26. ISBN   978-1574414509.
  13. ↑ "Gunfight at the O.K. Corral: Did Tom McLaury Have a Gun". September 05, 2006. September 5, 2006. Retrieved February 7, 2011.
  14. ↑ Douglas Linder (2005). "Ordinances Enforced by the Earps in the OK Corral Shoot-out". Famous Trials: The O. K. Corral Trial. Archived from the original on February 3, 2011. Retrieved February 6, 2011.
  15. ↑ Tefertiller, Casey; Morey, Jeff. "O.K. Corral: A Gunfight Shrouded in Mystery". HistoryNet.com. Retrieved August 27, 2014.
  16. ↑ Lubet, Steven (2004). Murder in Tombstone: the Forgotten Trial of Wyatt Earp. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press. p. 288. ISBN   978-0-300-11527-7 . Retrieved April 14, 2011.
  17. ↑ Google place page
  18. ↑ "US Gazetteer files: 2010, 2000, and 1990". United States Census Bureau. February 12, 2011. Retrieved April 23, 2011.
  19. ↑ Eppinga, Jane (2009). Around Tombstone: Ghost Towns and Gunfights. Charleston, SC: Arcadia Pub. p. 74. ISBN   978-0738571270.
  20. ↑ Love, Bob (June 15, 2017). "What History Has Taught Me: Bob Love". True West Magazine. Retrieved October 8, 2017.
  21. ↑ "Plan Your Visit to the O.K. Corral". ok-corral.com. Tombstone Historama Corporation. Retrieved November 7, 2018.
  22. ↑ Bell, Bob Bose. True West magazine.
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