I loved the movie Tombstone....but as with any movie, you think, well, they probably have the names right, but how much actually happened like this?? Did the movie follow the time line at all? I thought you posted something about what happened...but I don't know what thread it was in. Most of my interest in life are in real stories of the past. When an old building or house gets torn down, I almost cry. Its like history being ripped apart to me. I live near a town called Zoar, an old german communal town. We almost bought a house there built in 1847, but someone gave a better offer. Of course, after they moved in...they caught the place on fire by leaving cleaning chemicals on rags in a plastic bag on the porch in the sun!! They have yet to restore it. ANYWAY.....babbling.....
Back to Tombstone....are there original buildings there? Or has it been rebuilt to resemble the old?
This is a little history lesson that I gave to my sons 4th grade class a couple of years ago, hope it helps. Many of the buildings are authentically restored but some are rebuilt as the result of two devastating fires that almost destroyed the town. Some of the buildings are exactly as they were in the 1880's.
The Old West
· The Old West consisted of the following states:
o Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Texas, Colorado, Arizona, New Mexico
1865 The Civil War ends and many returning soldiers return to their homes without jobs, as in all wars, destruction of property and loss of lives is high
Many returning soldiers migrate westward and band together as groups of raiders
In Texas, the newly formed law group called the Texas Rangers chase a band of ruthless cattle thieves and killers called the “Cowboys” into the Arizona and New Mexico territories
In Kansas and Missouri many new towns began to be built as cattle drovers pushed their cattle from the rich farm lands in Nebraska and Iowa
Stockyards for cattle were mainly located in Colorado, Texas and in what was to become the “New West”, California
Along with the start up of what was to be called “cow-towns” in Kansas and Missouri required additional law enforcement
In all of the Old West, saloons, gambling houses and dancehalls were built to accommodate the cowboys
A new breed of lawman was developed to help keep the peace with the local town Sheriffs, they were called US Marshals
Along with the legitimate cattle drovers who moved cattle that was legally purchased at cattle auctions and from wealthy ranchers, there were the Cowboys who were stealing cattle from Mexico and driving them to the stockyards in Texas where they sold these stolen cattle and kept the money
Before the Civil War, cow towns like Wichita and Dodge City, Kansas used to see 30,000 to 40,000 head of cattle per season come through, while after the war ended in the early 1870’s the average number of cattle grew to 300,000 to 400,000 per season
The population of these small towns (primarily during the cattle driving season which was late spring to early fall) grew 10 times their normal size
This growth of people and cattle was hard to manage so this is where the US Marshals first made their appearance
Buffalo hunters, ex-soldiers, farmers and ranchers became lawmen
Famous lawmen and famous outlaws rose to fame during the period from 1865 to 1890,
Some famous lawmen were:
Wyatt Earp and his brothers, Wild Bill Hickok, Bat Masterson and his brother Ed, Pat Garrett
The most famous dentist turned gambler and killer fought on the side of the lawmen, John “Doc” Holiday
Some famous outlaws were:
Billy the Kid, Curly Bill Brocius, Johnny Ringo, Ike Clanton and his brothers
· Wild Bill Hickok was murdered on the streets of Wichita Kansas and Ed Masterson was murdered on the streets of Dodge City, after these murders Wyatt Earp was hired to clean up both of those towns
· Guns were not allowed in towns after these murders and bartenders were given the charter of holding the guns until the drovers or cowboys left town
· In 1879, silver was discovered in Arizona and New Mexico as a rush westward (much like the great gold rush) started
· Greed and the opportunity to steal pushed the cowboys into Arizona and New Mexico to terrorize and rob miners and citizens of the newly formed mining towns in these territories
· These crimes brought the need for the US Marshals to move farther west and help the town sheriffs in these mining towns, Wyatt Earp and his brothers along with Doc Holiday moved to Tombstone, AZ where a large amount of silver had been discovered
· A large gang of over 100 exiled Texas cowboys were in Arizona led by Curly Bill Brocius and Johnny Ringo
· In 1881 at the famous “Gunfight at the OK Corral”, the Earps and Doc Holiday won the most famous gunfight in history, after this gunfight the Earps drove the cowboys out of Arizona into Mexico for safety
· The US Marshals still are in existence today as they assist law enforcement officers all over the country catch the worst criminals, assist in the transportation of criminals to prisons and help to make our airlines safe to fly
· All of the wars and battles between the outlaws and the law in the old west helped to pave the way for the great migration west as people from the east made the pilgrimage to California, where land was rich for planting and growing, the weather was pleasant and there was opportunities for lawyers, doctors, dentists and law abiding citizens to make a good living
Keep it comin' on the 4th grade level! My kind of readin' lmao.
I just shared most of that with my other half. He knows how I am fascinated with the old....I love knowing how people lived and hearing stories. All lot of that put things in perspective for me. It is weird to think how the germans here in the mid to late 1800's were living, but out in the west things were so different.
Watcher, so that picture reminds you of that time, or that is you guys?
Wow, that was awesome! I love history. What a concise and overlooked view on American life! Thanks for including us. Thanks for being a historian. Without history, we are doomed to repeat the mistakes of the past. You are awesome for contributing to the coming generations the lives of real people in our past.
