09-05-2025
How Tombstone ended up in a movie and brought its infamous history to a new audience
Just south of Tucson, sits one of the last boomtowns of the American West.
Tombstone, nicknamed "the town too tough to die," is chock-full of Wild West lore and historic landmarks. Whether you're wandering Allen Street, taking a ghost tour in the Bird Cage Theater or chatting with people wearing Old West getups, you can't help feeling like you've discovered time travel.
Though the town has been infamous for more than a century, a 1993 movie brought its story to a new audience. "Tombstone", featuring the late Val Kilmer as Doc Holliday, was a box-office smash. The film centers around some of the most notorious characters of the West and, of course, their legendary showdown at O.K. Corral.
Step back into the past. Here's everything you need to know about Tombstone, Arizona, and why you should visit.
The legend of Tombstone began in 1877, when a down-on-his-luck prospector named Ed Schieffelin found himself searching for ore in the hills of the San Pedro Valley. As the story goes, Schieffelin was warned that all he would find would be his tombstone.
When Schieffelin claimed mining rights over the rich silver deposits in the area, he named his discovery "Tombstone." Just four years later, the town was booming.
Tombstone isn't notorious for it's minerals, though. Everything changed on Oct. 16, 1881, when a long-simmering feud erupted into a shootout near the now legendary O.K. Corral.
City Marshal Virgil Earp appointed his brothers, Wyatt and Morgan, and Doc Holliday as deputy city marshals. The group strode through the streets with a concealed, sawed-off shotgun on a mission: disarm a no-good pack of ranchers and rustlers known as "the Cowboys."
Firearms were not permitted in town, and tensions had been high between the two factions for months. It was the outlaws — Ike and Billy Clanton, Frank and Tom McLaury and Billy Claiborne — versus the lawmen.
The Earps and Holliday faced off against the group in a vacant lot about 100 feet west of the back entrance to the O.K. Corral. It's still debated who fired the first shot that fateful day, but the 30-second gunfight killed the McLaury brothers and Billy Clanton. The Earp brothers and Holliday were wounded.
Two months after the shootout, Virgil Earp was ambushed and seriously wounded. Morgan was killed with a shot to the back shortly after.
Wyatt Earp would set out on his "bloody Vendetta Ride" after no one was convicted of either crime. He tracked down and killed the men he deemed responsible for the murders of his brothers and promptly left Arizona Territory.
More Arizona history: Have you heard of these seven Arizona ghost towns?
Though Tombstone was a tourist destination before, a 1993 movie cemented its status as a Wild West town worth visiting.
The 1993 "Tombstone" was directed by George P. Cosmatos and starred Kurt Russell, Sam Elliott, Powers Boothe, Bill Paxton and, of course, the late Val Kilmer as Doc Holliday.
With Kevin Costner's big-budget "Wyatt Earp" set to hit theaters six months after the release of "Tombstone", Cosmatos' film was supposed to be the lesser of the two. It ended up becoming a favorite among modern Westerns.
Val Kilmer's work in "Tombstone" is referenced amongst his greatest successes.
USA TODAY reporter Brian Truitt described Kilmer's portrayal of Doc Holliday as "a wry guy who looked like death, drank laudanum like it was going out of style but was still dangerous as a rattlesnake."
Kilmer even named his memoir "I'm Your Huckleberry" for his love of Mark Twain and an iconic line in the film.
You can stream "Tombstone" on Hulu, AMC+ or Philo.
If Wild West history interests you or if you're planning a state-wide road trip, Tombstone is an essential destination.
Consider stopping by the O.K. Corral, which was expanded to include the actual site of the famous gunfight. It sits at 326 East Allen Street. Catch one of the shootout reenactment shows at 11 a.m., 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. daily.
Tourists often frequent Boot Hill Graveyard, another Tombstone landmark and Billy Clanton and the McLaury brothers' final resting place.
You can also visit the blacksmith shop, the O.K. Corral Stables, C.S. Fly's Photographic Gallery, the Tombstone Courthouse Museum, the Tombstone Epitaph Newspaper (a museum dedicated to Arizona's oldest, still running, newspaper) and the Good Enough Silver Mine.
Even without the shows or tours, just spending time in Tombstone is enough to make you feel the rich, and often violent, history rushing through the town's veins.
Despite the town's historic designation, the government doesn't provide funding for upkeep. This means the magic of Tombstone is created by the employees and residents who work to preserve the town's 1880s vibe, while also following the strict rules laid out in the historic designation.
To get there from central Phoenix, take Interstate 10 east past Tucson to Benson. Go south on State Route 80 (at Exit 303) to Tombstone.
Arizona Republic contributor Roger Naylor, Republic reporter Bill Goodykoontz and USA TODAY reporter Bryan Alexander contributed to this article.
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Tombstone, Arizona: How the movie highlighted its infamous story
