Gone But Not Forgotten – Tombstone 1884 -1905

The shoot ‘em up days of Tombstone had passed by 1884. What was left of the Earps, Doc Holliday, and the cattle rustlers had moved away. The mines were beginning to flood, and miners were moving to new grounds in Alaska. The Boothill cemetery was declared full, and in a way, heralded the upcoming changes. A new cemetery was started down Allen Street on land donated by the Escapule family.

However, some things remained the same. The Apaches still roamed throughout Cochise County murdering settlers and miners, stealing horses, and frightening the populace. Mining accidents still took lives as well as the diseases of consumption and pneumonia. Arguments over land, water, and rights were sometimes solved by murder. And, children were still the unfortunate victims of disease, drowning, and accidental gun shots.

“The Town Too Tough to Die” weathered all these storms and continued on. The finder of Tombstone’s first silver strike, Ed Schieffelin, died and was buried in a huge monument outside of town. The railroad came to town eliminating the dusty rides – and the holdups – on the stagecoaches. The Epitaph newspaper started in 1880 flourished and continues to be published to this day.

The lives of those who lived and died during the years from 1884 through 1905 are honored in this book.