The Famous Tombstone…& A Relative!

Tombstone, AZ When researching for what to do I found that Tombstone had Tombstone Days this day, including a parade and lots of extra activities. Kevin looked at YouTube of the parade in past years and saw it wasn’t crowded and so wanted to go to it. Well, that morning was so cold. At 8:00 a.m. the temp was 39° with winds gusting to 29 mph, with a wind chill of 25°. Nope, we aren’t going. I will have you know, the average temp for Tombstone that day is literally, right at 70°! At 3:00 p.m. it was forecasted to be 53° with a wind chill of 41°. We definitely didn’t want to be standing in place to watch a parade with the wind chill of 41° so we didn’t go for the parade. (It started at 11:00 a.m. The festivities go to 3:00 p.m.) We left at 11:30 a.m. and headed there.

It was fun to look around and imagine the people we have read about and how they took this road back and forth from Tombstone to Benson to get the train. Big mountains surround this huge valley and the valley floor is full of big hills. We found a place to park several blocks away from the downtown area. It is an open lot for parking and you pay your money into an envelope and drop in the drop box. There were only a few vehicles here. We bundled up in our winter coats and ear cover and walked to see the Cochise County Courthouse. This is a state park now with a museum inside. We didn’t go in. It was fun to look around outside and Kevin even pointed out the gallows along the back side of the building! Do you see them in the picture above?

Next we walked over to Allen Street; this is the main street with the famous history. There were people dressed up in period clothing. Most of the famous buildings here have burned down and then were rebuilt. We saw a shootout in the street at one point. The sheriff was the winner.

We walked back to the truck and drove to Tombstone Cemetery. Now, this isn’t Boothill Cemetery. We didn’t go there. But at Tombstone Cemetery, we found the grave of my 3rd cousin 4 times removed: James H Marrs. http://files.usgwarchives.net/az/statewide/bios/marrs.txt And https://tombstonehelldoradodays.com/about.html I found this relative on FamilySearch under cemeteries. I like to look at the map and see if any relatives are in the area where we are. I found James Marrs! Read the info; he was one of the founders of Tombstone! He lived there until his death in 1936. The “OK Corral shootout” was in 1881. So the connection really made it extra fun for us. Wonderful experience!

Note: for those of you who don’t know, I am deaf. Sometimes I use text-to-voice to read what people are saying. Hearing people usually think it is the world’s best thing, but they don’t know how it doesn’t work that great. Here is a sample…would you be able to know what Kevin is talking to me about while he is driving? 🤪