How a 30-Second Gunfight in Tombstone Became the Defining Myth of the American West
The Wild West period spanned from 1865 to 1890. In October 1881, tensions flared in Tombstone, Arizona, involving Wyatt Earp, along with his brothers Virgil and Morgan, and Doc Holliday, against the Cochise County Cowboys. The Earps took a stand against the Cowboys to uphold a gun prohibition, which led to a brief 30-second shootout, claiming the lives of three Cowboys. This incident escalated an ongoing feud that had lasted six months. Wyatt Earp played a significant role in popularizing the gunfight, culminating in the 1931 release of Stuart Lake's biography, Wyatt Earp: Frontier Marshal, which idealized the event. The Western film genre continued to thrive post-Old West, with films like The Great Train Robbery in 1910 and John Wayne's The Shootist in 1976. Meanwhile, Tombstone's population has dwindled from 7,000 in the 1880s to fewer than 2,000 today.
Key facts
- The Wild West era lasted from about 1865 to 1890, ending with the close of the American Civil War and railroad-driven westward expansion.
- In October 1881, Wyatt, Virgil, and Morgan Earp and Doc Holliday tried to enforce a gun ban in Tombstone, Arizona, against the Cochise County Cowboys.
- The shootout occurred in a lot next to C.S. Fly's photography studio, not inside the actual OK Corral, which was nearby.
- In 30 seconds, 30 shots were fired, and three Cowboys were killed.
- The gunfight sparked about six months of violence between the two factions.
- Wyatt Earp pushed for a sanitized version of his story; Stuart Lake published Wyatt Earp: Frontier Marshal in 1931, two years after Earp's death.
- An authorized but poorly written biography by Earp's personal secretary, John Flood, was never published.
- The Western genre lasted over 50 years, from The Great Train Robbery in 1910 to John Wayne's The Shootist in 1976, while the Old West lasted under 40 years.
- Tombstone had 7,000 residents in the 1880s; today fewer than 2,000 live there, and it serves mainly as a tourist destination.
Entities
Artists
- Wyatt Earp
- Virgil Earp
- Morgan Earp
- Doc Holliday
- Stuart Lake
- John Flood
- John Wayne
- C.S. Fly
Institutions
- Cochise County Cowboys
- OK Corral
- Wikimedia Commons
Locations
- Tombstone
- Arizona
- United States
- Cochise County