Tombstone at a Crossroads

Fifteen minutes of fame can transform a town or it can quickly fade into oblivion. October 26, 1881 was such a date for Tombstone, AZ (population 1.504). Wyatt, Virgil and Morgan Earp gunned down Billy Clanton and Tom and Frank McLaury that day in what has been sensationalized by Hollywood as “The Shootout at the O.K. Corral.”

Tombstone was a boomtown then, silver having been discovered there only four years before. It was named for a prospector who was warned that if he ventured into Apache territory he wouldn’t find anything but his tombstone. The town has been thru booms and busts in its history, including two fires that burned it to the ground. I used it at my AZ talk last week, citing its slogan “The Town Too Tough to Die” as the type of can-do spirit that towns need.

Today, Tombstone is at another crossroads as it wrestles with its historical designation. The National Park Service, which administers landmark status on buildings and communities, has listed Tombstone’s status as “threatened” because its buildings aren’t historically correct. Only 3% of the 2400 historical buildings in the USA are so classified primarily because of deterioration, not because they have embellished them as they are accusing Tombstone. In September the town will hold three days of public meetings to decide how to preserve its historic designation.

It will be an interesting debate to follow and will undoubtedly determine the future direction of the town.