The O.K. Corral (Old KindersleyBell, Bob Bose (2006) ''True West Magazine'') was a

livery A livery is an identifying design, such as a uniform, ornament, symbol or insignia that designates ownership or affiliation, often found on an individual or vehicle. Livery will often have elements of the heraldry relating to the individual or ...

and

horse The horse (''Equus ferus caballus'') is a domesticated, one-toed, hoofed mammal. It belongs to the taxonomic family Equidae and is one of two extant subspecies of ''Equus ferus''. The horse has evolved over the past 45 to 55 million y ...

corral from 1879 to about 1888 in the mining

boomtown A boomtown is a community that undergoes sudden and rapid population and economic growth, or that is started from scratch. The growth is normally attributed to the nearby discovery of a precious resource such as gold, silver, or oil, although ...

of Tombstone,

Arizona Territory The Territory of Arizona (also known as Arizona Territory) was a territory of the United States that existed from February 24, 1863, until February 14, 1912, when the remaining extent of the territory was admitted to the Union as the state of ...

, in the southwestern

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

near the border with Mexico. Despite its association with the

Gunfight at the O.K. Corral The gunfight at the O.K. Corral was a thirty-second shootout between lawmen led by Virgil Earp and members of a loosely organized group of outlaws called the Cowboys that occurred at about 3:00 p.m. on Wednesday, October 26, 1881, in ...

, the historic gunfight did not take place within or next to the corral on Allen Street, but in a narrow lot on Fremont Street, six doors west of the rear entrance to the corral. The lot was between Harwood's home and C. S. Fly's 12-room boarding house and photography studio. The 1957 film ''

'' made the shootout famous and the public was incorrectly led to believe it was the actual location of the altercation. Despite the historical inaccuracy, the corral is marketed as the location of the shootout, and visitors can pay to see a re-enactment of the gunfight. The corral is now part of the

Tombstone Historic District Tombstone Historic District is a historic district in Tombstone, Arizona that is significant for its association with the struggle between lawlessness and civility in frontier towns of the wild west, and for its history as a boom-and-bust mining ...

Origins

At the time of the gunfight on October 26, 1881, the O.K. Corral and

Livery A livery is an identifying design, such as a uniform, ornament, symbol or insignia that designates ownership or affiliation, often found on an individual or vehicle. Livery will often have elements of the heraldry relating to the individual or ...

was one of eight liveries and corrals in the city of about 5,300 residents, excluding Chinese and children. The others included the Dexter Livery (owned by John Dunbar and

Johnny Behan John Harris Behan (October 24, 1844 – June 7, 1912) was an American law enforcement officer and politician who served as Sheriff of Cochise County in the Arizona Territory, during the gunfight at the O.K. Corral and was known for his opposit ...

), Pioneer Livery, Tombstone Livery, West End Corral, P.W. Smith Corral, C.N. Thomas West End Corral, and the Fashion Stables. The O.K. Corral was owned at the time by "Honest John" Montgomery and Edward Monroe Benson. Most residents of the town did not own a horse; when they needed to go out of town, they rented a horse from one of the liveries or corrals. The corral and livery also cared for transient stock, and provided buggies, carriages, and wagons with teams of horses. As of 1886, they also rented an 11-passenger excursion coach. The corral and buildings were completely destroyed by a fire that burned almost all of the western business district on May 25, 1882. The re-built corral began to gain attention from the American public in 1931, when author Stuart Lake published an initially well-received biography, '' Wyatt Earp: Frontier Marshal'', two years after Earp's death. Published during the

Great Depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...

, the book captured American imaginations. It was also the basis for the 1946 film, ''

My Darling Clementine ''My Darling Clementine'' is a 1946 American Western film directed by John Ford and starring Henry Fonda as Wyatt Earp during the period leading up to the gunfight at the O.K. Corral. The ensemble cast also features Victor Mature (as Doc Hollid ...

,'' by director

John Ford John Martin Feeney (February 1, 1894 – August 31, 1973), known professionally as John Ford, was an American film director and naval officer. He is widely regarded as one of the most important and influential filmmakers of his generation. He ...

. After the film ''

'' was released in 1957, the shootout became known by that name and the corral became wrongly fixed in the public's consciousness as the location of the shootout.

Location

According to testimony after the shootout, the

outlaw An outlaw, in its original and legal meaning, is a person declared as outside the protection of the law. In pre-modern societies, all legal protection was withdrawn from the criminal, so that anyone was legally empowered to persecute or kill them ...

Cowboys who fought the Earps and Doc Holliday went from Dexter's Livery Stable, where they had left their horses, to Spangenberg's gun shop on Fourth Street.

Wyatt Earp Wyatt Berry Stapp Earp (March 19, 1848 – January 13, 1929) was an American lawman and gambler in the American West, including Dodge City, Deadwood, and Tombstone. Earp took part in the famous gunfight at the O.K. Corral, during which law ...

saw them inside and later said he thought they were filling their cartridge belts with bullets. The Cowboys then walked over to the O.K. Corral where witnesses overheard them threatening to kill the Earps. Citizens reported the threats and the armed Cowboys' movements to Tombstone City Marshal Virgil Earp. On April 19, 1881, the city had passed ordinance#9 requiring anyone carrying a bowie knife, dirk, pistol or rifle to deposit their weapons at a

or saloon soon after entering town. The ordinance was the legal basis for City Marshall

Virgil Earp Virgil Walter Earp (July 18, 1843 – October 19, 1905) was both deputy U.S. Marshal and Tombstone, Arizona City Marshal when he led his younger brothers Wyatt and Morgan, and Doc Holliday, in a confrontation with outlaw Cowboys at the Gunfig ...

's decision to confront the Cowboys that resulted in the shoot out. Tombstone lithograph map shootout

The Earps and Doc Holliday walked west on Fremont Street, looking for the Cowboys. After passing the rear entrance to the O.K. Corral, they found the Cowboys gathered in a narrow wide lot adjacent to C. S. Fly's 12-room boarding house and photography studio at 312 Fremont Street. The gunfight took place within the narrow lot and on Fremont Street. The O.K. Corral at 326 Allen Street is within the

Current status

Investors from Detroit, Michigan, led by attorney Harold O. Love, purchased the O.K. Corral, along with ''The Tombstone Epitaph'' newspaper, the Crystal Palace Saloon, and Schieffelin Hall in 1964. , the Love family continues to operate the O.K. Corral as an historic site. The museum property extends from the Allen Street frontage northward to Fremont Street, including the land where the historic

gunfight A shootout, also called a firefight or gunfight, is a fight between armed combatants using firearms. The term can be used to describe any such fight, though it is typically used to describe those that do not involve military forces or only invo ...

began. The narrow lot where much of the gunfight took place is now maintained as part of the O.K. Corral Historic Complex. Life-sized figures of the gunfighters are positioned using a map drawn by Wyatt Earp. As the gunfight proceeded, some of the participants fled onto Fremont Street ( Arizona State Route 80). Re-enactments take place four times daily. In 2004, the town's focus on tourism led the

National Park Service The National Park Service (NPS) is an agency of the United States federal government within the U.S. Department of the Interior that manages all national parks, most national monuments, and other natural, historical, and recreational propertie ...

(NPS) to threaten to remove its designation as a

National Historic Landmark District National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, ce ...

, a status it earned in 1961 as "one of the best preserved specimens of the rugged

frontier A frontier is the political and geographical area near or beyond a boundary. A frontier can also be referred to as a "front". The term came from French in the 15th century, with the meaning "borderland"—the region of a country that fronts o ...

town of the 1870s and '80s." The community has since worked closely with the NPS to develop and implement a new more appropriate

stewardship Stewardship is an ethical value that embodies the responsible planning and management of resources. The concepts of stewardship can be applied to the environment and nature, economics, health, property, information, theology, cultural resources e ...

program.

Historical significance

Although the historical corral was not the actual site of the

, the association between the two largely contributed to the establishment of the

historic district A historic district or heritage district is a section of a city which contains older buildings considered valuable for historical or architectural reasons. In some countries or jurisdictions, historic districts receive legal protection from c ...

and its placement on the National Register.Bell, Bob Bose. '' True West'' magazine. Another O.K. Corral is known to have existed in Globe, Arizona Territory. The O.K. Corral and Feed Stable was opened before November 8, 1879.

References

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External links