138 years ago today: Gunfight at the OK Corral
The O.K. Corral shootout has become an iconic footnote in the history of the Wild West. Lawman Wyatt Earp, his brothers, and his faithful friend Doc Holliday faced off against a team of lawless cowboys who ran ragged through the frontier town of Tombstone, Arizona. It is a classic tale of cops and robbers in the Wild West.
The shootout has come to represent a period of the American Old West when the frontier was virtually an open range for outlaws, largely unopposed by law enforcement officers who were spread thin over vast territories. It was not well known to the American public until 1931, when Stuart Lake published the initially well-received biography "Wyatt Earp: Frontier Marshal" two years after Earp's death.
Despite its name, the gunfight did not take place at the O.K. Corral, but actually took place in a narrow lot on the side of a photographic studio, six doors west of the O.K. Corral's rear entrance. Some members of the two opposing parties were initially only about 6 feet apart. About 30 shots were fired in 30 seconds.
Although Ike Clanton filed murder charges against the Earps, after a month-long hearing, Judge Spicer ruled that the lawmen had acted within the law.
The town of Tombstone, Arizona has capitalized on interest in the gunfight. A portion of the town is a historical district that's been designated a National Historic Landmark and is listed in the National Register of Historic Places by the U.S. National Park Service. A local company produces daily theatrical re-enactments of the gunfight.