In June 1880, Philip M. Thurmond walked around the newly formed mining camp of Tombstone and asked for the vital statistics of every person he could find. Acting on a federally mandated census, Thurmond tabulated 2,170 residents from all over the globe: Germany, Ireland, England, Canada, Mexico, Sweden, Switzerland, France, Spain, Japan, China and South America are represented, making Tombstone a very global village. Interestingly, Wyatt Earp, 32, of Illinois, stated his occupation as “farmer.”

True West March/April 2025