Billy the Kid and four of his gang were delivered to the jail in Las Vegas, New Mexico on December 26, 1880. They were locked up without much...
Western Films in Arizona
Theaters were a popular form of entertainment in early Arizona and the first moving pictures came to the towns in the 1890’s. They were shown...
Angels Camp Gold Rush
One of the stranger gold strike stories comes from Angels Camp, California in 1856. Bennager Rasberry was squirrel hunting when his ramrod got stuck...
The Birth of Tombstone’s Helldorado Celebration
Tombstone’s first Helldorado celebration was in October 1929—and like so many other things tied to the “Town Too Tough To Die,” there was some...
John Clum: Pioneer Footballer
John Clum is best known for his time in Tombstone, as a newspaperman, mayor, and friend of the Earps and Doc Holliday. But when he was a bit young,...
The Lost Belle McKeever Mine
Arizona historian James McClintock called the Lost Belle McKeever, “the richest gold ledge ever discovered in North America.” It was named not for...
Burt Alvord, Biddy Doyle and the Bisbee Caper
Burt Alvord was a big strapping, swarthy-looking fellow with a bald pate and an IQ that was said to be considerably less than the size of his waist,...
Arizona Senator Henry F. Ashurst
Henry Fountain Ashurst was one of the first two Senators elected when Arizona became a state in 1912. The other was the irrepressible former...
Marion Hedgepeth Crosses Tracks with Serial Killer H.H. Holmes
Old West train robber Marion Hedgepeth helped unmask serial killer H.H. Holmes. The two were in a Missouri jail and came up with a con scheme:...
Charlie Connelly Cut Short
Charlie Connelly was a teacher, first in Indiana and then in Kansas when he moved there in the 1880s. In 1892, he was looking for a little extra...
The 1886 Martin Family Massacre
Arizona had a lot of loathsome cold-blooded killers but none worse than Charles Stanton. He arrived in Arizona in 1871 where he got his start by...
The Code of Honor
Some outlaws had their lives glorified on the silver screen. Others are mere footnotes in history. A few years ago I wrote a story about an outlaw...