If you’re looking for a “Wild West” experience, Virgil’s Corner Bed & Breakfast in Tombstone, Arizona is among one of the coolest little spots in the west. You can almost hear the score to Wyatt Earp as you roll up to its wood-paneled facade.
So, being the adventurer that I am, it seemed like the perfect place to spend a night while exploring “America’s Frontier” in Tombstone, AZ. I mean, why turn down an opportunity to travel back to a time when cowboys were rock stars and to a place where the legacy of the “Wild West” lives on?
Spending a Night at Virgil’s Corner Bed & Breakfast
The Experience
Virgil’s Corner Bed & Breakfast was built on a property once owned by the legendary Earp family and offers a perfect blend of antiques and decor from the old frontier days. It also features all the comforts the modern traveler has come to expect such as air conditioning, a flat-screen TV, free WiFi in public areas, free private parking, and you can enjoy free breakfast.
Each of the 4 guest suites is uniquely decorated and some even have the coveted claw-foot tub; I can’t think of a better way to wash away all of the day’s dust and gunpowder than a relaxing wash. The B&B is filled with authentic items and the exterior is painted in colors that were used in the 1880s.
Virgil’s Corner and the Legendary Earp Family House
Unfortunately, the original legendary Earp family house burned down in 1998 but a replica was rebuilt in 2008 using surviving timbers and the original doors and it opened as Virgil’s Corner B&B. All of the excitement of Tombstone saloons and Allen Street is within walking distance, but far enough away to not have to worry about the noise of the gunslingers.
Location is Everything!
In just a five-minute walk, you can explore the famous Allen Street where all the fortune seekers and outlaws congregated. Be sure to go have a drink at the same long bar where the Earps and Cantons would go for drinks at Big Nose Kate’s Saloon, named after Doc Holliday’s girlfriend.
The History of Virgil’s Corner
Virgil Walter Earp was deputy US Marshal as well as Tombstone, Arizona City Marshal, and built a house a couple of blocks away from the O.K. Corral in 1880. He and his brothers Morgan, Wyatt, and Doc Holliday had repeatedly gotten death threats from the Cowboys, brothers Tom and Frank McLaury and Billy Clanton.
On October 26, 1881, Virgil led Morgan, Wyatt, and Holliday in a confrontation with the outlaw Cowboys at the Gunfight at the O.K. Corral that led to the death of the three outlaws. There is a re-enactment of the gunfight daily.
On December 28, only two months later, friends of the outlaws retaliated and Virgil was shot in the back which shattered his left arm with three shotgun rounds. In March 1882 Morgan Earp, Virgil’s brother, was killed.
About Tombstone, AZ
The largest productive silver district as well as one of the last boomtowns of the American Frontier, Tombstone, AZ is a Gold Rush village with an interesting history that features the Cochise County Cowboys – Billy and Ike Clanton, Frank and Tom McLaury, the Earp brothers – Wyatt, Virgil, and Morgan, as well as Doc Holliday.
Things to Do Near Virgil’s Corner
Grab a Bite
After you enjoy the free breakfast offered at Virgil’s Corner and are ready to eat again before or after exploring, there are Tombstone fish and chips restaurants nearby such as Johnny Ringo’s Bar and The Depot Steakhouse. If that isn’t what you are looking for, there are 15 restaurants within .75 miles of Virgil’s Corner B&B.
Kill Some Time
The Goodenough Silver Mine is close by where you can take an educational tour of the underground silver mining caves and see the miners’ work of the 19th century, or take the trolley tour that covers over 55 landmarks in just 40 minutes, or maybe you’d rather take the one-hour ghost tour, Tombstone After Dark, that runs year-round on Friday and Saturday nights.
Visit The Wizard’s Workshop where authentic gemstone jewelry is hand-made on the premises.
Explore the Area
Historic Sites nearby include Allen Street, The Tombstone Epitaph, Historic Gleeson Jail, and Big Nose Kate’s Saloon where you can sit at the same long bar the Earps and Clantons would have used to have drinks and discuss the day’s events. Big Nose Kate or Katherine Horony-Cummings was born in Hungary and was an American prostitute and Holliday’s companion.
The Tombstone Epitaph is the oldest continually published newspaper in Arizona. It is known for writing about the Gunfight at the O.K. Corral on October 26, 1881. Shortly before his death, Wyatt Earp sketched the Gunfight at the O.K. Corral, and in 2005, The Tombstone Epitaph presented this hand-drawn sketch for the first time.
The Gleeson Jail is open to visitors by special appointment or on the first Saturday of each month, donations are encouraged but admission is free. The jail was in the Western film The Mysterious Rider, starring Douglass Dumbrille.
Ghosts of past residents are said to haunt the Bird Cage Theatre where over 140 bullet holes remain and after the sun sets some still hear the ghostly laughter, talking, and music of gunslinger parties of long ago. Ghost Tours are available so don’t forget to grab your camera.
At the Boothill Graveyard, formerly called the “Tombstone Cemetery,” you can be among the residents and gunfighters of the past, the plot features the graves of Tom and Frank McLaury, and Billy Clanton, the three outlaws who were killed during the Gunfight at the O.K. Corral.
Virgil’s Corner Bed & Breakfast is located in Tombstone, AZ adjacent to the Tombstone Epitaph and is within walking distance to all of the excitement and action of Tombstone’s historic Allen Street, yet far enough away not to disturb your sleep. Visit here where the legendary Earp family lived to have a luxurious stay with modern conveniences while still experiencing what life was like during the Wild West Gold Rush in the “Town Too Tough to Die.”
