THE WILLCOX PLAYA - MODERN REMNANT OF LAKE COCHISE

HISTORY'S TIDBIT - About 15000 years ago a huge lake, Lake Cochise, covered almost 150 square miles in Southeastern Arizona. Some parts of this Pleistocene Era lake were well over 40 feet deep. The modern remnant of this pre-historic lake is the Willcox Playa, a triangular area of desert grassland located near Willcox, Arizona.

FEATURE ARTICLE - THE KILLING OF WARREN EARP

Warren Earp was perhaps the least known of the five Earp brothers. That is of course, assuming you don't count half brother Newton Earp. From the multitude of films depicting the feud between the Earp brothers and the so-called Clanton gang, one would be led to believe that Warren played no part in the events surrounding the Earp - Clanton conflict. Actually, nothing could be further from the truth. Warren was absent from Tombstone that day in October 1881 when the Earps and Doc Holliday confronted the Clantons and McClaurys near the O.K. Corral. However, he served as a deputy town marshal prior to the gunfight and was involved in the Earp vendetta against the cowboy element that followed the murder of Morgan Earp in March of 1882. Warren was subsequently indicted though not convicted of the killing of Frank Stillwell. Warren left Cochise County in 1882 but returned a decade later, this time settling in the Willcox area. If was in Willcox on the morning of July 6, 1900 that Earp was shot to death by Johnny Boyett. The killing, which took place at the Headquarter Saloon,,was the culmination of a feud that went back several years. According to the Arizona Range news, "their last quarrel occurred in the restaurant in the rear of the saloon. Both men came into the saloon and Earp told Boyett that he (Boyett) had been offered $100 or $150 by parties in town here to kill him. Boyett denied this and told Earp he didn't want any trouble, but added that if he had to fight him he was not afraid. Earp told Boyett to go get his gun, and said that he was fixed". Boyett left the Headquarter Saloon, walked to the Willcox House, armed himself, then returned to the saloon. According to the Arizona Range News account, "Earp entered through the rear door and Boyett fired two shots at him. Earp disappeared through the same door he had entered, then he went from the restaurant through a side door out on the sidewalk and in a few minutes he entered the saloon again through a side door. He advanced toward Boyett".Earp opened his coat as he approached, informing Boyett that he (Earp) was unarmed. Boyett warned Earp to back off. When Earp continued his advance, Boyett fired once more. This was the fatal shot. Boyett was released following a preliminary hearing. He was never tried for the killing of Earp. Many historians link the killing of Warren Earp in 1900 with the earlier incidents such as the O.K. Corral gunfight and the subsequent Earp Vendetta, terming the entire affair the Cochise County War.

LARRY ELKINS FINE ART PHOTOGRAPHY

VISIT elkinsphotos.com FEATURING EIGHT GREAT PHOTO GALLERIES - LARRY ELKINS FINE ART PHOTOGRAPHY

THE OLD TOMBSTONE COURTHOUSE

HISTORY'S TIDBIT - The first Cochise County Courthouse was constructed in Tombstone in 1882. The cost of construction of the two story Victorian ;style building was approximately five thousand dollars. The Tombstone Courthouse housed the county's Judicial System until the county seat was moved to Bisbee in 1929.

LUKE SHORT - GUNMAN & GAMBLER

HISTORY'S TIDBIT - Luke Short is best remembered as an Old West gunman & gambler. Short was at one time half ownwer of the famed Long Branch Saloon in Dodge City where he was a major participant in what has become known as the Dodge City War. Later, in Tombstone Arizona, Short killed Charlie Storms in a gunfight outside the Oriental Saloon. The killing of Storms was later ruled as self defense. Luke Short, a close friend of Wyatt Earp, Bat Masterson & Doc Holliday, occupies a major place in Cochise County history. Like his friend Doc Holliday, Short died with his boots off, succumbing to congestive heart failure at the age of thirty nine.

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CHRISTINE RHODES COCHISE COUNTY RECORDER

HISTORY'S TIDBIT - In January 1973, Christine Rhodes became the youngest Cochise County elected official in history when she took office as Cochise County Recorder at the age of 24. As of this date, Mrs. Rhodes has served as Cochise County Recorder for over 36 years.

WINSTON CHURCHILL HOOKS A BISBEE MAN

Here's today's History's Tidbit -- What was the connection between former Vice President Dick Cheney's infamous hunting accident and Cochise County? Well, there wasn't any. However, back in the 1940's, a similar incident occurred that did have a Connection to Cochise County, specifically to the City of Bisbee. British Prime Minister Winston Churchill was fishing on a lake with his close friend, U.S. Ambassador Lewis Douglas when he accidentally put out Douglas' eye with a fish hook. So what was the Bisbee connection? Well, Lewis Douglas was born in Bisbee. His uncle, Walter Douglas, was the president of Phelps Dodge Corporation.

STAY TUNED

HI. I'M LARRY ELKINS, YOUR GUIDE THROUGH COCHISE COUNTY HISTORY. I'LL BE POSTING THE SECOND MONTHLY FEATURE ARTICLE ON COCHISE COUNTY HISTORY BLOG AROUND SEPTEMBER 1ST. THE KILLING OF WARREN EARP WILL RECOUNT THE DEATH OF WARREN EARP, ARGUABLY THE LEAST KNOWN OF THE EARP BROTHERS. IN THE MEANTIME, FEEL FREE TO VISIT MY WEBSITE elkinsphotos.com.

WELCOME TO BLACK WATER

In the latter part of the Nineteenth Century, where the City of Douglas Arizona now stands, there was very little available water, potable or otherwise. The one exception was a major water hole that held rather dirty water. Thus the region became known as Black Water. Douglas' sister city located just south of the border is still known as Agua Prieta, Spanish for blackish water.

AN ACT OF BETRAYAL

Here's today's History's Tidbit. Did you know that in the peace agreement negotiated with Cochise by General Howard, the Chiricahuas were given a reservation in the Sulphur Springs Valley region of Cochise County? No such reservation exists today. This is because the U.S. government, in a blatent act of treachery, broke the treaty it made with the Chiricahuas and forcibly relocated them to the San Carlos reservation.

BISBEE QUEEN OF THE SILVER CAMPS?

This is Larry Elkins again with another of HISTORY'S TIDBITS. Bisbee Arizona is known for its copper mines. But did you know that the first mining claim in Bisbee's Mule Mountains, the Rucker claim, was actually a silver claim?

GUNFIGHT AT THE O.K. CORRAL - OR NOT!

Here's another Cochise County History's Tidbit from your's truly Larry Elkins at elkinsphotos.com. The gunfight near the O.K. Corral is arguably the best known incident in COCHISE COUNTY HISTORY. What's that you say? That's the GUNFIGHT AT THE O.K. CORRAL ? Well, not really. Actually, the gunfight took place in an alley near the O.K. Corral. Why the misnomer? Most likely, it's because Gunfight at the O.K. Corral has a certain ring to it that gunfight in an alley near the O.K. Corral just doesnt.

COCHISE AND TOM JEFFORDS

Here's another interesting COCHISE COUNTY HISTORY'S TIDBIT. After the death of the legendary Chiricahua Apache chief Cochise, his body was buried somewhere in the Dragoon Mountains of Cochise County. No White man was allowed to know where the great Apache chief was buried. That is, all but one White man. Tom Jeffords, the man who had brokered the peace between Cochise and the U.S. government was the only White man to know where Cochise was buried. As far as is known, Jeffords took the secret to his grave. This is Larry Elkins bidding you farewell for now. Stay tuned though for next month's feature, THE KILLING OF WARREN EARP.

COCHISE COUNTY HISTORY FEATURED ON 1950'S TV

This is Larry Elkins with another Cochise County History's Tidbit. Did you know that five early day (1950's) TV series were set entirely or in part in Cochise County? The five series dramas were SHERIFF OF COCHISE, TOMBSTONE TERRITORY, BROKEN ARROW, THE LIFE & LEGEND OF WYATT EARP AND THE WALT DISNEY MINISERIES, TEXAS JOHN SLAUGHTER.

IT'S JUST A LITTLE PEYTON PLACE. HOW BISBEE BECAME THE SETTING FOR VIOLENT SATURDAY

Violent Saturday, a novel by W. L. Heath. is a gripping crime drama set in the deep South in the mid Twentieth Century. Three bank robbers converge on the town of Morgan, Alabama with the purpose of looting the local savings and loan. The novel explores the racial tensions, class struggles and human frailties of the rural deep South in a manner that gives Peyton Place a run for its money. However, Violent Saturday, the movie based on the novel, was set in a fictional copper mining town in the Southwest. And it was this change that prompted the movie makers to choose Bisbee Arizona, Queen of the Copper Camps as the setting for the film. I'm Larry Elkins (elkinsphotos,com) and I will be your guide through the story of how Bisbee became the setting for one of the grittiest crime movies of the 1950's. Once the decision was made to move the movie's setting from a textile mill town in the Southeast U.S. to a copper mining town in the Southwest, the choice of Bisbee, one of the most prominent copper mining towns in America, for location shooting, was a natural. By 1955, when the film was shot, the Lavender Pit was operational. This allowed for the copper mine in the movie to be an open pit mine rather than an underground operation. Appropriate location settings abounded. Among those utilysed were the local bank, the Copper Queen Library, the mining company mansion (the Loma Linda), the Bisbee country Club (now the Turquoise Valley Golf Course), Central School and the Copper Queen Hotel. While Violent Saturday is ostensibly a crime movie about a bank robbery, the film is actually an exploration of complex human interactions in a small town where class tensions, hypocrisy, sexual repression, greed and raw ambition lie just below the surface. Indeed, Peyton Place invariably comes to mind. Among the stars of Violent Saturday, at least three rate as movie icons: Victor Mature, Ernest Borgnine and Lee Marvin. Marvin later became a frequent visitor to Bisbee as well as a regular patron of many of the town's bars. Other cast members included Richard Egan, Stephen McNally and Sylvia Sidney. I could say a lot more about the movie itself, but if you google VIOLENT SATURDAY be prepared to be literally overwhelmed by the amount of information about both the film and, to a lesser extent, the novel. Violent Saturday, interestingly enough, was only the beginning of Bisbee's fame as a movie and tv location. SHERIFF OF COCHISE, a 50's tv series was set in Bisbee although it was not filmed here. Well over a dozen movies have filmed in Bisbee in more recent times. For instance, two sci fi films shot in Bisbee were the futuristic WORLD GONE WILD AND WILLIAM SHATNER'S GROOM LAKE. Bisbee served as stand in for 1940's Roswell NM in the made for tv movie ROSWELL, a retelling of the Roswell UFO incident and as early day New York City in FOUR EYES & SIX GUNS and YOUNG GUNS II. The Stephen King Supernatural thriller DESPERATION was largely filmed in Bisbee. And that's how Bisbee - Queen of the Copper Camps became Bisbee - Hollywood of the Desert.

GOOSE FLATS ARIZONA (I MEAN TOMBSTONE ARIZONA) THE TOWN TOO TOUGH TO DIE

Hi. I'm Larry Elkins your guide through the history of Cochise County. I happen to also be an avid fine art photographer (see my website at http://www.elkinsphotos.com). Almost everyone has heard of Tombstone Arizona, The Town Too Tough To Die. However, did you know that the area that would go down in the history books as Tombstone, the town too tough to die, was originally named Goose Flats? Let's see, Goose Flats, the town too FOWL to die. Not quite one for the history books I'm afraid.