Tuesday, May 26, 2015

History lesson for today

Professor Podles is doing a series of blogposts on his family's history...Today he discusses the founding of Tombstone Arizona, and about it's silver mines.

There are several versions of the origin of the name Tombstone:When fellow Army scout Al Sieber learned what Ed was up to, he told him, “The only rock you will find out there will be your own tombstone“. Another version is that Edward was told, “Better take your coffin with you; you will find your tombstone there...
Ed found what he thought was a vein of silver ore and he filed a claim, naming it Tombstone. He had some samples but there was no assay office in Tucson and everyone he showed the samples to thought they were worthless.  

they weren't, so the mine became a town.

There are many mining ghost towns spread around the Rockies, and it is ironic that a gunfight, not the silver, is the reason that town is still remembered.

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