Who founded the frontier settlement that became Tombstone, Arizona, in 1879?

Ed Schieffelin founded the frontier settlement that became Tombstone, Arizona, in 1879.

Schieffelin was a prospector working near the U.S. Army’s Camp Huachuca when soldiers warned him that the only stone he would find was his own tombstone. He continued searching and discovered silver-bearing ore in the area. His first major claim, named the Lucky Cuss, helped launch the district’s mining boom.

Tombstone was founded in 1879 in Pima County, Arizona Territory. Rich silver deposits attracted miners, investors, merchants, saloons, newspapers, and lawmen. The town became internationally famous because of the 1881 Gunfight at the O.K. Corral, involving the Earp brothers, Doc Holliday, and members of the McLaury and Clanton families.

Schieffelin did not remain the town’s leading public figure. Mining companies and later investors developed the district, while flooding eventually made deep mining difficult. Tombstone survived as a historic community and tourism destination.