Welcome to...the Cyber Corral
featuring
John Rose and his tours through Tombstone.
and the surrounding area.
John Rose, former historian and narrator on the Benson tourist train, and owner of Thunder Valley Inc, welcomes you to Southeastern Arizona. He has been featured in Arizona Highways (article Sept 96), the PBS documentary "Arizona and the West", 
and has made a lifetime study of the San Pedro river valley, where he grew up. This Tombstone area research historian that Arizona Highways calls "spellbinding", now offers his services as a tour guide and work for hire researcher. From the OK Corral to the Apache, from the mining strikes to the Ghost Towns, John can show you the sites and bring to light the "Real Story". John is well known for his thorough research. "To understand the American identity, you have to come to the west. To understand the west, you have to understand this [San Pedro River] valley." - John Rose, Arizona Highways, Sept 96.
This is the area where the OK Corral, Wyatt Earp, and Doc Holliday were made famous. John welcomes you to take a walking, or driving tour through the town of Tombstone. He'll share the exciting stories of Contention, Brunkow mine and cabin, Indian haunts, the townsite of Charleston, the old stamp mills, an old Spanish Presidio, the battle site where the last thing Curly Bill Brocious saw was Wyatt Earp's shotgun, and anything else that would be of interest to you.
Tours include Bisbee, Ft Huachuca (last territorial remaining post from the era of Geronimo) and its terrific museum, and remnants of the old romantic stage routes. So, if you are heading to Southeastern Arizona, be sure and look John up and schedule a tour with him. His rates are reasonable and be sure to ask about group and commercial packages. A customized tour to fit your wishlist awaits you.
Set up a tour by calling
Voice 520-378-2539
Fax 520-378-9576
FAQ's about tours
FAQ's about Tombstone
Places of interest include:
Charleston/Millville - There is an old phrase that says, "if Tombstone was the town too tough to die, Charleston was the town too mean to live". See the remains of some of the Wests most vicious killers playground. This is where Wyatt Earp first encountered Billy Clanton and where the Clantons would often ride in at a full gallop and "hurrah" the town. "Hurrah"ing the town was the nasty habit of shooting at anything that made the mistake of moving across your gunsite. Silent now, but full of yesterdays echos, Charleston is a must for any true Tombstone affecionado. It lies on the banks of the San Pedro River and has many crumbling adobe ruins. On the eastern side of the river lies the ruins of Millville. Millville was the industrial side of Charleston, once home to the thundering stamp mills that processed some of Tombstones richest silver and helped give rise to her spectacular boom. Foundations that once supported the large stamp mills are all the remain to mark this once hard working and enterprising industrial site.
Click here for more on Charleston (UNDER CONSTRUCTION)
Fairbank, originally known as Kendall, was named for N.K. Fairbank, and was once the nearest railroad terminus to the boom town of Tombstone. Fairbank had and international clientel when the New Mexico and Arizona railroad, also known as the Sonoran Railroad, linked it to Old Mexico. From its heyday, there still stands a dry goods store, once owned by ancestors of the well known Arizona politician, Barry Goldwater. In the old days, the men who mined the miners, often made a better living than the miners did, down in the mines. The Goldwaters seemed to understand this phenomenon. Fairbank was also host to the dramatic train robbery attempt on Feb 15, 1900 in which Jeff Milton gave Three Fingered Jack Dunlap a reason to give up crime.
Gleeson - Famous for its mine, picturesque ruins (school house, etc), and cemetery. It was once home to a silent picture show projectionist by the name of Koch, who walked to Tombstone to rob the bank and thought he'd walk home. Once again, Jeff Milton gave another outlaw a good reason to give up crime. Gleeson is approximately sixteen miles east of Tombstone on Gleeson Road.
Tombstone - The ad campaign for the Tombstone movie said it best when it said "every town has a story, Tombstone has a legend." Names that would normally be lost long ago to the passing of time have become permanent icons in the America psyche. Earp, Clanton, and McLaury still conjure 
images of a bygone, romantic and violent era. Despite all of the mythology and cliches, Tombstone really did have a dramatic history. There are some who would have us believe that the gunfight near the OK Corral was simply a matter of the good guy Earps facing down the evil and scruffy Clantons. Those people miss the mark because they don't realize the "behind the scenes" happenings and the political atmosphere that lead the march toward confrontation.
The Earps and Clantons had both aligned themselves with powerful forces. And in doing so, they helped to propel themselves into events that in some ways were beyond their control. The Earps were once the fighting men for Tombstones Republican businessmen elite. The Clantons aligned themselves with Democratic Sheriff Behan, who was too understanding of the outlaw mind. The real story involves a socio economic clash, the 1880 election fraud, a love triangle, and a severe difference of opinion as to who would control Tombstones destiny. John's tour lays to rest the myths and brings to light the truth.
Watch here for future information on Tombstone. (UNDER CONSTRUCTION)
Hope to see you on the trail... John!
Comments or tour information request to:
johnrose@theriver.com
LINKS!!!!
Here's a link to Arizona Highways!!!
Link to The Old West!!!
Link to The Bitter Creek Outlaws!!!
Here's a link to The GhostRiders!!!
Link to Guns of the Golden West!!!
And a link to Teddy Blue's Bunkhouse!!!
Link to the WebSlinger