THE TARNISHED WEST
The Old West—Researched, Documented, and Stripped of the Legend
We travel the American Southwest searching for the history behind the legend—then go back to the contemporary record.
Period newspapers, court records, coroner’s inquests, diaries, photographs, maps and eyewitness accounts help reconstruct what actually happened.
When the evidence is uncertain, we’ll tell you. When popular legend conflicts with the historical record, we’ll show you why.
It’s researched. It’s documented. And it’s real.
Featured Stories from the Tarnished West
From the Historical Records
-
TWENTY STAMPS FOR TOMBSTONE
On the ground near the Girard mine, workmen were finishing a new twenty-stamp reduction mill – a substantial industrial plant intended to crush and process ore within the Tombstone mining district itself.
The Latest From The Tarnished West
-
The Train Robbery Near Papago Station
Less than four months after a passenger train was robbed near Papago Station, another westbound train was held up on the night of August 10, 1887.
-
The Tombstone Duel That Never Happened
Two Tombstone editors traded insults, gathered seconds and surgeons, carried Colt revolvers into Sonora, and stood ten paces apart.
-
A ONE-ARMED DETECTIVE AND A STAGECOACH ROBBERY
On the night of August 14, 1878, a westbound stage left Tucson carrying passengers, mail and an express box toward Maricopa Wells.
-
THREE STAGES ROBBED IN ONE NIGHT
the night of August 14, 1878, three stagecoaches were robbed along the desert roads connecting Tucson, Florence, Maricopa Wells, and the settlements farther west.
-
Creating the Tombstone Mining District
Five miners, a set of boundaries, and the documented beginning of organized Tombstone mining District Before a Town On April 11, 1878,
-
THE PAPAGO TRAIN ROBBERY
In April 1887, armed robbers stopped a Southern Pacific passenger train near Papago, seized the express and mail cars, and disappeared before a widespread manhunt began.
Explore All Stories
Where it Happened
The stories of the Old West happened in real places—mining camps, railroad towns, saloons, ranches, lonely roads, and stretches of desert that sometimes look much the same today.
Where It Happened follows the stories back to those locations, using period photographs, maps, contemporary records, and our own visits to see what remains. Explore the places where the documented history of the Tarnished West unfolded.
