Virgil Earp - Upholding the Law of the West

Virgil Earp - Upholding the Law of the West

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Later that year, on October 26th, Tombstone and the Earps would become famous for the well publicized Gunfight at the O.K. Corral. When Virgil, temporarily deputizing brothers, Wyatt and Morgan, and Doc Holliday, went to disarm the McLaurys and Billy Clanton, all hell broke loose resulting in the most famous gunfight of the Old West. The affair made Wyatt a legend, but it was actually Virgil who was the most experienced. Up to that point, Wyatt had only been in one gunfight, Morgan in none, while Virgil had years of lawman experience plus that of the Civil War. When the smoke cleared, Frank and Tom McLaury and Billy Clanton were dead. Virgil Earp took a shot to the leg and Morgan suffered a shoulder wound.

Re-creation of the Gunfight at the O.K. Corral, Kathy Weiser, April, 2007.

Sheriff John Behan arrested Virgil Earp, Wyatt Earp, Morgan Earp and Doc Holliday for murder of Billy Clanton, Tom McLaury and Frank McLaury. Three days later, the city council suspended Virgil, pending the outcome of the shooting investigation. After a trial, all of the members of the Earp faction were found to have acted within the law.

Over the next few months, the Earps struggled to retain control over Tombstone, as word was spreading that the Cowboy faction would take their revenge on the Earps for the killings. For safety, Virgil moved to the Cosmopolitan Hotel. A couple of months later, on December 28th, when Virgil was walking from the Oriental Saloon to the hotel, he was ambushed. Shots were fired from the second story of a building across Allen Street, hitting the Crystal Palace Saloon and the Eagle Brewery, breaking windows and narrowly missing customers. Virgil was hit in the back and left arm by buckshot. Though his arm would be permanently crippled, he would survive. The shooters were never positively identified. Though Ike Clanton’s hat was found at the shooting site, one of his friends gave him an alibi and no arrests were made.

Upon learning of Virgil's mishap, territorial U.S. Marshal Crawley P. Dake appointed Wyatt Earp as a U.S. Deputy Marshal.

On March 18, 1882, the cowboy gang struck again while Morgan Earp was playing pool at Campbell and Hatch's Saloon. A shot was fired from the darkness of the alley striking Morgan in the back. Morgan's body was dressed in one of Doc Holliday's suits and shipped to the parents in Colton, California for burial. The entire Earp party, including Virgil and his wife, Allie, accompanied Morgan's body. Also accompanying them out of town were a number of “body guards,” including Sherman McMasters and "Turkey Creek" Jack Johnson.

However, in Tucson, Wyatt, Warren and Doc Holliday hopped off the train in search of Frank Stillwell, who supposedly worked in the railroad yards. The train went on to California without them.

In Tucson, Wyatt and Warren Earp, along with Doc Holliday, Sherman McMasters, and "Turkey Creek" Jack Johnson, saw the train safely off. Afterwards; however, they spied Frank Stillwell, a member of the Cowboy faction,near the train tracks and Wyatt shot him. He and the others then began what is known as the Earp Vendetta Ride, chasing down those they felt were responsible for Morgan's death, killing them one by one, or running them out of the territory. Though the five men were indicted for the killing of Stillwell, none were brought to trial, all having fled the territory after their vengeance ride.

After settling in Colton, California and recovering from his injuries, Virgil worked as a railroad agent for a couple of years and was also said to have gambled heavily. In 1886, he opened a detective agency for a brief time, before becoming a constable in July, 1886. A year later, when Colton was officially incorporated, Virgil became the city’s first elected marshal on July 11, 1887.

In March, 1889, he resigned as city marshal and became a boxing matchmaker and gambling hall operator in San Bernardino, California. By the spring of 1893, the restless Virgil had moved on again, establishing a Earp’s Hall in the mining camp of Vanderbilt, California. The two-story saloon, provided dances, prizefights and church services in its upstairs hall, while downstairs held the typical saloon fare. Even though he was well liked in the town, he lost an constable election in 1894.

Prescott, Arizona, photo by Continent Stereoscopic Co, 1877.

This image available for photographic prints HERE!

Virgil and Allie briefly returned to Colton in early 1895 but was soon headed to another booming mining town -- Cripple Creek, Colorado. But, Virgil didn’t stay long, soon moving back to Prescott, Arizona and working in the mines. In the fall of 1896, he was injured in a mining accident and took up ranching south of Prescott.

In the fall of 1898, Virgil Earp received a letter from a Mrs. Levi Law of Portland, Oregon, in which she asked if he was the same Virgil Earp who had married Ellen Rysdam in Pella, Iowa, in 1861. Obviously he was and the two soon began a correspondence. In April, 1899, Virgil and Allie traveled to Portland to see her for the first time in 37 years and his two grandchildren. They maintained a relationship for the rest of his days.

In 1900, he ran for Yavapai County, Arizona Sheriff, but his health was suffering and he was forced to drop out of the race.

By 1904, Virgil was back in Colton, California, but the city had a by that time the city had a anti-saloon sentiment and a liquor ordinance that limited the number of saloons in the city. When Virgil was unable to get a license, he and Allie struck out for yet another mining camp – Goldfield, Nevada.

There, he became a Deputy Sheriff on January 26, 1905. However, his health continued to fail him and on October 19, 1905, he died in Goldfield of Peneumonia.

His daughter Nellie made arrangements for her father’s body to be transported to Portland, Oregon, where she lived, and he was buried at Riverview Cemetery. Allie returned to California where she spent the rest of her life, dying at the age of 98.

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From the Rocky Mountain General Store

Saloon Style Tin Signs - Decorate with saloon-like decor with these nostalgic tin signs. Find saloons, restaurants, liquor and beer, including Budweiser, Coors, and more. All signs are made of heavy gauge metal and have rolled edges for safe handling. Great for hanging or framing!