We arrived in Tombstone at 11:00 a.m. December 6th the day of Tombstone's First Annual Historic Home Tour. Having researched the area ahead of time I knew the event was taking place, but due to weather delaying our travels I thought we might miss attending. We pulled into Tombstone Territories R.V. Park, did a quick tour of the park facilities, set-up the camper, and were touring homes by 1:00! I'm so glad we made it! Roy and I have enjoyed Christmas home tours almost yearly for several years and I must say this one was the very best! If you are anywhere in the vicinity when it is scheduled, I highly recommend going out of your way to attend. The home pictured on the event booklet is called the Rose Cottage (c.1879). It is so named for the 70 rose plants in the gardens! It alone was worth the price of the tour! It is absolutely gorgeous inside and out! The Rose Cottage is known to be the oldest adobe residence in Tombstone! It was originally only two room house consisting of a bedroom and parlor. The rooms were adjoined, but had their own exterior doorways. They did not share an interior door! It was said to be bad etiquette for visitors to be able to see into the bedroom!
This woman and her husband are the owners of the Rose Cottage. Each room of the homes had people in period dress telling the history of the room! Pictures were allowed outside, but not inside. There was a professional photographer on the tour at the same time we were and I was later able to get pictures from the Internet! This is the parlor. I love pink and burgundy together!!!
The bedroom now has an interior door connecting it to the parlor!
This is the dining room off the kitchen. The home appeared to have 6 rooms now with one of the rooms being a masculine den.
This is the greeter for a home being referred to as the "Little Old New House"!
The Little Old New House was built in 1998 to replicate an 1898 home. The owners had collected antiques for over 40 years and the Little Old New House was the culmination of their dream! That's Roy and me on the porch! I got a surprise when searching for pictures of the tour and found we made it onto the Tombstone Times Facebook page! The spire in the background is the historic Cochise County Courthouse!
This is the owner of the Little Old New House.
Here is a more expansive view of the Little Old New Home's parlor. The home appeared to be 4-5 rooms.
This is the 1882 home of the famous Cochise County sheriff, John Slaughter. who lived from 1841-1922. John Slaughter is credited with cleaning up the lawlessness in the Arizona Territory and thereby encouraging apprehensive Congressmen to vote for its admission into the Union. It was originally a 4 room home, but now has 6 with the addition of modern plumbing. The young owner of the home has had it for just over a year, but has dreamed of owning it for 20 years! She now dreams of detailing it with historic accuracy!
This is the parlor of the John Slaughter residence. The carpet will be stripped away and the wood floors restored once the owner finds rugs appropriate to the history of the home.
For many years this house has had the reputation of being Wyatt Earp's house. It was reported in the newspaper, The Tombstone Epitaph on October 23, 1880: "The Messr. Earp are erecting on their property at the foot of Fremont Street a number of frame dwelling houses. Four have been completed and a fifth is under way." The Tombstone lots are 30'x120'. The houses were 15'x30' and only had two rooms. There were no kitchens, bathrooms, or built-in closets. It was stated on the tour that houses tended not to have built-in closets, as they were considered additional rooms for tax purposes! According to Allie Earp's recollection, "Our house was on the Southwest corner of First and Fremont. Wyatt and Mattie lived on the Northeast corner."
This is the bedroom in the Wyatt Earp house.
This home is called the My Darling Clementine House. It wasn't stated why it was given this name, but I later read where the movie "My Darling Clementine" was filmed in Tombstone in 1946. I wonder if this house was a filming location? The house was built in the 1880s and is said to be the first place Wyatt, James, Virgil Earp and their wives lived upon arriving in Tombstone. James Earp gave the house to his step daughter Hattie and her new husband, Thaddeus Harris upon their wedding.
This is the dining room in the Clementine home.
This bedroom in the Clementine home is referred to as Doc Holliday's room.
This home is referred to as North Pole South, as it is Christmas at this residence 365 days a year! The interior of the home carries the Christmas theme throughout. The interior of the home had a rustic, but elegant charm that made the home feel to me like a log cabin lodge! The owners truly captured the feel of a home you would expect Santa Clause to live in while at North Pole South!
This is Tibbs Manor. It is a late territorial adobe built around 1897. The most famous occupant was James Giacoma who lived in this home from 1913 to 1968. He was the owner of the Crystal Theater and he co-owned the Defiance Mine in Gleeson. The wall surrounding the property was built from turquoise and quartz stones James Giacoma brought from the Defiance Mine 16 miles away.
This is the current owner of the home along with her husband shown on the porch in the previous picture.
Here is a glimpse down the main hallway of Tibbs Manor.
Here is another look into Tibbs Manor and some of the participants in the First Annual Tombstone Historic Homes Tour! We'll definitely try to catch it every year that we can! The homes and presentations were magnificent! Kudo's to the Tombstone Cameo Ladies who hosted the event!
