The stories of the Old West unfolded in real places—along dusty streets, inside saloons, beside railroad tracks, in mining camps, courthouses, jails, and across lonely stretches of desert.
Some of those places survived. Others disappeared almost completely, leaving behind foundations, photographs, newspaper descriptions, or names on period maps.
Where It Happened explores the actual locations behind the stories told in The Tarnished West. Using historical records and our own visits whenever possible, we look at what happened there, what remains today, and where the evidence is uncertain.
Sometimes the best way to understand a story is to begin where it happened.
Fairbank
Fairbank was a railroad and commercial center along the San Pedro River, serving nearby mining communities and becoming the scene of a notorious 1900 train robbery.
Explore Fairbank
Tombstone
Tombstone became one of Arizona Territory’s most notorious mining towns, shaped by silver, saloons, lawmen, outlaws, and the violent conflicts that defined its early years.
Explore Tombstone
Bisbee
Bisbee grew from a remote mining camp into one of Arizona Territory’s most important copper towns, marked by rapid growth, violent crime, labor disputes, and frontier justice.
Explore Bisbee
Holbrook
Holbrook grew along the Atlantic & Pacific Railroad into a rough-edged frontier town, shaped by cattlemen, lawmen, outlaws, gunfights, and the violent history of northeastern Arizona.
Explore Holbrook
Contention
Contention grew along the San Pedro River as a milling center for Tombstone’s silver mines, linking ore, water, transportation, and industry during the district’s boom years.
Explore Contention
Yuma Territorial Prison
Opened in 1876, Yuma Territorial Prison held some of Arizona Territory’s most notorious prisoners, leaving behind a stark reminder of frontier crime, punishment, and justice.
Explore Yuma Territorial Prison
Charleston
Charleston grew along the San Pedro River to serve the mills processing Tombstone’s silver ore, becoming a busy frontier settlement before fading with the mining boom.
Explore Charleston
Galeyville
Galeyville rose quickly around the Texas Mine in 1880, becoming a short-lived mining camp tied to Curly Bill, Johnny Ringo, stage travel, and frontier violence.
Explore Galeyville
Esmond Train Station
Esmond Station, once known as Papago, was a Southern Pacific railroad stop east of Tucson, remembered for an 1887 train robbery and Arizona’s devastating 1903 rail disaster.