Seventeen years after surviving the famous O.K. Corral gunfight, former Tombstone lawman Virgil Earp embarked on a very different chapter of his life. In 1898, Earp claimed 160 acres of land near Prescott, Arizona, under the federal homesteading system. Because of his previous service in the Union Army during the Civil War, he was eligible to complete the homesteading requirements in just two years, earning title to the property in 1900. According to the National Park Service, Earp’s later years marked a transition from frontier lawman and Civil War veteran to Arizona homesteader.
From soldier to lawman
Virgil Earp was born in Kentucky and was the third child of Nicholas and Virginia Earp. His younger brother, Wyatt Earp, would later become one of the best-known figures of the American frontier. Virgil’s own career, however, began with military service and law enforcement. During the Civil War, Earp served three years in the Union Army. After the war, he worked in law enforcement and also served as a shotgun guard for Wells Fargo Bank. His experience eventually brought him and his brothers to the Arizona Territory.In 1879, Virgil moved to Tombstone with his brothers Morgan and Wyatt. Tombstone was then a rapidly growing mining town where conflicts between lawmen and groups of armed outlaws were common. Virgil became the town’s marshal, while Wyatt and Morgan served as part-time deputies.
The O.K. Corral and its aftermath
Virgil’s name became permanently connected with one of the American West’s most famous confrontations. On October 26, 1881, Virgil, Morgan and Wyatt Earp, together with their friend John “Doc” Holliday, confronted several armed men near the O.K. Corral. The confrontation lasted only a short time, but several of the opposing men were killed, while Virgil and Morgan Earp were wounded.The incident became known as the shootout at the O.K. Corral and has since been repeatedly portrayed in books, films and television. The National Park Service notes, however, that the facts of the confrontation have been significantly exaggerated in popular culture. The violence did not end with the gunfight. In March 1882, members of the opposing group ambushed the Earps. Morgan was killed, while Virgil was wounded so severely that he lost the use of his right arm. The attacks contributed to the Earps’ departure from Tombstone. Wyatt eventually left for Colorado, while Virgil remained elsewhere in Arizona.
A new life on 160 acres
More than a decade later, Virgil Earp took on a very different role: homesteader. In 1898, he claimed 160 acres near Prescott, Arizona. Under the homesteading rules applicable to him, Earp’s previous military service proved important. Because he had served for three years in the Union Army, he was required to live on the land for only two years before becoming eligible to receive its title.Earp fulfilled that requirement and earned title to the 160-acre property in 1900. His successful homesteading venture represented a significant departure from the frontier violence for which he had become known. Rather than being remembered only as the marshal involved in the O.K. Corral confrontation, his later years also included establishing himself as a landowner in Arizona.Virgil Earp died in 1905. Although his younger brother Wyatt became considerably more famous in popular accounts of the American West, Virgil’s life extended well beyond the events of Tombstone. His story encompasses military service during the Civil War, law enforcement on the frontier, survival of the O.K. Corral confrontation and its aftermath, and ultimately a successful attempt to establish a homestead in Arizona.The 160 acres he claimed in 1898 therefore represent more than a piece of land in Earp’s biography. They mark a later chapter in the life of a man whose earlier years had been defined by military service and frontier law enforcement. According to the National Park Service, his successful homesteading venture helped secure his place in history alongside his better-known career as a soldier and peace officer.
