Wyatt Earp Gravesite and House
Written: Jan 09 '00
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Great for Western Buffs
Cons: Not terribly important, but fun.
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| tarthurs's Full Review: San Francisco |
Wyatt Earp's House and Gravesite
I have a table that is featured in an Eckles catalog from 1907. I also have one identical to the model certified to have been used to embalm Wyatt Erp.
(See "http://www.funeral.com/wwwads/messages/937.htm for the whole message.)
So reads one of the strangest messages I have seen on the Internet. (Don't ask me how I found it -- and don't ask me who in the world would certify such a thing!) Two of the strangest sites on the San Francisco Peninsula are the Wyatt Earp house on 7th Avenue and the Wyatt Earp Gravesite in Colma.
Don't get me wrong, they are just a house and a grave, much like many others, there are stranger, by far, of both, but strange because the "Legend of Wyatt Erp" is so thoroughly engrained in the collective American subconcious through the good graces of Hollywood. This should not be surprising, since Earp -- a wanted man, a stage coach driver, a real estate salesman in San Diego, and a buffalo hunter, among many other occupations over an 80 year span of life -- worked in the motion picture industry in hollywood until his death in 1929 in a downtown Los Angeles hotel.
The house
The house is located at 514 7th Avenue (about a block from where I used to live). It is a standard San Francisco cottage in the area, much like dozens of others. It is a private residence, so, please don't knock on the door. There is a small plaque in front commemorating the location.
Wyatt lived here during the infamous (more highly publicized at the time than the OK Corral) incident of the Sharkey vs. Fitzsimmons heavy weight title bout at the Goodfellows Grotto, approximately on the site of the current Civic Auditorium.
To make a long story short, Wyat climbs into the ring, takes off his coat, thus displaying his famous six-shooter, which is quickly confiscated by a policeman (Earp is later fined 50 dollars for a concealed weapons charge), and the fight begins. Eight rounds later, Sharkey falls for the ten count, clutching his groin, for a KO to Fitzsimmons. Then Earp shocks the sporting world by calling a foul against Fitzsimmons, and awards the bout to Sharkey.
Howls of outrage erupt! Fans rush the ring, only to be repulsed by a ring of police surrounding Earp. He is arrested, fined, and released on the weapons charge. San Franciscans of the day apparently have some limit on the corruption that they would tolerate; they cry for Earp's blood, bookies refuse to pay off bets, shortly thereafter Wyatt leaves for "golder" fields of Alaska.
Years later, Earp comes back to live for a time on Telegraph Ave. in Oakland.
The Gravesite
Wyatt died in January of 1929 at the age of 80 years old, either in a hotel or a cottage by various accounts. He was interred at the Jewish section of the Hills of Eternity Cemetery in Colma, California. The pallbearers at Wyatt's funeral included two of his close friends from Tombstone, John Clum and George Parsons as well as his attorney from the Tombstone days, W.J. Hunsacker. Wilson Mizner, a friend from the Alaska days and western stars Tom Mix and William S. Hart were also pallbearers.
See "http://www.policeguide.com/badges16.htm"for a picture of Wyatt's tombstone (among other items of interest). See "http://www.techline.com/~nicks/grave.gif" for another. I believe the second is the current tombstone, but I am not sure since it has been a number of years since I have been there.
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
tarthurs
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Member: Tom Arthurs
Location: Newark, CA USA
Reviews written: 29
Trusted by: 26 members
About Me:
Computers, Books, Cats, Travel, and California. And, of course, Epinions.
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