Introduction

Welcome: Please Read

When I started these pages over five years ago I was wildly ambitious. I'm doing some essential updating as I find that my pages are included as links for Wyatt Earp on Wikipedia, but I will be readdressing just what kinds of things I want to include here in the future. I doubt it will be as wonderful ambitious and as improbably optimistic as my hyberbole below promises.

Why another web site on Wyatt Earp? Beside the fact that Wyatt is one of Western history's most famous lawman, he is also one of the most misrepresented. Over a century of lies, fakes, and partisan politics have obscured the reality of the man behind the legend. This site will be an evolving attempt to explore and reveal the true record of Wyatt Earp - as well as his legend. It is this author's belief, through extensive reading and research, that while Wyatt was not a perfect man (and who amongst us can claim perfection?) he was one of those larger than life people who cannot fail to make their mark on history and to his own lights was a man of integrity and honor. What makes Wyatt so interesting, to me, is that he has become part of the very fabric of American mythmaking. To understand why we still talk about him today - why it's even important to know the 'facts', we have to consider the impact Wyatt has made on American life in general. To that aim I will be including some more general articles on the West that deal with that mythologizing aspect of our culture. Later sections of these pages will deal with Wyatt Earp in film, tv, and literature.

Please bookmark these pages and return frequently as this is an ongoing labor of dedication and fascination.

Last Updated on 10/07/06

I have just commenced a long overdue update of these pages.

Truth or Fiction?

There is a tendency to believe what we read, especially when it comes from a creditable source. There are a number of very creditable sources in literature and on the internet in which Wyatt's character is painted black as black: a ruthless conman, a gambler, a pimp, and a murderous thug hiding behind a badge. However the best credentials do not ensure accuracy. It is important to scrutinize what we read, what we see, carefully before coming in with a verdict. The best material for the historian is still primary sources: documents from the family, the newspapers, and eyewitnesses. One of the joys of researching such recent history is the rich mine of such firsthand material. But even here we can be misled. Specially in the case of a life that included such heated affairs as the gunfight at the OK Corral. Suddenly we find that even when sifting through firsthand accounts of what happened 120 years ago that we are in the middle of a 'he said, she said' fight. Even the town newspapers in Tombstone, Arizona took entirely opposing views.

History

The story of Wyatt's life could fill a large book, at the very least - what we know, what we think we know, what has been said, and so forth. What appears here is a simple timeline of major events; added to as I have time. I have also added links to the many other sites on the web, and I am presenting a series of articles, by various authors on all aspects of Earpiana - from the pure historical to the more fun and trivial. I am more than happy to present articles from you if well written and pertinent to the theme. If you are interested in submitting just drop me a line at wyatt@panhistoria.com