The History

Located 1.5 miles east of globally recognized Tombstone, Arizona, the land itself is deep-rooted in American Old West history.  It was originally owned by the Cowan Family, a pioneer cattle ranching family that came to Tombstone in the 1880s as part of the country’s westward expansion after the Civil War. The Cowan family acquired several ranches and homesteads across Cochise County and remained steadfast Southern Arizona residents and cattle ranchers through the generations, even holding a seat in the Arizona House of Representatives for almost 20 years.

The Cowan land played a role in many of Tombstone’s historical events, and notably includes the Chandler Milk Ranch, where in October 1881, Billy and Ike Clanton met up just prior to the gunfight at the O.K. Corral between the Clantons and the Earps, which is regarded as the most famous shootout in the American Wild West.

Over a century later, the Cowan family, in conjunction with Silverstone Ranches, is turning a small portion of their ranching legacy over to 1881, whose vision for the continued growth of Cochise County strives to honor the legacy being handed down to it through conscientious preservation of the land’s history.