Most of us grew up on stories of the Wild West—dime novels, television shows, and Hollywood movies filled with gunfighters, gamblers, lawmen, and outlaws. While those stories are entertaining, the truth is often even more remarkable.

Tombstone, Arizona—known around the world as "The Town Too Tough to Die"—was one of the most famous boomtowns of the American frontier. Here, fortunes were won and lost overnight, legendary friendships were forged, and some of the most famous events in Western history unfolded.

The Oriental Saloon stood at the center of it all. From high-stakes gambling and colorful characters to lawmen, cowboys, miners, and adventurers, the stories that passed through these doors helped shape the legend of Tombstone itself.

Today, visitors from around the world step inside to experience a piece of authentic Western history. While Hollywood helped create the myth of the Old West, the real stories found within these walls are often far more fascinating than fiction.

Come explore the history, legends, and lasting spirit of one of Tombstone's most iconic landmarks.

The Oriental Saloon opened its doors at the corner of Fifth and Allen Streets in the summer of 1880, during Tombstone's explosive silver mining boom. News of rich mineral strikes drew thousands to the Arizona Territory—visionaries and entrepreneurs, gamblers and gunfighters, lawmen and outlaws—all seeking fortune in the desert.

Life in Tombstone was anything but ordinary. Despite efforts to bring law and order to the growing town, the frontier often had other plans. Gunfights, gambling, and larger-than-life characters became part of daily life. Some areas of town earned a reputation that respectable citizens avoided, while the less fortunate often found their final resting place in nearby Boot Hill Cemetery.

Though Tombstone's boom years lasted less than a decade, the town refused to fade away. Through prosperity, hardship, fires, floods, and changing times, Tombstone endured—and so did the Oriental Saloon.

More than 145 years later, the Oriental remains a living piece of Arizona history, standing where it always has and continuing to welcome visitors from around the world to experience the spirit, stories, and legends of the Wild West.

When the Oriental Saloon opened its doors in 1880, it quickly earned a reputation as one of the finest establishments in the Arizona Territory. In its July 22, 1880 edition, the Tombstone Epitaph described the Oriental as "the most elegantly furnished saloon this side of the Golden Gate." With its lavish décor, fine liquors, and high-stakes gambling tables, the Oriental was designed to attract Tombstone's wealthiest miners, businessmen, and professional gamblers.

But this was Tombstone, and even the grandest saloon could not escape the realities of frontier life.

The Oriental became a gathering place for gamblers, lawmen, cowboys, and adventurers from every walk of life. High-stakes card games often ran late into the night, fortunes were won and lost in an instant, and tempers occasionally flared. Tombstone diarist George W. Parsons famously referred to the Oriental as "a regular slaughterhouse," later writing, "Some of the boys will have to be boxed and sent home yet if they don't behave themselves. Faro, whiskey, and bad women will beat anyone."

Despite its reputation for occasional violence, the Oriental remained one of Tombstone's premier social gathering places and continues to stand today as a symbol of the excitement, danger, and colorful characters that defined the Old West.

Few names are more closely associated with Tombstone than Wyatt Earp. The famed lawman, gambler, and frontier entrepreneur arrived in Tombstone in December 1879, joining his brothers Virgil, Morgan, James, and Warren in the booming silver camp.

Like thousands of others who flocked to Tombstone, Wyatt did not come seeking fame or gunfights. He came in search of opportunity and fortune. Earp invested in mining claims, operated businesses, and eventually acquired an interest in the gambling concession at the Oriental Saloon, one of the most profitable enterprises in town.

Under Earp's management, the Oriental's gaming tables became some of the most respected and successful in Tombstone. While the town's reputation for violence was well earned, Wyatt's presence at the Oriental helped maintain order and brought a sense of stability to an establishment that had gained notoriety during the town's early boom years.

Today, visitors from around the world come to the Oriental Saloon to walk in the footsteps of Wyatt Earp and experience firsthand one of the most legendary gathering places of the American West.

One of the earliest and most infamous gunfights at the Oriental Saloon involved the legendary gambler, dentist, and gunslinger John Henry "Doc" Holliday.

In October 1880, just weeks after arriving in Tombstone, Holliday became involved in a violent altercation inside the Oriental. According to contemporary accounts, an intoxicated Holliday was ejected from the saloon by proprietor M.E. "Milt" Joyce. Unwilling to let the matter rest, Doc soon returned armed and opened fire from the doorway.

During the exchange, bartender Parker was wounded, and Joyce himself was struck by a grazing bullet. Joyce managed to disarm Holliday and reportedly struck him with his own revolver before law enforcement arrived.

The disturbance finally ended when Pima County Deputy Sheriff Wyatt Earp intervened and arrested those involved in the melee.

At the time of the incident, Doc Holliday had been in Tombstone for only about a month. It would be the first of many episodes that would cement both Holliday's reputation and the Oriental Saloon's place in the colorful and often violent history of the American West.

Wyatt Earp's growing involvement with the Oriental Saloon was made possible in part through financial backing from influential Dodge City banker and saloon owner Billy Harris. To protect that investment and help oversee operations, several of Earp's longtime friends from Kansas soon made their way to Tombstone.

Among them were two of the most famous figures of the frontier era: W.B. "Bat" Masterson and Luke Short.

Masterson, a former sheriff of Ford County, Kansas—home to Dodge City—was already well known throughout the West as a lawman, gambler, and gunfighter. Luke Short, an accomplished gambler and noted gunman, quickly became involved in the high-stakes world of Tombstone's saloons.

In February 1881, Short added to the Oriental's colorful history when he became involved in a deadly confrontation with rival gambler Charlie Storms outside the saloon. Contemporary accounts indicate that Short acted in self-defense, but the shooting further enhanced the Oriental's reputation as one of Tombstone's most notorious establishments.

Following the incident and subsequent threats from friends of Storms, Short chose to leave Tombstone and return to Kansas. Bat Masterson soon departed as well.

Though their time in Tombstone was relatively brief, both men left an enduring mark on the history of the Oriental Saloon and helped solidify its connection to some of the most legendary personalities of the American frontier.

In the aftermath of the famous gunfight near the intersection of Third and Fremont street on October 26, 1881, tensions in Tombstone remained dangerously high. The conflict between the Earp brothers and the Cochise County "Cow-boys" was far from over.

On the night of December 28, 1881, former Tombstone City Marshal Virgil Earp was walking east along Allen Street near the Oriental Saloon when he was ambushed by hidden assailants armed with shotguns. A devastating blast struck Virgil, shattering his left arm and severely wounding him.

Although many believed the attack would prove fatal, Virgil survived—much to the relief of his family and friends, and undoubtedly to the disappointment of those responsible. The identities of the gunmen were never conclusively proven, though suspicion quickly fell upon several members and associates of the outlaw "Cow-boy" faction.

With Virgil seriously injured and unable to continue his duties, Wyatt Earp was appointed Deputy U.S. Marshal in his brother's place. Determined to bring those responsible to justice, Wyatt soon embarked on what would become one of the most famous and controversial chapters in Western history—the legendary Earp Vendetta Ride.

The attempted assassination of Virgil Earp remains one of the most dramatic events in Tombstone's storied past and serves as a reminder that the violence of the Old West.

Among the many colorful characters associated with the Oriental Saloon, few were as fascinating—or as controversial—as Frank Leslie, better known throughout the West as "Buckskin Frank."

Leslie arrived in Tombstone around 1880 and quickly established himself as a skilled marksman, gambler, and saloon man. A charismatic and often mysterious figure, Leslie claimed to have crossed paths with some of the West's most famous personalities, including Wild Bill Hickok and Buffalo Bill Cody. While many of his stories remain difficult to verify, his reputation as a gunfighter was well known throughout the Territory.

Leslie worked as a bartender at several Tombstone establishments, including both the Crystal Palace and the Oriental Saloon. During his time at the Oriental, he became involved in one of the town's last notable frontier shootings.

On November 8, 1882, while employed at the Oriental, Leslie became embroiled in an altercation with William Floyd Claiborne, one of the surviving participants in the events surrounding the famous gunfight near the O.K. Corral. The confrontation escalated after a heated exchange turned physical and Claiborne reportedly threatened Leslie's life. The dispute ended when Leslie shot and killed Claiborne on Allen Street near the Oriental Saloon.

Authorities ultimately ruled the shooting an act of self-defense, further enhancing Leslie's already formidable reputation.

Today, the story of "Buckskin Frank" Leslie remains one of the many legends that continue to surround the historic Oriental Saloon and the colorful personalities who once passed through its doors.

The murder of Morgan Earp in March 1882 marked a turning point not only in Wyatt Earp's life, but also in the history of the Oriental Saloon.

Following Morgan's assassination and the events of the Earp Vendetta Ride, Wyatt gradually severed his ties to Tombstone. He eventually sold or abandoned his various interests in the mining camp, including real estate holdings, mining and water rights, and his involvement with the Oriental Saloon. Wyatt and many members of the Earp family would go on to build new lives in California and other parts of the West.

As Tombstone's silver boom began to fade, so too did the fortunes of many of its once-thriving businesses. Without Wyatt's steady influence over the gambling concession, the Oriental struggled to maintain the reputation it had enjoyed during the town's boom years. Fights and disturbances again became common, and many professional gamblers and prominent visitors chose to patronize other establishments, including the Bird Cage Theatre and the elegant Crystal Palace Saloon.

By the late 1880s, Tombstone itself was in decline as flooding in the mines and falling silver prices brought an end to the town's spectacular boom. Yet while many businesses disappeared, the Oriental Saloon endured.

More than a century later, the historic Oriental still stands as a lasting symbol of Tombstone's colorful past and the legendary figures who helped shape the American West.

By 1883, only a few years after the Oriental Saloon's celebrated grand opening, proprietor M.E. "Milt" Joyce had decided to move on from Tombstone. A successful businessman who also owned a ranch and served on the Cochise County Board of Supervisors, Joyce sold his interest in the saloon and left Arizona behind. He later opened the Café Royal, a restaurant and billiard hall in San Francisco, alongside fellow mining-camp veteran James Orndorff.

As Tombstone's silver boom faded, so too did the fortunes of many of its businesses. The once-grand Oriental Saloon gradually changed with the times, serving variously as a grocery store, drug store, and other commercial enterprises over the decades. Like much of Tombstone itself, the building endured periods of decline but never disappeared.

A new chapter began in 1970 when attorney Bob "Bobcat" Cattany purchased the historic property and undertook the monumental task of restoring the Oriental Saloon to its former glory. Through dedication, preservation, and a deep respect for Tombstone's history, the Cattany family helped ensure that one of the West's most legendary saloons would continue to stand for future generations.

Today, the Cattany family remains the proud and devoted stewards of this treasured landmark, preserving the history, stories, and spirit of the Old West for visitors from around the world.

In February 2019, R.J. Herrig, co-owner of the neighboring Crystal Palace Saloon, took over operations of the historic Oriental Saloon. At the time, the building had most recently operated as a clothing and souvenir store. With a passion for Tombstone history and a commitment to preserving one of the West's most iconic landmarks, R.J. set out to restore the Oriental to its rightful place as a true Old West saloon.

After months of hard work and restoration, the Oriental Saloon reopened in May 2019 as a full-service bar, once again welcoming guests with authentic Western hospitality, historic charm, and the spirit of the Old West.

Today, visitors from around the world can step through the same doors once frequented by legendary lawmen, gamblers, miners, and outlaws. Under R.J.'s leadership, the Oriental Saloon continues its proud tradition as one of Tombstone's most historic and beloved destinations.

R.J. and the entire staff invite you to experience the history, hospitality, and legends that make the Oriental Saloon a true Tombstone landmark.