It's 131 years since the gunfight at the O.K. Corral but Tombstone is still milking that most famous of western shootouts – between the Earps and the Clantons – for every cent. And the latest piece of Earpsploitation is Virgil's Corner. Now a boutique B&B, it was once the home of Virgil Earp. Virgil was the kingpin of the Earp family. When things reached a head with the Clanton gang, he deputised his younger brother Wyatt and his friend "Doc" Holliday to help him sort things out. We have heard of Wyatt because, unlike his brothers, he lived to a ripe old age, long enough to spin the tale.
Virgil was senior lawman in Tombstone and built a house a couple of blocks from the O.K. Corral in 1880. The More family took on the house in 1969 – but it was badly damaged by fire in 1998. Timbers that survived, including original doors, had been put into storage. And all of them have now been incorporated in the B&B's front section, which replicates Virgil's original 14ft x19ft house.
"I started planning and dreaming of the B&B because of the location and historical significance of the property," said Diane More. "I hated to think it would just be a vacant lot. What better way to allow people to experience the wild west than to build a B&B on a historic site in Tombstone?"
Diane scoured antique shops across Arizona and Texas for authentic items for the B&B. And when it eventually came to decorating the place, she chose paint colours that had been available in the 1880s.
That probably explains why, to contemporary eyes, the decor looks a bit on the drab side: cheap but not overly cheerful. Remember, though, that this would have been the height of sophistication in the late-19th century – and still wild – west, where mud, wood and sawdust were established style statements.
The silver stars on the bedheads are a little tacky, especially the big one saying "US Marshal" over the bed in Virgil's room. But this is a town for western fans, and Virgil's Corner is as close as you're going to get to the homely ambience of the old days.
If, like me, you're a sucker for the Wyatt Earp legend, you get a hell of a kick knowing that you're sleeping on the spot where he and his brothers used to get together of an evening.
Some parts of Tombstone have been "restored" to the point where you feel like you're in a theme park. The O.K. Corral is still there and, inevitably, there is a daily re-enactment of the gunfight. Big Nose Kate's saloon on East Allen Street, named after Holliday's girlfriend, is a very touristy version of its original incarnation as the town's Grand Hotel, but it still has the same long bar at which the Earps and the Clantons would have taken their drinks.
There is probably nothing better after a night at the saloon than breakfast at Virgil's Corner …
• Virgil's Corner (97 East Fremont Street, +1 520 548 1025, virgilscorner.com) has doubles from $98. Learn more about Tombstone from the Arizona Office of Tourism (arizonaguide.com)
MORE HISTORIC PLACES TO STAY IN THE US
Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel, California
Charlie Chaplin, Greta Garbo and Gloria Swanson were all in attendance when the Hollywood Roosevelt opened in 1927. Two years later, its Blossom Room hosted the first ever Academy Awards. It's close to Universal Studios, Hollywood Walk of Fame, and more.
• +1 323 466 7000, thompsonhotels.com, doubles from £173
Concord's Colonial Inn, Massachusetts
This building was used as a storehouse for 1775's Battle of Concord, the first one of the civil war, and was later home to writer Henry David Thoreau. Henry James called historic Concord "the biggest little place in America".
• +1 978 369 9200, concordscolonialinn.com, doubles from $145
La Fonda on the Plaza, Santa Fe
The New Mexico capital was founded by Spanish settlers in 1607, and La Fonda is on the site of one of the first businesses in the area, an inn (fonda). The current hotel was built in 1922, and has original artwork in every room.
• +1 505 982 5511, lafondasantafe.com, doubles from $109
Madewood Plantation House, Louisiana
This 1846 sugar plantation, all white pillars and polished wood is in Napoleonville, 75 miles from New Orleans. Now an eight-room hotel, it also offers food, art and lifestyle seminars. Room rates include a wine and cheese reception, candlelit dinner from a set menu, coffee and brandy and a full breakfast.
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Grove Park Inn, Asheville, North Carolina
With the release of Baz Lurhmann's film next year, Great Gatsby fever is running high. F Scott Fitzgerald stayed at the Grove Park Inn over the summers of 1935 and 1936 and mentioned it in his work. While staying in rooms 441-443, Fitzgerald fired a revolver in a suicide attempt. Asheville is full of southern charm, art deco houses, boutiques and galleries.
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Red Victorian, Haight-Ashbury, San Francisco
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• +1 415 864-1978, redvic.com, doubles from $99
Hamilton Crowne Plaza, Washington DC
A street away from the location of Alexander Graham Bell's first telephone call, in 1880, this hotel is in the heart of political Washington, close to landmarks the White House, the Capitol Building and the Supreme Court, all of which offer tours, as well as the Smithsonian Museum.
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Lucy Miller
