| Live Play at the Historic Texas Theater in Downtown Palestine.
The gunfight at the O.K. Corral pitted lawmen against members of a loosely
organized group of cattle rustlers and horse thieves called the Cochise
County Cowboys on October 26, 1881. While lasting less than a minute, the
gunfight has been the subject of many books and films. Taking place in the
town of Tombstone in Arizona Territory, the battle has become one archetype
of the American Old West. The gunfight was the result of a long-simmering
feud between five outlaws (including two sets of brothers) and four
representatives of the law, including three brothers. The trigger for the
event was the local marshal's decision to enforce a city ordinance that
prohibited the carrying of weapons into town. To enforce that ordinance, the
lawmen would have to disarm the Cowboys.
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