Wyatt Earp was born in Illinois on March 19, 1848. He was named after his father's commanding officer in the Mexican-American War, Captain Wyatt Berry Stapp, of the 2nd Company Illinois Mounted Volunteers. Earp was an American lawman in the wild west including Dodge City, Deadwood and Tombstone. On October 26th, 1881, Wyatt and his brothers Virgil and Morgan, along with Doc Holiday, clashed with the Clanton Gang at the O.K. Corral. The gunfight only lasted about 30 seconds, but when the dust settled, two Cowboys were dead and three of the marshalls were shot. Wyatt Earp never took a bullet, which adds to his legend. Though he was known as a lawman, that was only about five years of his long and eventful life. Besides being a lawman, he was also a buffalo hunter, saloon keeper, miner, gambler, brothel keeper and boxing referee.
Wyatt Earp died on January 13, 1929 in Los Angeles, California. He was creamated and his wife Josaphine "Sadie" Marcus secretly buried his ashes in her family plot here at the Hills of Eternity Memorial Park, a Jewish cemetery in Colma, Ca. When she died in 1944, her body was buried alongside his ashes. She had purchased a small white marble headstone which was stolen shortly after her death in 1944. It was discovered in a backyard in Fresno, California. A second flat granite headstone was also stolen. On July 7, 1957, grave robbers dug 5 feet into the Earp's grave to steal the urn containing his ashes. Unable to find his cremains, they stole the 500-pound grave stone. Actor Hugh O'Brian, who was playing Earp in the 1955–1961 television series, offered a reward for the stone's return. It was located for sale in a flea market. Cemetery officials reset the stone, but it was stolen again. Actor Kevin Costner, who played Earp in the 1994 movie Wyatt Earp, offered to buy a new, larger stone, but the Marcus family declined. Descendants of Josie's half-sister Rebecca allowed a Southern California group in 1998 to erect the stone currently in place. The earlier stone is on display in the Colma Historical museum.
Logging requirements:
1. Email me the three last names on top of the three closest stairs in front of Wyatt and Josephine's grave.
-OR-
2. Take a photo of yourself (or a finger pistol) in front of Wyatt Earp's tombstone and post it in your Found It log.
HILLS OF ETERNITY MEMORIAL PARK
HOURS:
Sunday - Friday 8:30 a.m. - 4 p.m.
Closed on Saturday
Closed on Jewish and
Federal Holidays
Cemeteries are sacred spaces that deserve our respect and care. Please respect the peaceful atmosphere, follow cemetery rules, drive slowly, be mindful of gravesites, leave no trace and be considerate of others. Thank you and enjoy your visit.
Virtual Rewards 4.0 - 2024-2025
This Virtual Cache is part of a limited release of Virtuals created between January 17, 2024 and January 17, 2025. Only 4,000 cache owners were given the opportunity to hide a Virtual Cache. Learn more about Virtual Rewards 4.0 on the Geocaching Blog.