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Tombstone Courthouse State Historic Park to add HVAC; museum outlines hours and visitor fees
Summary
The Tombstone Courthouse State Historic Park described visitor hours, admission fees and an HVAC/electrical upgrade project that will finish after next summer; the park manager reviewed the building’s 1882 origins and museum exhibits.
Curtis Leslie, park manager at Tombstone Courthouse State Historic Park, told KWCD’s First Watch that the courthouse museum — Arizona’s second state park — is undergoing HVAC and electrical upgrades intended to make the 1882 building comfortable for visitors by next summer.
Leslie described the courthouse as the county’s first official courthouse, built beginning in August 1882 and opening in January 1883; it served as Cochise County’s courthouse until the county seat moved to Bisbee and a new courthouse opened in 1931. The building later fell into disrepair and was preserved by the Tombstone Restoration Commission before becoming a state park in 1959.
“We are an old west museum,” Leslie said, and described exhibits including an upstairs courtroom with the original judge’s bench and prisoner’s dock, a replica gallows, mining displays about Ed Schieffelin and an original sheriff’s office with vaults.
Leslie said summer hours (June 1 through September) are 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. daily; winter hours are 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. daily, and the park is closed only on Christmas. Admission is $10 for ages 14 and older, $5 for ages 7–13, and free for children under 7. He also noted the park’s phone number and web/social contacts for visitors seeking more information.
The manager said installing modern HVAC in an 1880s stone building requires care to avoid damaging historic fabric; the current project will not finish this year but organizers expect the system to be operating by next summer.
Leslie encouraged visitors to call (520) 457‑3311 or visit ArizonaStateParks.com for the Tombstone Courthouse State Historic Park listing and said the park posts social media updates on Facebook and Instagram about exhibits and events.
