Wyatt Earp came to San Diego between 1885 and 1887 and could have remained here as late as 1896. He was accompanied by his third wife Josie who he met in Tombstone, Arizona. She was an actress and possibly a dance hall girl and she accompanied him in his many travels until his death in 1929.

Wyatt Earp had a lot of miles under his belt prior to his arrival in San Diego in the late 1800’s. He displayed his courage at an early age where as a teenager, his first job was as a stagecoach driver in California. He was later a buffalo hunter out of Illinois where he met his longtime friend Bat Masterson. His reputation as a fearless and determined lawman was established in Wichita and Dodge City Kansas as he tamed these cities thought of as some of the wildest in the west.

In Tombstone, Earp took part in the famous shoot-out at the OK Corral where three of his enemies died. He could have been directly responsible for the shooting deaths of at least 5 men in his lifetime. Wyatt left Tombstone soon after the OK Corral and started a lifelong journey throughout the western frontier, settling in San Diego, Los Angeles, and Nome, Alaska.

He was an active businessman in addition to a gambler and was engaged in a variety of real estate ventures including the land boom of the mid 1880’s. Earp leased four saloons and gambling halls in San Diego, the most famous was his Oyster Bar located in the Louis Bank of Commerce on Fifth Avenue. He was listed as a capitalist (gambler) in the San Diego City Directory in 1887 and among his other winnings, he won a race horse. Wyatt also lived for a time in The Grand Horton, now known at the Horton Grand Hotel located on 4^th and Island Avenues.

During these times the Stingaree District was the heart of entertainment for the city and offered all kinds of diversion and vice. There was gambling, saloons, gunmen, prostitutes, speculators, and honest and dishonest gamblers. Mixed in among settlers who came in droves were tourists who crowded the train lines so much that some weekend vacationers didn’t make it home to Los Angeles until Tuesday or Wednesday. Another big draw for the city was its close proximity to Tijuana where one was sure to find prize fights, bear and bull fights, and all varieties of gambling.

A major part of the Stingaree District is included in the footprint of the Gaslamp Quarter. Officers patrolling the area would not venture far apart as the level of danger was pronounced in San Diego’s red light district. Many of the restaurants and dance halls were open 24 hours, and their business was best from midnight until 3:00 am.

Adalaska Pearson, in his oral history from the San Diego Historical Society dated 1928, described the scene as “crazy with gambling fever developed from fortunes made in real estate, saloons and gambling houses.” He also added that “Crime was rampant. Murder, theft, robbery, fights and general licentiousness was the order of the day, hold-ups were a daily occurrence.” But this type of frenzied activity didn’t last too long as there was coming a period of dormancy to the overheated and overpopulated area.

For more information on San Diego During Wyatt Earp’s time take one of our Walking Tours! 

Want to walk in the footsteps of Wyatt Earp? Book a private custom tour! Our knowledgeable tour guides will take you to visit all the historic sites in downtown San Diego that Wyatt Earp once visited and tell you stories about his time here. Please call the Museum at 619-233-4692 or email [email protected] for more information.

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