Vogan's Saloon & Bowling Alley - Tombstone, Arizona
Posted by: 
BruceS
N 31° 42.744 W 110° 03.978
12R E 588468 N 3508937
Marker for historic saloon in Tombstone, Arizona.
Waymark Code: WMHM8K
Location: Arizona, United States
Date Posted: 07/22/2013
Views: 7
Text of historical marker:
Vogan's Saloon & Bowling Alley
1879
In 1879, Jim Vogan and Jim Flynn opened a a wholesale liquor store and sample room with a 10 pin bowling alley at this location. A Tucson newspaper described it as an elegant place where the proprietors were kept busy dispensing the best brands. Vogan's became the scene of a tense standoff between lawmen and an angry crowd intent on lynching "Johnny-Behind-the-Deuce." He had killed a mine official in nearby Charleston and the constable, fearing the wrath of the miners, had transported him to Tombstone. Wyatt Earp locked the prisoner inside Vogan's with Virgil Earp, Doc Holliday and other lawmen as guards. Johnny-Behind-the-Deuce was taken to Tucson under heavy guard. There is some controversy about Wyatt Earp's part in this incident since the newspapers gave credit to Marshall Sippy, Virgil Earp and other lawmen with no mention of Wyatt. However, several witnesses said Wyatt was a key player displaying great courage facing the angry and unpredictable crowd. Johnny-Behind-the-Deuce escaped from jail in Tucson and was never tried for the crime. By 1881, Jim Flynn was a police officer in Tombstone under Virgil Earp and Jim Vogan had returned to Tucson. The entire area burned in the 1882 fire.