Birds & Barrels now stands on the original foundations of the Headquarters Saloon, faithfully reconstructed to its original design. The front and side doors remain in their historical positions. Inside, the new bar occupies the exact location of its previous iteration. Standing in the same space as Johnny Boyett, one can visualize the distance between Boyett and Earp, as Earp re-enters the bar through the side door, depicted on the left of the image.
Warren Baxter Earp: A Fatal Encounter.
In the early morning hours of Friday, July 6, 1900, a tragic shooting occurred at the Headquarters Saloon in Willcox, Arizona, marking the culmination of a long-standing feud between Warren Baxter Earp, the youngest of the Earp brothers, and Johnny Nathan Boyett. Though Warren Earp may not have enjoyed the same level of recognition as his older brothers—Wyatt, Virgil, and Morgan—whose names were synonymous with the notorious Gunfight at the O.K. Corral, the events that unfolded at the Headquarters Saloon held significant historical weight. At the time of the shooting, the Headquarters Saloon had recently changed ownership to Henry Brown and was named Brown's Saloon, but it continued to be commonly referred to as the Headquarters Saloon.
The animosity between Earp and Boyett had simmered for years. Both men were intoxicated when Earp accused Boyett of being hired by unidentified parties in town to kill him for a sum of $150.00. Boyett denied the claim, stating he was unarmed and expressing a desire to avoid conflict, though he made it clear he wouldn't back down if challenged. The situation escalated when Earp dared Boyett to retrieve a gun, asserting his readiness for confrontation.
Boyett retired to an adjoining saloon, the Willcox House, and retrieved two Colt .45s from behind the bar. When questioned by the saloon's proprietor, Boyett cryptically explained that he might need the guns and promised to return them. Boyett then reentered the Headquarters Saloon through the front door, inquiring about Earp's whereabouts. Earp returned to the bar, entering through the poker room door. Boyett fired two shots at Earp but missed. Earp quickly retreated through the same door, circled around the building, and re-entered the saloon through a side door that opened onto the street. As Earp approached Boyett, he threw open his coat and said, "Boyett, I am unarmed; you have the best of this," advancing as he spoke. Boyett repeatedly warned Earp not to advance, but Earp continued to do so. Finally, Boyett fired a single shot, and Warren Earp fell dead. Boyett was promptly arrested. Apart from a partially opened pocket knife in Earp's hand, he was unarmed.
John Boyett faced a preliminary hearing before Judge W.F. Nichols on Saturday. Surprisingly, the District Attorney was absent, and Boyett was represented by O. Gibson. After reviewing the prosecution's evidence, Judge Nichols made a significant decision—John Boyett was discharged. The judge believed that this case was unlikely to result in an indictment from a grand jury, and even if it did, a trial jury might not find sufficient evidence for a conviction. Warren Baxter Earp was buried in the town cemetery.
The historical marker on the exterior wall of the Birds & Barrels lists the incident.
The interior of the Birds & Barrels (formerly the Headquarters Saloon) in 2024. On July 6, 1900, Johnny Boyett stood to the right of the image, near the water jar, while the back wall, now adorned with a decorative feather design, once housed a door leading to a poker room. It was from the poker room that Earp re-entered the bar, prompting Boyett to fire two shots across the room, hitting the wall and door frame. According to witness testimony, Earp exited through a back door in the poker room, circled the saloon, and re-entered through the side door on the left of the image. Approaching Boyett from this direction, Earp met his tragic fate when Boyett shot and killed him, leaving him dead roughly where the table stands today.
A view of the interior of the Bird and Barrels from the side door indicates the precise location where Baxter Earp would have re-entered the bar. The camera angle shows Earp's viewpoint towards Boyett, who is standing at the far end of the bar near the water jar in the image. Earp then proceeded to walk towards Boyett, gradually closing the distance between them.
The location of Warren Baxter Earp’s grave is unknown, lost to history. This gaudy memorial serves as nothing more than a tourist spectacle and an advertisement for a book. The inscription reads: “Michael Hickey’s ‘A Closer Look’ Talei Publishers Inc., remembering a man of the West." The description then goes on to list several names, presumably those who had made a contribution to the research material.
The Earp Legacy:
In 1910, during Arizona Territory's efforts to become the 48th state, the Earps were considered a problem. They represented the issues that plagued the territory, earning them the nickname "the fighting Earps." Though they had some friends in the region, they were seen as examples of the problems in southeastern Arizona rather than the benefits. Warren Baxter Earp, known for his reputation as a “merciless bully,” was laid to rest in an unmarked grave on Sunday, July 8, 1900, just two days after he was shot and killed. Cochise County covered the expense of the burial, and little more was said. The exact location of his grave has been lost to history.
After the death of Wyatt Earp on January 13, 1929, several books started to emerge, such as "Wyatt Earp, Frontier Marshal" by Stuart N. Lake and "Tombstone" by Walter Noble Burns. These books, however, embellish the fantasy of the frontier and the Earp family, rather than portraying the reality.
In 1993 and 1994, Hollywood released two movies based on these books that captivated popular culture: "Tombstone," directed by George P. Cosmatos and starring Kurt Russell and Val Kilmer, and "Wyatt Earp," directed by Lawrence Kasdan and starring Kevin Costner and Dennis Quaid. The books, which served as the basis for these movies, portrayed the Earps as diligent lawmen, and their entire family was seen as a valiant frontier family forging its way through the criminality of the West.
Around 2000, a grave marker for Warren Earp suddenly appeared at the back of the cemetery. It's undeniably modern, with a somewhat gaudy, artful design made of steel. Notably, it stands out as disproportionately large compared to the other markers in the cemetery. However, if there's anything about this marker that can symbolize the "Earp mania" of the times, it's this: the marker serves as an advertisement for a book.
Willcox Pioneer Cemetery remains a notable historical site; however, this garish modern addition serves as nothing more than an epitaph.
References:
Arizona Range News (Ed.). (1900, July 11). Warren Earp Killed in Willcox. Southern Arizona Guide. Retrieved October 6, 2023, from https://southernarizonaguide.com/warren-earp-killed-willcox/
Wikipedia. (2023, September 21). Warren Warp. Retrieved October 6, 2023, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Warren_Earp
Arizona Genealogy Trails. (2016, September 18). Reckoning Time Came. Retrieved October 6, 2023, from https://web.archive.org/web/20160918235121/http://genealogytrails.com/ariz/cochise/news-murders.htm