Edna Landin moved to Tombstone Arizona in 1949 after a successful career in Ohio. She adopted her new home with passion, determination, and undying energy. The Tombstone Court House, built in 1882, had been abandoned when the county seat was relocated to Bisbee Arizona in 1929. This, coupled with the effects of the Great Depression, had placed Tombstone on a path towards ghost town status. Edna was determined that that was not going to happen. At least not on her watch.

 

Edna was a passionate advocate for Tombstone and worked tirelessly for over 15 years to promote and preserve Tombstone’s history and historic buildings. She served as president of the Tombstone Chamber of Commerce, president of the Tombstone Restoration Commission, and member of the Tombstone City Hall. To fulfill her goals, she effectively lobbied state and national legislatures, conducted fund-raising campaigns, wrote numerous newspaper and magazine articles, and spoke throughout Arizona. She developed strong relationships with state and federal politicians.

 

Edna single-handedly conducted a successful fund-raising campaign to restore the Tombstone Courthouse.  Without professional assistance, from 1955 to l957 she wrote more than 12,000 letters and raised $435,000 from donors in 34 states and in England and Sweden. She was very creative: she created and sold $500 memberships for a Wyatt Earp Club and memorial windows in the Tombstone Courthouse. She created a paid lifetime membership for the Tombstone Restoration Commission, selling a square foot of Tombstone real estate with a title deed, and she installed public Tombstone Marshals.

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Edna was a world-wide traveler so she solicited Tombstone Marshals wherever she went,  including from President Eisenhower, Winston Churchill, and Carl Hayden to name a few.  Eventually Landin proposed that the Courthouse and grounds become a state park placed under the newly formed Arizona State Parks Board in recognition of the site’s state and national significance. One year later, the agreement was finalized.

 

Edna’s final project was to establish an annual outdoor musical pageant to celebrate Arizona's and Tombstone’s history. Shortly after beginning this project, she died of leukemia.  A month before her death, Tombstone citizens celebrated Edna Landin Day.  Barry Goldwater was the keynote speaker and Landin City Park was officially dedicated.

 

Edna  famously said “If you restore Tombstone, you will be a town to go to. If you let Tombstone go modern, you will be a town to go through.” She said, “There is not a town in America that symbolizes the west more than our town of Tombstone.  It is part of our great American heritage and we owe it to posterity to retain its character and landmarks . . . .  Thanks to Edna Landin, Tombstone was proud to become the “Town Too Tough to Die.”