Few people have heard of Edna Landin, but her presence in Tombstone made a significant difference to the popularity of the town today, even though she did not arrive in Arizona until she was over 50 years old.
Born April 27, 1897, in Cincinnati, Ohio, Edna graduated from the University of Cincinnati with a degree in finance and business administration. She made her mark as the first female credit manager in the wholesale clothing business. She also met her future husband, Thure “Ted” Landin, through her work, and the couple married in 1939.
In 1947, after successful careers in Ohio, Edna and Ted retired to the small community of Warren, Arizona, now a suburb of Bisbee. Two years later, they relocated to Tombstone.
“We were after sunshine,” Edna said, “fresh clear air, distant views and a community small enough so that we might become identified as part of it. The minute we saw Tombstone, we knew how Brigham Young felt when he said, ‘this is the place.’”
Unfortunately, Ted died 2 years after they settled in Tombstone.
With an avid interest in her adopted town, Edna involved herself in community activities. She served on the Tombstone Chamber of Commerce and was selected president of the chamber twice (1952-1955 and 1966-1967). In 1959, she became the first woman elected to the Tombstone City Council, serving for 2 years.
During this time, Edna also became involved with the Tombstone Restoration Commission and was elected president of the commission from 1955 to 1960.
The Tombstone Restoration Commission was organized in 1949 to preserve the town’s buildings, many of which were built prior to 1900. One of the stateliest structures was the old two-story, red-brick courthouse that had been built in 1882 when Tombstone was the seat of government for Cochise County. At one time this Victorian style building housed not only the jail and courtroom but also the town’s sheriff, recorder, treasurer, and board of supervisors.
In 1929 when the county seat was relocated to Bisbee, the courthouse was abandoned and fell into disrepair. Edna began a campaign to raise the capital necessary to save “a shrine to our pioneers who helped in building the West.”
Edna was not content to keep her project on a local level. She started the fundraiser by writing over 12,000 solicitation letters to leaders across the country. She wrote editorials and articles for newspapers, gave speeches, and requested donations from national foundations. She asked Arizona’s leading citizens, including Senators Carl Hayden and Barry Goldwater, to throw their influence toward the project.
In two years, Edna raised $35,000 from 34 states and the Territory of Alaska, as well as donations from England and Sweden, enough money to begin restoration of the first floor of the courthouse, which was finalized in 1959 and included a museum and library.
To assist with the second-floor restoration, she initiated an auction that attracted donations from such notables as movie mogul Cecil B. DeMille and comedian Bob Hope, along with several state governors.
Edna was aware that the Arizona Legislature had recently passed a bill creating a state park system. She encouraged the donation of the Tombstone Courthouse to the newly formed park organization. The Restoration Commission agreed and on Aug. 1, 1959, the Tombstone Courthouse fell under the auspices of the Arizona State Parks Board, becoming the state’s first operational state park.
Along with some of history's more notorious gunslingers, like some of the Clanton gang, are those whose survivors could spin a tale on the headstone.
Urged to run for mayor, Edna refused and threw herself into restoring not just the Tombstone Courthouse but the entire town. Her efforts paid off when the U.S. Department of Interior identified Tombstone as a National Historic District in 1962.
“No city in the world causes more raising of eyebrows when mentioned than Tombstone,” said Edna. “Many people doubt that such a town actually exists.”
To attract more visitors, Edna donated 20 acres of land to build the Cochise Historical Amphitheater that would bring theatrical shows, concerts and historic dramas to the old town.
“Today visitors come to Tombstone because of its wicked past,” she said. “And what do they see? — the Palace Saloon where badmen drank, fought and died; a cemetery where badmen are buried. True there are landmarks and museums, but they have all to do with the past when Tombstone was wild and wicked. But Tombstone has another side. It has played its part in the development of Arizona. It was a great mining town. It has been a rich ranching center and with Fort Huachuca so close it is within the orbit of national interest. It has tremendous and exciting pioneer stories to tell as well as Apache wars. It has felt the influence of our neighbor to the south. There are tales of international intrigue and romance. So where could one find a better region or setting to tell the fabulous pageant-like story of our state?”
Edna set out once again to raise money for the project, but the funds did not materialize as expected, and the amphitheater project had to be abandoned.
Back in 1959, Edna, now boasting the title of “Mrs. Tombstone,” was named Woman of the Year by the Tombstone Business and Professional Women’s Club. The following year she decided to run for a seat in the Arizona House of Representatives. She was defeated but by 1965, she was again serving as president of the Tombstone Chamber of Commerce.
On Nov. 22, 1967, Tombstone celebrated Edna Landin Day, honoring the woman who spent her retirement years working to restore the town to its former glory. She was named honorary mayor and deputy marshal. Landin Park, situated on the land Edna had donated for the amphitheater, was dedicated. Her old friend, Sen. Barry Goldwater, speaking at the celebration, lauded her contributions in rebuilding the town too tough to die. “What you have done will never be forgotten,” he said.
Less than a month later, on Dec. 18, 1967, Edna died at the age of 70. In 2010, she was inducted into Tombstone’s Founder’s Day Hall of Fame, and this past April, Edna was inducted into the Arizona Women’s Hall of Fame.
