Later Life and Death
After receiving his injuries in Tombstone, Virgil spent the next two years recovering from his injuries, primarily at his parent's home in Colton, California. He sought treatment for his wounds in San Francisco and was interviewed on the Southern Pacific train by a reporter whose story was printed in the San Francisco Examiner on May 27, 1882. The reporter described Virgil's appearance:
| “ | His face, voice and manner were prepossessing. He is close to six feet in height, of medium build, chestnut hair, sandy mustache, light eyebrows, quiet, blue eyes and frank expression. He wore a wide-brimmed, slate-colored slouch hat, pants of a brown and white stripe, and a blue diagonal coat and vest, both the latter with bullet holes in them, bearing testimony of a recent fight when he was shot in the back, the bullet coming out of the front of his vest. His left arm was carried in a sling, also a memento of his last fight, when he received a bullet in his arm, since causing the loss of about six inches of bone which crippled him for life. The wounded arm is the cause of his visit to this city, where he seeks surgical aid in hope of so far recovering its use that he may be able to dress himself unaided. | ” |
Despite the use of only one arm, Virgil was hired by the Southern Pacific Railroad to guard its tracks in Colton's famous "battle of the crossing". Virgil joined in the frog war as the Southern Pacific attempted to stop the California Southern Railroad, a subsidiary of the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway, from installing a crossing over the Southern Pacific tracks in Colton to gain access to California. Governor Waterman deputized a posse from San Bernardino, California and came down in person to enforce construction of the crossing, ending the Southern Pacific's railroad monopoly in Southern California.
In 1884 Virgil's father, Nicholas Porter Earp was elected justice of the peace. Two years later, Virgil Earp opened a private detective agency, which by all accounts was abandoned in 1886, when he was elected village constable in July.
When Colton was incorporated as a city, Virgil was elected as Colton's first City Marshal on July 11, 1887. He was paid $75 a month and was re-elected to another term in 1888. Among other duties, he was reported to have cleared blocked sewers and kept track of the electric light bulbs. Virgil and Allie's Colton home still stands at 528 West "H" Street.
In 1888 Virgil resigned as city marshal and he and Allie left Colton for San Bernardino. Five years later, in 1893, he and his wife moved to the short-lived mining town Vanderbilt, California. According to his wife, he owned and operated the only two story building in town, Earp Hall, a saloon and meeting hall used for public gatherings and even the town's church services. His business success in Vanderbilt did not match his success in politics, and he lost the election for town constable in 1894.
In 1895, Virgil and Allie traveled to Colorado where they met Virgil's brother Wyatt. They stayed briefly and soon moved back to Prescott in Yavapai County, Arizona where Virgil became involved in mining. They moved south after that and began ranching in the Kirkland Valley. Virgil was nominated as a candidate for Yavapai County, Arizona Sheriff in 1900, but pulled out of the election for health reasons.
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