Restoration Projects
Active work and completed landmarks
Active work and completed landmarks
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Current restoration work underway in Tombstone as of 2025-2026.
The Bank Building and Mercantile is TRC's primary focus for 2025 and 2026. This landmark building has deep historical significance as the site of the original Pioneer Store and Cochise County Bank. The project involves comprehensive documentation including before-and-after photography, drone aerial imaging, LiDAR scanning, and underground exploration of the structure's foundations.
A community workshop was held on December 4, 2024, attended by Mayor Dusty Escapule, Interim City Clerk Charissa Presti, and Public Works Director Robby Nicholas. Project architect Robert Barnes presented an update to the TRC board at the April 22, 2025 meeting.
TRC is working to restore the historic Visitor Center Building at the corner of 4th and Allen Streets. The scope of work includes water drainage improvements, historic woodwork renovation in partnership with Stan Greer Millworks, exterior painting, and window re-glazing.
The project scope was reviewed and narrowed to focus on the primary Visitor Center building; an adjoining structure currently housing the Rangers museum and library store was excluded from the current phase.
New in 2026, the Preservation Partnership Program takes the TRC's work beyond public landmarks to the privately owned homes and businesses that give Tombstone its character. Through matching grants, the TRC will fund up to 50 percent of approved exterior restoration work, from Micro Preservation Grants of up to $2,500 to Major Preservation Partnerships of up to $20,000.
On Saturday and Sunday, November 7 and 8, 2026, the Tombstone Restoration Commission invites the public to help build a new adobe wall on historic Allen Street, by hand, using traditional techniques. We're calling it Hands on History. Participants will work in crews alongside TRC members and project leaders, learning how to mix, lay, and finish adobe as the wall goes up course by course.
The wall grew out of the board's work on the Visitor Center. Designed by project architect Robert Barnes, it will screen the neighboring parking lot from Allen Street with a period appearance befitting the historic district, finished in an adobe emulsion chosen to complement a pair of weathered wood gates. A contractor will pour the concrete footings and stem walls, and the City of Tombstone's Public Works Department is providing the emulsion for the adobe mortar. The adobe itself will be laid by roughly 40 volunteers, which is where you come in.
Beyond the wall itself, the project is designed to introduce participants to the work of the Tombstone Restoration Commission while giving them practical skills they can put to use on their own homes and properties. Participants can also leave a personal mark on the town: for an optional $20 donation, you can write a brief message to be sealed inside your own miniature time capsule and set within the adobe wall for future generations to find. Our thanks to Aztec Mining Co. for underwriting the commemorative Hands on History T-shirts.
Registration is $150 and covers instruction, workshop materials, and lunch. The form also offers an optional T-shirt, time capsule, TRC membership, and additional donation.
Questions? Contact us at TombstoneRestorationCommission@gmail.com or (520) 335-4255.
Landmarks restored and preserved by the TRC since 1949.
TRC partnered with and provided financial support for repairs to the bell tower of St. Paul's Episcopal Church, established in 1883 and recognized as Arizona's oldest Protestant church. Deterioration had silenced the bell for three years.
On January 4, 2026, the restored bell rang for the first time in three years — a milestone that resonated throughout Tombstone's historic district.
TRC's most significant achievement. The historic courthouse, built in 1882, had stood vacant since 1929 when TRC began the restoration effort in 1955. After four years of work, the courthouse reopened as a museum in 1959.
Today it operates as the Tombstone Courthouse State Historic Park, housing original legal documents and thousands of artifacts from Tombstone's territorial era. It is one of Arizona's most visited historic sites and a direct result of TRC's founding vision.
TRC oversaw the restoration of Schieffelin Hall, one of Tombstone's most iconic 19th-century performance venues. The project was funded in part by a $500,000 grant from the Walter Ferguson Foundation, facilitated by Linda Krater.
Every project depends on community support. If you believe in preserving Tombstone's history, consider attending a meeting, volunteering your time, or reaching out to learn how you can help.
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