The Georgia town 40 miles south of Atlanta was the birthplace of the famous gunfighter and friend to Wyatt Earp.
Most people know Doc Holliday for his role as a friend to lawman Wyatt Earp and his participation in the gunfight at the O.K. Corral in Tombstone, Arizona. He’s been portrayed in books, movies (my favorite is Val Kilmer in "Tombstone") and TV series. Legend has it he killed several men.
But it all began in Georgia.
Doc Holliday was born in 1851 in Griffin, Ga., as John Henry Holliday. He received a degree in dentistry from the Pennsylvania College of Dental Surgery and started a practice in his hometown after graduating at the young age of 20. It wasn’t long after that he came down with tuberculosis and set out for the American Southwest where a climate was thought to help or heal the disease.
Holliday met Earp in a Texas saloon where they became friends. He followed Earp to Dodge City and later, Prescott and Tombstone, Arizona. The outlaw Cochise County Cowboys threatened him, so Earp made Holliday a deputy. On Oct. 26, 1881, Earp and Holliday met the Cowboys near the O.K. Corral for the famous shootout that left Earp's young brother Morgan dead. Earp and Holliday rode out in the now famous "Vendetta Ride" to hunt down the murderers.
Because of Holliday’s Georgia origins, the town of Griffin holds a Doc Holliday Festival and BBQ Championship annually the weekend following Labor Day, this year on Sept. 7, 2024 at Griffin City Park. The free family-friendly festival includes local vendors, entertainment and the barbecue championship, a Georgia Barbecue Association event. Chefs compete for a portion of the $13,000 total payout by preparing their best pork loin, pulled pork or pork rib. Ancillary contests for brisket, steak, wings and desserts will also be held.
One of the highlights of the festival is the re-enactment of the famous shootout at Tombstone, Ariz.'s O.K. Corral. Self-guided tours of the places Doc Holliday knew as a young man, when Griffin was a prosperous cotton town, are available for visitors, as well. Sites include the family homesite, church and grave sites.
The Doc Holliday Festival and BBQ Championship will be from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 7, 2024, and guests are encouraged to bring their own chairs.
If you go
Griffin-Spalding has a variety of lodging options, including a historic loft, bed and breakfasts and traditional hotel brands. The area also features many VRBO and Airbnb options including some private estates with properties for rent. The Historic Brookfield Estate, an 1875 Italianate-Federal style home, with its well-appointed rooms, vacation cottages and its intact outbuildings and gardens, is the perfect place to recharge and re-connect. For even more romantic seclusion, choose Sanctuaire Atelier, a boutique cottage nestled in the woods, complete with kitchen, a cozy living space, fireplace, a patio with a firepit. The Bell House was built in 1874 and is now restored as an event venue and bed and breakfast in downtown Griffin. The Shepherd's Lodge at Addis Acres is a restored four-bedroom, three-bath home with deck and firepit set on 60 acres of countryside. Hiking trails, a fishing and kayaking pond, a horse barn and paddock are all part of the woodsy vibe.
Need recommendations on Griffin barbecue restaurants? Here are five to choose from.
This blog post was written with the assistance of Laurie Rowe Communications and Griffin Spalding Business & Tourism Association.
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