Wyatt Earp described his birthplace home in his 1920s autobiography, Wyatt Earp by Wyatt S. Earp, also known as the Flood ms. No other Monmouth, IL home with an Earp connection matches Earp’s description.
The Wyatt Earp Birthplace and Boyhood Home is also documented by:
Illinois Department of Transportation Historical Marker Signs-2007,
The National Register of Historic Places- National Park Service-1999,
Illinois Historic Preservation Agency-1999,
Illinois State Historical Society Marker, Monmouth Park-1994,
Monmouth College publication, A Geological and Historical Walking
Tour of Monmouth, IL-1988, Submission by Ralph Eckley,
Monmouth Preservationists' Certificate of Historical Significance-1986,
State of Illinois’ Inventory of Historic Landmarks in Warren County,
Interim Report- Ted Hild-1974,
Warren County Historical Society postcards-1972,
Journal of the Illinois State Historical Society-1956,
State Representative Robert McCloskey-1956,
Warren County Judge Max Kidder-1950s
All support the fact that Wyatt Earp was born at 406 S. 3rd Street, Monmouth, Illinois.
First cousins of Wyatt Earp were told that Wyatt’s birthplace home was the home of his father’s sister, Elizabeth “Betsy” Earp (Greenberry) Ezell. First cousin Alfred Earp of Monmouth, four years younger than Wyatt, also told other relatives where Wyatt was born. The cousins' affidavits of the birthplace home are at the Birthplace, along with affidavits of neighbors. An old-timer's letter told that Wyatt’s family also lived in the home before they moved west. (The Ezells had bought another property nearby in 1849, and Wyatt's family moved to Pella, IA after selling their last lots back to Warren County, 6/1850).
The Illinois Historic Preservation Agency wrote the application for the National Register, after their architectural historian visited the home and after reviewing our thirteen years of research, which included the homes of Wyatt Earp across the nation. Our research also included studies by a preservation architect, civil engineer, three Ph.D university professors, and two attorneys.
Homeowners who rent to the Museum for $1 a year:
Robert and Melba Matson, Life Estate
Jane Matson (Phillip) Lee
Theodore (Michelle) Matson
Museum Owner and Operator:
Wyatt Earp Birthplace, Inc.
A non-profit 501(c) 3 corporation, tax exempt for donations
Operated by over 300 volunteers since 1986
TAX VALUES IN MONMOUTH, IL FOR THE WYATT EARP BIRTHPLACE
WYATT’S BIRTHPLACE HOME WAS ON LOT 4 IN BLOCK 39
L0TS 6 / 3/ 2 IN BLOCK 39
5/ 4/ 1
LOT 4 LOT 5 LOT 3 LOT 1 LOT 6 LOT 2
Bplace South West North SW NW
1841 $125 $200 $ 75 $ 75 $275 $ 80
1845 200 75 50 50 150 50 Vacant Lot
YEAR OF WYATT’S BIRTH WAS 1848
1848 200 100 75 40 50 50
1849 200 100 75 40 50 100
Vacant lots were $40, one-story homes $100, and two-story homes $200
TAX VALUES FOR EXISTING HOMES IN EARLY HISTORY BOOKS
Woodworth Swinney (Birthplace Home)
Lot 5, BL 4 Lot 8, BL 28 Lot 4, BL 39
Seven rooms Five rooms? Four rooms
300 E. Archer Ave. 221 S. 4th St. 406 S. 3rd St.
1848 $350 $250 $200
1849 350 250 200
ALL PROPERTIES OF VARIOUS TAX VALUES IN MONMOUTH IN 1848
(This includes businesses)
Under $100 = 113
$100 plus = 15
$200 plus = 15
$300 plus = 4
$400 plus = 5
$500 plus = 3
155 PROPERTIES
THE SUBSTANTIAL TWO-STORY, FOUR-ROOM BIRTHPLACE HOME OWNED BY JUDGE QUINBY WAS IN EXISTENCE AT THE TIME OF WYATT’S BIRTH
Thank you,
Melba Matson, Treasurer, and Past Curator
Board of Trustees
Wyatt Earp Birthplace, Inc.