Constructed in 1841, the Wyatt Earp Birthplace is a historic landmark in the Monmouth community. Wyatt Earp was a well-known outlaw and lawman, becoming known for the gunfight at the O.K Corral in Arizona, and was born in Monmouth, Illinois March 19, 1848.
Going through different hands of ownership, the Wyatt Earp Birthplace was opened as a museum in Monmouth, drawing in thousands from across the country and around the world to come visit and dive deeper into Earp’s life. Previously operated by a national Board of Trustees, the Wyatt Earp Birthplace was in desperate need of repairs, sparking the interest of local entrepreneur Jason Robbins.
“I was driving by this property, noticed it was in poor condition, even looked like it might need to be torn down. I reached out to who owned it. She was trilled that somebody else was interested in fixing up the Wyatt Earp Birthplace.”
In early 2022, Robbins reached out to the current owners Bob and Melba Matson, expressing his interest in bringing the Wyatt Earp Birthplace back to life. Fast forward to now, Robbins is the owner of the property.
“Our plans are to fix this house up and to turn it into a short term rental, where you can actually stay in Wyatt Earp’s Birthplace for a weekend or for a week and you can come and explore the area.”
As Robbins has set a deadline for himself to have the property available to book on Airbnb and VRBO July 1, 2024, he is deep into renovations.
“The actual back of the house, the roof had caved in. We ripped off three layers of shingles and found that the original shingle that was installed was still on the second story; hand-split wood shingles is what we put on the Wyatt Earp Birthplace.”
Moving to the inside of the house, Robbins has plans to restore Earp’s Birthplace to its’ original condition.
“Everything that we can save, we are going to save, even the plaster. All the wood trim, all the original windows, all the wood floors, all of that we are saving. We are going to restore it to the best of its’ ability.”
Robbins adds, “Our desire is to make this very memorable for anybody that comes and stays here. We really want to keep the integrity of the house the way it is.”
“Our goal is that you would walk into this home and feel like you are back into the 1800s, but with items that work well for us today.”
Looking years into the future, Robbins envisions including a replica of an 1800s Tombstone town, where people would be able to rent each one of those units as a short-term rental, with the idea that Wyatt Earp’s Birthplace will be a museum down the road, when there are other rentals next to it.
“When I was a kid, they used to have these reenactments right here in this empty lot next to it and it was pretty cool. A lot of kids would come out and check it out and get excited about it. They would talk about Wyatt Earp. Some day we may do something similar to that.”
Follow along and join the journey of restoring the Wyatt Earp Birthplace.
“We have the ability to put Monmouth, Illinois on the map,” exclaims Robbins.
