![]() “Shotgun Kittie” took control of her life from an early age and did not let gender or societal roles define her. Sometimes she was chatting with brothel customers or tourists to Death Valley Junction, while other times she was warding froggers off her land in the dark. It seemed Kittie could always be found on her porch with her shotgun. Her dog was so well trained that she never had to leave the porch to acquire dinner- she just had to shoot a bird and the dog would fetch it for her so she could pluck it on the porch before going inside to cook it. From her porch, Kittie was able to hunt and ward people off of her property. Her crack shot was well known to locals and visitors alike. ![]() Kittie was known for her shotgun around the Death Valley area, known for carrying it with her everywhere- on her porch, in her bathroom, and into bars. ![]() They divorced but both remained in Ash Meadows for the rest of their lives. The very school they built did not approve of Tubb’s immoral businesses near the school, so Robert & Kittie moved out to Ash Meadows. After her husband opened the school in Death Valley Junction, Kittie ensured the schoolteacher’s propriety by not allowing her to stay in the hotel and brothel area. Kittie was definitely not a passive partner in this business she ran the grocery store, served food in the saloon, cooked for the boarding house, and took care of the women in the brothel. Robert built a business that became a one stop shop: saloon, grocery store, hotel, and brothel. Robert filed a homestead claim just south of Death Valley Junction and the Tubbs made their money not in the mines but from the miners. They ended up in Death Valley in 1907 because of the Lila C. Robert Tubb, a 34-year-old freighter from Texas who was passing through Pennsylvania at the time, saw the advertisement and the two were married. According to “family legend,” Kathryn advertised herself as a mail order bride when she was just 16 years old. Her father fought in the Union Army during the American Civil War. Kathryn “Kittie” Lucy Marbaker was born on Novemin Pennsylvania.
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