Boot Hill
Encyclopedia
Boot Hill is the name for any number of cemeteries
, chiefly in the American West. During the 19th century it was a common name for the burial grounds of gunfighters
, or those who "died with their boots on
" (i.e., violently).
,’ the implication here being they died violently, as in gunfights or by hanging, and not of old age, illness or infirmity. The term became commonplace throughout the American frontier, with some Boot Hills becoming famous as Dodge City (Kansas), Tombstone (Arizona), and Deadwood (South Dakota).
The most notable use of the name Boot Hill is at the Boothill Graveyard (or Cemetery) in Tombstone, Arizona
. 31°43′11.6"N 110°04′13.6"W
Formerly called The Tombstone Cemetery, the plot features the graves of Billy Clanton, Frank McLaury and Tom McLaury; the three men were killed during the famed Gunfight at the O.K. Corral
.
Located on the northwest corner of the town, the graveyard is believed to hold over 300 persons, 205 of which are recorded. This was due to some people (especially Chinese and Jewish immigrants) being buried without record. There is a separate Jewish cemetery nearby with some markers restored, and there are also marked graves of Chinese. However, most of the loss was due to neglect of grave markers and theft of these wooden relics as souvenirs. For example, when former Tombstone Mayor John Clum
visited Tombstone for the first Helldorado
celebration in 1929, he was unable to locate the grave of his wife Mary, who had been buried in Boothill.
The Tombstone "boothill" cemetery was closed in late 1884, as the new "City Cemetery" on Allen Street opened. Thereafter, Boothill was referred to as the "old city cemetery" and neglected. It was used after that only to bury a few later outlaws (some legally hanged and one shot in a robbery), as well as a few colorful Western characters and one man (Emmett Crook Nunnally) who had spent many volunteer hours restoring it.
Currently the Tombstone "Boothill Graveyard" is open to the public without fee, and is a popular stop for tourists visiting Tombstone.
Boothill Graveyard is referenced in many films such as Tombstone
(1993), Wyatt Earp
(1994), and Gunfight at the O.K. Corral
(1957), during which it was repeatedly sung over the recurring title theme song by Frankie Laine
. In the later half of the movie Laine changes the theme to:
Cemetery
A cemetery is a place in which dead bodies and cremated remains are buried. The term "cemetery" implies that the land is specifically designated as a burying ground. Cemeteries in the Western world are where the final ceremonies of death are observed...
, chiefly in the American West. During the 19th century it was a common name for the burial grounds of gunfighters
Gunslinger
Gunfighter, also gunslinger , is a 20th century word, used in cinema or literature, referring to men in the American Old West who had gained a reputation as being dangerous with a gun...
, or those who "died with their boots on
Die With Your Boots On
To "Die with your boots on" is an idiom referring to dying while fighting or to die while actively occupied/employed/working or in the middle of some action...
" (i.e., violently).
Origin of Term
Although many towns use the name "Boot Hill", the first graveyard named "Boot Hill" was at Dodge City, Kansas. "Boot Hill was named from the number of men who were usually buried there with their boots on." The term alludes to the fact that most of its occupants were cowboys who ‘died with their boots onDie With Your Boots On
To "Die with your boots on" is an idiom referring to dying while fighting or to die while actively occupied/employed/working or in the middle of some action...
,’ the implication here being they died violently, as in gunfights or by hanging, and not of old age, illness or infirmity. The term became commonplace throughout the American frontier, with some Boot Hills becoming famous as Dodge City (Kansas), Tombstone (Arizona), and Deadwood (South Dakota).
Boothill Museum
The Boothill Museum is located on the original location of the Boothill Cemetery in Dodge City, Kansas..Boothill Graveyard
Tombstone, Arizona
Tombstone is a city in Cochise County, Arizona, United States, founded in 1879 by Ed Schieffelin in what was then Pima County, Arizona Territory. It was one of the last wide-open frontier boomtowns in the American Old West. From about 1877 to 1890, the town's mines produced USD $40 to $85 million...
. 31°43′11.6"N 110°04′13.6"W
Formerly called The Tombstone Cemetery, the plot features the graves of Billy Clanton, Frank McLaury and Tom McLaury; the three men were killed during the famed Gunfight at the O.K. Corral
Gunfight at the O.K. Corral
The Gunfight at the O.K. Corral was a roughly 30-second gunfight that took place at about 3:00 p.m. on Wednesday, October 26, 1881, in Tombstone, Cochise County, Arizona Territory, of the United States. Outlaw Cowboys Ike Clanton and Billy Claiborne ran from the fight, unharmed, but Ike's brother...
.
Located on the northwest corner of the town, the graveyard is believed to hold over 300 persons, 205 of which are recorded. This was due to some people (especially Chinese and Jewish immigrants) being buried without record. There is a separate Jewish cemetery nearby with some markers restored, and there are also marked graves of Chinese. However, most of the loss was due to neglect of grave markers and theft of these wooden relics as souvenirs. For example, when former Tombstone Mayor John Clum
John Clum
John Philip Clum was an Indian agent for the San Carlos Apache Indian Reservation in the Arizona Territory. He implemented a limited form of self-government on the reservation that was so successful that other reservations were closed and their residents moved to San Carlos. Clum later became the...
visited Tombstone for the first Helldorado
Helldorado Days (Tombstone)
Helldorado Days is a cowboy themed festival that began in Tombstone in 1929 and is held every year in October, loosely coinciding with the date of the Gunfight at the O.K. Corral. In 2008, 30 different entertainment groups participated, from belly dancers, gunfighters, line dancers, cowboy...
celebration in 1929, he was unable to locate the grave of his wife Mary, who had been buried in Boothill.
The Tombstone "boothill" cemetery was closed in late 1884, as the new "City Cemetery" on Allen Street opened. Thereafter, Boothill was referred to as the "old city cemetery" and neglected. It was used after that only to bury a few later outlaws (some legally hanged and one shot in a robbery), as well as a few colorful Western characters and one man (Emmett Crook Nunnally) who had spent many volunteer hours restoring it.
Currently the Tombstone "Boothill Graveyard" is open to the public without fee, and is a popular stop for tourists visiting Tombstone.
In popular culture
Boot Hill is the name of the cemetery in the Gunsmoke radio series. In many episodes, the Marshall would allude to "putting you in Boot Hill", or "another man headed to Boot Hill".Boothill Graveyard is referenced in many films such as Tombstone
Tombstone (film)
Tombstone is a 1993 American action film set in the Old West directed by George P. Cosmatos, along with uncredited directorial efforts by actor Kurt Russell and writer Kevin Jarre. The storyline was conceived from a screenplay written by Jarre....
(1993), Wyatt Earp
Wyatt Earp (film)
Wyatt Earp is a 1994 American semi-biographical Western film, written by Dan Gordon and Lawrence Kasdan and directed by Kasdan. It stars Kevin Costner in the title role as lawman Wyatt Earp, and features an ensemble cast that includes Dennis Quaid, Gene Hackman, Isabella Rossellini, Mark Harmon,...
(1994), and Gunfight at the O.K. Corral
Gunfight at the O.K. Corral (1957 film)
The film was based on a real event which took place on October 26, 1881. It was directed by John Sturges and featuring a screenplay written by novelist Leon Uris, and the movie's supporting cast included Rhonda Fleming, John Ireland, Jo Van Fleet, Martin Milner, Dennis Hopper, Jack Elam, Lee Van...
(1957), during which it was repeatedly sung over the recurring title theme song by Frankie Laine
Frankie Laine
Frankie Laine, born Francesco Paolo LoVecchio , was a successful American singer, songwriter, and actor whose career spanned 75 years, from his first concerts in 1930 with a marathon dance company to his final performance of "That's My Desire" in 2005...
. In the later half of the movie Laine changes the theme to:
Other Boot Hill cemeteries
- Boot Hill cemeteries can be found in a number of towns, including:
- Anamosa, IowaAnamosa, IowaAs of the census of 2000, there were 5,494 people, 1,750 households, and 1,135 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,453.4 people per square mile . There were 1,884 housing units at an average density of 841.3 per square mile...
- Billings, MontanaBillings, MontanaBillings is the largest city in the U.S. state of Montana, and is the principal city of the Billings Metropolitan Area, the largest metropolitan area in over...
- Bonanza, Custer County, IdahoCuster County, IdahoCuster County is a rural mountain county located in the center of the U.S. state of Idaho. Established in 1881, it was named for the General Custer Mine, where gold was discovered five years earlier . The population was 4,342 at the 2000 census; it is estimated to have fallen to 4,166 by 2007...
- Bodie, CaliforniaBodie, CaliforniaBodie is a ghost town in the Bodie Hills east of the Sierra Nevada mountain range in Mono County, California, United States, about 75 miles southeast of Lake Tahoe. It is located east-southeast of Bridgeport, at an elevation of 8379 feet . As Bodie Historic District, the U.S. Department of the...
- Calico, CaliforniaCalico, CaliforniaCalico is a ghost town and former mining town in San Bernardino County, California, United States. Located in the Calico Mountains of the Mojave Desert region of Southern California, it was founded in 1881 as a silver mining town, and today has been converted into a county park. Located off...
- Canyon City, OregonCanyon City, OregonCanyon City is a city in Grant County, Oregon, United States. It is the county seat of Grant County, and is about a mile south of John Day on U.S. Highway 395. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 703.-History:...
- Columbia, CaliforniaColumbia, CaliforniaColumbia is a former California Gold Rush boomtown located in the Sierra Nevada foothills. The central portion of the town is preserved as a California state historic park and a National Historic Landmark that preserves the original, gold-rush-town flavor of the town, once dubbed the "Gem of the...
- Cripple Creek, ColoradoCripple Creek, ColoradoThe City of Cripple Creek is a Statutory City that is the county seat of Teller County, Colorado, United States. Cripple Creek is a former gold mining camp located southwest of Colorado Springs near the base of Pikes Peak. The Cripple Creek Historic District, which received National Historic...
- Deadwood, South DakotaDeadwood, South DakotaDeadwood is a city in South Dakota, United States, and the county seat of Lawrence County. It is named for the dead trees found in its gulch. The population was 1,270 according to a 2010 census...
- Dodge City, KansasDodge City, KansasDodge City is a city in, and the county seat of, Ford County, Kansas, United States. Named after nearby Fort Dodge, the city is famous in American culture for its history as a wild frontier town of the Old West. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 27,340.-History:The first settlement of...
- El Paso, TexasEl Paso, TexasEl Paso, is a city in and the county seat of El Paso County, Texas, United States, and lies in far West Texas. In the 2010 census, the city had a population of 649,121. It is the sixth largest city in Texas and the 19th largest city in the United States...
- Guthrie, OklahomaGuthrie, OklahomaGuthrie is a city in and the county seat of Logan County, Oklahoma, United States, and a part of the Oklahoma City Metroplex. The population was 9,925 at the 2000 census.Guthrie was the territorial and later the first state capital for Oklahoma...
- Hays, KansasHays, KansasHays is a city in and the county seat of Ellis County, Kansas, United States. The largest city in northwestern Kansas, it is the economic and cultural center of the region. It is also a college town, home to Fort Hays State University...
- Idaho City, IdahoIdaho City, IdahoIdaho City is a city in and the county seat of Boise County, Idaho, United States, located about northeast of Boise. The population was 458 at the 2000 census.Idaho City is part of the Boise City–Nampa, Idaho Metropolitan Statistical Area.-History:...
- Leadville, ColoradoLeadville, ColoradoLeadville is a Statutory City that is the county seat of, and the only municipality in, Lake County, Colorado, United States. Situated at an elevation of , Leadville is the highest incorporated city and the second highest incorporated municipality in the United States...
- Livermore, CaliforniaLivermore, CaliforniaLivermore is a city in Alameda County. The population as of 2010 was 80,968. Livermore is located on the eastern edge of California's San Francisco Bay Area....
- New Westminster, British ColumbiaNew Westminster, British ColumbiaNew Westminster is an historically important city in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia, Canada, and is a member municipality of the Greater Vancouver Regional District. It was founded as the capital of the Colony of British Columbia ....
- Ogallala, NebraskaOgallala, NebraskaOgallala is a city in Keith County, Nebraska, United States. The population was 4,737 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Keith County. In the days of the Nebraska Territory, the city was a stop on the Pony Express and later along the transcontinental railroad...
- Pioche, NevadaPioche, Nevada-External links:*...
- Riley Camp, Quay County, New MexicoQuay County, New Mexico-2010:Whereas according to the 2010 U.S. Census Bureau:*86.1% White*1.1% Black*1.2% Native American*1.0% Asian*0.0% Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander*3.4% Two or more races*7.2% Other races*42.4% Hispanic or Latino -2000:...
- Seney Township, MichiganSeney Township, MichiganSeney Township is a civil township of Schoolcraft County in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2000 census, the township population was 180.-Geography:...
- Tascosa, Oldham County, Texas
- Tilden, TexasTilden, TexasTilden is an unincorporated community in and the county seat of McMullen County, Texas, United States.Tilden lies at the intersection of State Highways 16 and 72 in the north central part of the county. It is located roughly an hour south of San Antonio....
- Virginia City, MontanaVirginia City, MontanaVirginia City is a town in and the county seat of Madison County, Montana, United States. In 1961, the town and the surrounding area was designated a National Historic Landmark District, the Virginia City Historic District...
- Virginia City, NevadaVirginia City, NevadaVirginia City is a census-designated place that is the county seat of Storey County, Nevada. It is part of the Reno–Sparks Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 855 at the 2010 Census.- History :...
- Anamosa, Iowa
- Boot Hill was also the name given by the prisoners to the cemetery at the Japanese-run Batu Lintang POW and civilian internment campBatu Lintang campBatu Lintang camp at Kuching, Sarawak on the island of Borneo was a Japanese internment camp during the Second World War. It was unusual in that it housed both Allied prisoners of war and civilian internees...
in KuchingKuchingKuching , officially the City of Kuching, and formerly the City of Sarawak, is the capital and most populous city of the East Malaysian state of Sarawak. It is the largest city on the island of Borneo, and the fourth largest city in Malaysia....
, SarawakSarawakSarawak is one of two Malaysian states on the island of Borneo. Known as Bumi Kenyalang , Sarawak is situated on the north-west of the island. It is the largest state in Malaysia followed by Sabah, the second largest state located to the North- East.The administrative capital is Kuching, which...
, BorneoBorneoBorneo is the third largest island in the world and is located north of Java Island, Indonesia, at the geographic centre of Maritime Southeast Asia....
during World War IIWorld War IIWorld War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. - Boot Hill is the name given to the cemetery at the end of Phantom ManorPhantom ManorPhantom Manor is an attraction located in Frontierland at Disneyland Park in Disneyland Paris. Sharing a similar theme with the Haunted Mansion attractions at Disneyland, Magic Kingdom and Tokyo Disneyland, it opened with Euro Disneyland on April 12, 1992...
at Disneyland Resort ParisDisneyland Resort ParisDisneyland Paris is a holiday and recreation resort in Marne-la-Vallée, a new town in the eastern suburbs of Paris, France. The complex is located from the centre of Paris and lies for the most part within the commune of Chessy, Seine-et-Marne....
where you can see comic gravestones and graves of the Ravenwoods, the former inhabitants of the Manor. At the far end, there are some geysers which erupt quite frequently.
See also
- Cowboy action shootingCowboy action shootingCowboy Action Shooting , also known as Western Action Shooting or Single Action Shooting, is a competitive shooting sport that originated in California, USA, in the early 1980s...
- FrontierFrontierA frontier is a political and geographical term referring to areas near or beyond a boundary. 'Frontier' was absorbed into English from French in the 15th century, with the meaning "borderland"--the region of a country that fronts on another country .The use of "frontier" to mean "a region at the...
- Western movie
- Potter's fieldPotter's fieldA potter's field was an American term for a place for the burial of unknown or indigent people. The expression derives from the Bible, referring to a field used for the extraction of potter's clay, which was useless for agriculture but could be used as a burial site.-Origin:The term comes from...
- Boothill Museum - Dodge City, Kansas
External links
- Boot Hill Museum Dodge City, Kansas
- A tombstone in Boot Hill Cemetery in Tombstone, Arizona, from a Library of CongressLibrary of CongressThe Library of Congress is the research library of the United States Congress, de facto national library of the United States, and the oldest federal cultural institution in the United States. Located in three buildings in Washington, D.C., it is the largest library in the world by shelf space and...
website