Boot Hill (or Boothill) 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). Also, Boot Hill graves were made for people who died in a strange town without assets for a funeral, known more formally as pauper's graves.

Boothill Graveyard

The most notable use of the name Boot Hill is at the Boothill Graveyard in Tombstone, Arizona. Formerly called City Cemetery, the plot features the graves of Billy Clanton, Frank McLaury and Tom McLaury; the three men killed during the famed Gunfight at the O.K. Corral. Currently the Boothill Graveyard is open to the public and a popular stop for tourists visiting Tombstone. 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 many Chinese and Jewish immigrants being buried without record.

Boothill in popular culture

Boothill Graveyard is referenced in many movies including Tombstone, Wyatt Earp and 1957's Gunfight at the O.K. Corral, during which it was repeatedly sung over the reoccruing title theme song by Frankie Laine. In the later half of the movie Laine changes the theme to:

Boothill... Boothill...

So cold... so still...

There they lay side by side,

the killers that died,

in the Gunfight at O.K. Corral.

Other Boot Hill cemeteries

• Boot Hill cemeteries can be found in a number of towns, including:
• Anamosa, Iowa
• Billings, Montana
• Bonanza, Custer County, Idaho
• Canyon City, Oregon
• Deadwood, South Dakota
• Dodge City, Kansas
• El Paso, Texas
• Guthrie, Oklahoma
• Hays, Kansas
• Idaho City, Idaho
• Ogallala, Nebraska
• Pioche, Nevada
• Riley Camp, Quay County, New Mexico
• Seney Township, Michigan
• Tascosa, Oldham County, Texas
• Tilden, Texas
• Virginia City, Montana
• Virginia City, Nevada

• Boot Hill was also the name given by the prisoners to the cemetery at the Japanese-run Batu Lintang POW and civilian internment camp in Kuching, Sarawak, Borneo during World War II

References

See also

• Cowboy action shooting
• Frontier
• Western movie
• Potter's field

External links

• Boot Hill Museum Dodge City, Kansas
• A tombstone in Boot Hill Cemetery in Tombstone, Arizona, from a Library of Congress website