A HISTORY of TOMBSTONE'S BOOTHILL GRAVEYARD

by Kathy Franz

Boothill. The mere word conjures up images of a lonely, broken-down cemetery on a hilltop filled with crooked wooden markers over graves of cowboys, gunslingers and gamblers shot with their boots on (or perhaps, their boots off.)

Of course, the most famous burials in Tombstone’s Boothill are those of Billy Clanton and Tom and Frank McLaury – losers in the O. K. Corral gunfight with the Earps and Doc Holliday. Many others also died of gunshots or were stabbed or beaten to death. Some died by acquaintances, some by their lovers, and some by Apaches. Accidents claimed quite a few others – especially those who died in the silver mines from falls and other mishaps. Others died by suicides, overdoses, and illnesses, such as diphtheria, pneumonia, consumption, and heart disease. And a few of the Boothill residents were legally hung for their crimes.

As one walks Boothill, it becomes apparent that it comprises three different sections. There is the main section, the northwest corner section for those of Chinese descent, and the Jewish section down the hill that is maintained by the Hebrew Association. The main section was declared full in 1883, but burials continued in the other sections for many years.

On February 29, 1880, the newspapers announced that town lots would no longer be sold as a law suit was pending. During the night, all the lots near Allen and Fremont were jumped to establish them as residences. Even the graveyard was jumped (the one formerly under the old Circle K building.) In September 1881, the newspaper still mentioned two cemeteries – upper and lower.

Most of Boothill’s burials are from deaths between 1879 and 1883. At times, huge processions through the streets of Tombstone bore the departed to their final resting place. At James Tulley’s impressive funeral in October, 1881, the newspaper wrote “not from the number who followed the unfortunate victim . . . but those who followed through the mud were hardy miners, men who day after day take their lives in their hands when they descend into the depths of the earth, not knowing what may happen e’er their labor is finished.”

In 1884, the John Escapule family donated land on which the current cemetery was established. Some bodies were exhumed from Boothill and moved to the new cemetery. However, for the next 35 years, nothing was done to Boothill, except “No dumping” signs were placed in 1892.

The despicable condition of Boothill was noticed in 1923 when a visiting newspaperman, Frederick Bechdolt, wrote a letter regarding the “neglectful manner caring for practically the only remaining Boothill in the West.” The other Boothill is in Dodge City, Kansas.

Two years later, the former mayor and editor of “The Tombstone Epitaph” newspaper visited Tombstone. John Clum said he never heard the cemetery called Boothill. On visiting the cemetery, he was distressed that he could not find the grave of his first wife who died after childbirth in December, 1880.

With Dodge City making its Boothill a tourist attraction, Tombstone decided it would, too. The Boy Scouts cleaned up the cemetery, and fences were erected. Tombstone spruced itself up for the tourist trade, and the first Helldorado celebration was held on October 24, 1929.

When Highway 80 was constructed in 1933, Tombstone received permission to erect a 6x12 foot black and white sign at Boothill. Frank Vaughn who originally made a wooden marker for Billy Clanton and the McLaurys was commissioned to make another, and the graves were counted – 259 graves and 17 excavations.

A call went out to Tombstone and the nearby community for any information on the graves. Many were identified, but a few submittals seemed to be rather “tongue in cheek.” One man decided to embellish his life and put in a grave for himself. Benjamin Olleney’s grave says “shot by Chacon,” a notorious outlaw who was hanged on November 21, 1902. However, Mr. Olleney lived until 1935. Other graves were set up for Red River Tom, Stinging Lizard, the Kansas Kid, and Six-Shooter Jim. Although questionable, these graves add color to Boothill and stimulate the imagination to picture characters who might have lived in the Old West.

In the early 1940s, Harry Ohm’s foundry made metal markers that were set in cement in Boothill. Emmett Nunnelley oversaw the renovation and made wooden markers for the graves. In 1962, his widow Lela copyrighted the Boothill booklet that is used today. Her list has 177 graves. Recently, 121 more deaths were found during the years 1879-1883, and these people were probably buried in Boothill as well.

Besides the McLaurys and the Clantons, some other notable graves include: The good – like Marshal Fred White, Quong Kee, owner of the Can Can restaurant, and Martin Peel whose grave in the center of Boothill was first identified . . . The bad – like the outlaws Zwing and Hunt, the Halderman Brothers, and the Bisbee robbers . . . the children who died as infants, and Joe Sowle killed by lightning at age 14 . . . and the ladies of the night with names like Dutch Annie and Big Nosed Maggie. They are all buried here, side by side, in eternal repose.

The local newspapers published several beautiful eulogies about those buried in Boothill.

Malcolm Campbell: “His was a life of purity and truth seldom surpassed.”

Archie McBride “has handed in his checks, and we may hope they will be redeemed by the great Banker of Calvary, whose treasury of mercy is never exhausted.”

Martin A. Sweeney “had his faults, but his nature was brave, generous and noble, his executive ability was more than ordinary.”

George E. Whitcher “opened wide his eyes, as though to bid farewell to Earth, and left us. A mist dimmed the stars.”

More information on these and other Boothill residents may be found in the book Forget Me Not: A Boothill Remembrance, by author Kathy Franz. (Available for purchase in the Boothill Graveyard Gift Shop).