Tombstone's Boot Hill

Story by Terry McGahey

The Boot Hill cemetery in Tombstone Arizona first opened in the year of 1878 and was pretty well filled up by 1884 when it was closed. In 1884 the new cemetary was opened about a half mile west of town.

Below I have compiled the different reasons people were interned within Boot Hill, how they died gives somewhat of an insight of how they also lived, if murdered, by accident, natural causes, suicide, hanged or killed by Apaches. I will start with the lowest numbers of why they died leading to the largest.

Legally hanged. 

This number is much lower than what most people would think. There were only six men hung that resided in Boot Hill and one of them was a man by the name of Geo Johnson who was hung by mistake. Mr. Johnson bought a stolen horse and therefore hung as a horse thief only later to be found innocent. One other by the name of John Heath was taken from the jail by a lynch mob and hanged from a telegraph pole

Suicides. 

This number is much lower than I would have thought. Only seven are interred within Boot Hill for taking their own lives. I would have thought more because Laudanum, a mix of whiskey and cocaine was used widely during that time for pain relief.

Killed by Apaches. 

Only eight people in Boot Hill have met this fate. One man was stoned to death by the Apache while two others were killed while gathering wood. The other five are just listed as being killed. Again, I am surprised by that low number given the location in South Eastern Arizona which at that time was the Apache homeland.

Mining accidents. 

There are nine miners interred in Boot Hill because of accidents within the mines. Given the lack of safety during that time period, I would have thought many more miners would have died and been interned there. Of course, this doesn’t mean more hadn’t died in the mines, it just means there are only nine within Boot Hill.

Unknown deaths. 

There are thirty-four individuals in Boot Hill whose markers are just listed as dead and there are also others that have been lost to time. I am pretty sure some of these are natural deaths while others may be from other causes but only god knows the true reasons for their passing.

Natural deaths, disease, horse wrecks, and drownings in the San Pedro River. 

Forty-seven people in Boot Hill met their ends by the combination of fatalities listed above. Two young brothers drown in the river as well as two cowboys crossing the river. Two men had wagon accidents falling from their wagons and being crushed by the wheels. There is also one cowboy who was killed in a stampede. There are also several who died from disease including one young boy who died from drinking bad water.

Shot, Stabbed, or Murdered. 

In only five and a half to six years of burials in the Boot Hill cemetery, sixty-six people died of being shot, stabbed, or murdered in some other way in Tombstone. So between sixty to seventy months, this equals about one man per month shot down, stabbed, or murdered by other means. 

Putting another perspective on this, most of these killings were from the earlier years of the 1880s because by 1884 things quieted down in Tombstone to a degree, so this time period of murder is mostly within about four years. It’s true, Tombstone was one of the most dangerous Wild West towns in the country.

About the Author

Terry McGahey
Associate Writer/ Old West Historian

Terry has been a working cowboy, a writer, and an Old West historian. He is best known for his fight against the City of Tombstone and its historic City Ordinance Number 9.

He was instrumental in getting the famous Tombstone City Ordinance Number 9 repealed while at the same time forcing the City of Tombstone to fall in line and comply with the laws of the State of Arizona.

If you care to read how he fought Tombstone's City Hall and won, check out:

The Last Gun Fight -- The Death of Ordinance Number 9 (Chapter One)