Boothill Graveyard — Local services in Tombstone

Boothill Graveyard lives! I mean Boothill Graveyard is a real place.

I knew of this place as a child. Television shows of the Wild West told me so. The gunfight at the O.K. Corral reaffirmed Boothill is a special place where cowboys are buried with their boots on. However I didn’t see this site for myself. More than 60 years later, I traveled to Tombstone and rode along Route 80 to Boothill.

On the outskirts of Tombstone, not far from the Tombstone Grand, you’ll see the graves of an interesting bunch of cowboys and others forever resting in peace.

I paid $3 for a chance to confirm all that I learned from Hollywood movies and TV on the history and inhabitants of Boothill.

Once I entered through a small building, I saw what on first sight looked like gravesites with tombstones. As I looked around among the eleven rows, I found the resting place of John Heath. His death in 1884 was from hanging. Heath’s death stood out among “the residents” of Boothill. From the paragraph in the brochure, John Heath’s death reads: “Taken from county jail and lynched by Bisbee mob, Feb.22, 1884. He was called the leader of the five men who were legally hanged and was said to have planned the robbery. He was hanged from a telegraph pole a short distance west of the courthouse.” Some of the tombstone descriptions were mildly amusing such as that of Lester Moore: “Here lies Lester Moore, Four slugs from a .44, No les, no more.”

You may ask yourself, “Is this all real?” These are amusing gravestones in maybe an off kilter sense of humor way. I was left with wondering about the character and personalities of these folks from the Old West especially the large number of them under their tombstone that reads, Unknown. They lie for an eternity and will be visited often by strangers...

I arrived at 5:30PM and was sad to see that "admission" closed at 5PM. This isn't a cemetery where people come to pay their respects, it's a tourist attraction with an admission charge. I was taking a couple of photos of what I could see without going inside, and the beautiful sunset, when I became aware of a fancy looking white SUV with blacked out windows that had pulled up in the entrance to the lot. I was the only person around and this SUV started to weird me out, so I quickly drove out of the lot and pulled down a side street, looking for a place to take photos of the sunset without a creeper. The SUV FOLLLOWED me down the side street, and at that point I realized that this was the tourist attraction's security, I guess watching to make sure that, I dunno, I wasn't planning to hop the fence and trespass or something. I was totally creeped out by this intimidating and totally inappropriate stalking. The SUV didn't stop following my vehicle until I literally left town. From this encounter, I can surmise a lot about the type of people who run the tourist attractions in this town, shudder. I...

Johnny Cash made the observation in his song "The Ballad of Boot Hill" (1965) - "Just one look will tell you that this town was real." Boot Hill is about as real as it gets. We visited in the extreme heat of late May. Somber but also witty markers are meant to capture your attention. I suggest grabbing a brochure at the front desk when you pay your $3.00 (cash only) to get in. The brochure breaks down information on each marker and provides some more detail where it is available. My favorite is the Frank Bowles epitaph. It's hauntingly existential warning reads: As you pass by remember that as you are so once was I and as I am you soon will be. Remember me. There are about 250 internments in this graveyard. Among the most famous are Marshal Frank White, Old Man Clanton, Billy Claiborne, and Billy Clanton and the McLaury's from the OK...