Dodge City in Ford County, Kansas — The American Midwest (Upper Plains)

Boot Hill Cemetery

Photographed by Don Morfe

1. Boot Hill Cemetery Marker

Markers were photographed on May 27, 1996

Inscription. This hill was not a pleasant place during the 1870’s. It was covered with buffalo grass, prickly pear and soapweed and was used as a burying ground for drifters, troublemakers, and unknowns from 1872 until 1879. As early as 1879 newspapers were reporting that some people in Dodge City were dying with their boots on and were being buried where you are now standing. There were no ceremonies for the dead, no markers on the graves and wolves often dug up the bodies soon after burial. By 1879 when the city council ordered that all bodies be removed from this site, about 34 persons had been interred on Boot Hill. In 1916 most of the hill was excavated to make room for a new city swimming pool. You are now at what was the northwest corner of the original graveyard.

Topics. This historical marker is listed in this topic list: Cemeteries & Burial Sites. A significant historical year for this entry is 1872.

Location. 37° 45.174′ N, 100° 1.272′ W. Marker is in Dodge City, Kansas, in Ford County. It is on West Wyatt Earp Blvd. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 500 West Wyatt Earp Blvd, Dodge City KS 67801, United

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States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in the American Midwest,

in the Corn Belt,

on the prairies,

on the Great Plains,

on the Southern Plains,

on the High Plains,

and on the Santa Fe Trail Corridor.

Globally, it is in North America,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once the Comanchería,

the Dust Bowl,

the Louisiana Purchase,

and the Republic of Texas.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: Rosemary & Lewis Mock (a few steps from this marker); Dodge City, a frontier legend (within shouting distance of this marker); The Boot Hill Special (within shouting distance of this marker); High Plains Journal (about 300 feet away, measured in a direct line); Burt Reynolds (about 400 feet away); Ken Curtis (about 500 feet away); Glenn Strange (about 500 feet away); My Trails Have Become Your Highways (about 500 feet away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Dodge City.

Photographed by Don Morfe

2. Boot Hill Cemetery Marker

Photographed by Don Morfe

3. Boot Hill Cemetery Marker

Photographed by Don Morfe

4. Boot Hill Cemetery Marker

Credits. This page was last revised on June 16, 2016. It was originally submitted on December 20, 2012, by Don Morfe of Baltimore, Maryland. This page has been viewed 1,182 times since then and 63 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4. submitted on December 20, 2012, by Don Morfe of Baltimore, Maryland. • Bill Pfingsten was the editor who published this page.