.PatAndre

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The first burial in Boot Hill was in 1872. The deceased was buried with his boots and that is how the cemetery got its name. If you'll look closely you can see one grave that is marked with a cross has a pair of boots planted in the ground at the foot of the plot. In the spring of 1873 no less than 15 men were killed in Dodge City. In 1878 the town was booming because of the Texas cattle trade. The land covered with unmarked graves was too valuable as merely a burial ground for a bunch of "motley sinners" as they were referred to so the bodies were removed and reburied elsewhere to make room for a new school building. My next post will be of some newspaper headlines announcing how some of these "motley sinners" met their fate.