HauntBound archive · catalog record
Reported phenomena — as catalogued
1878 Tombstone burying ground with O.K. Corral casualties
Tombstone, AZ
Research updated May 2026
Age
All Ages
Cost
$
Small admission for the maintained cemetery and gift shop
Access
Wheelchair OK
Gravel and dirt paths through marked graves
Equipment
Photos OK
Est. 1878 · Tombstone Silver Boom Cemetery · O.K. Corral Gunfight Burials · Chinese and Jewish Segregated Sections · Western Heritage Site
Boothill Graveyard is Tombstone's first city cemetery, founded in 1878 to receive the dead of the booming southern Arizona silver-mining town. The name 'Boot Hill' came later, popularized in the 1920s by Hollywood Westerns and dime novels; the original cemetery was known simply as the Tombstone City Cemetery.
Between 1879 and 1884, approximately 300 burials were recorded, including the segregated Chinese and Jewish sections in the cemetery's northeast corner. Approximately 121 of those interred — roughly forty percent — died of causes other than old age, with gunshot wounds the leading cause of premature death in early Tombstone. After Tombstone opened a new city cemetery, Boothill stopped accepting burials around 1883 and fell into disrepair.
The most famous Boothill interments are Billy Clanton, Frank McLaury, and Tom McLaury — three men killed in the October 26, 1881 gunfight near the O.K. Corral. By the 1940s the cemetery had nearly become a garbage dump; wooden grave markers had disintegrated, and many had been stolen as souvenirs or trampled by free-range cattle. The City of Tombstone began restoration in the 1940s, replacing markers and rehabilitating the grounds for tourism.
Researchers note that some current markers are believed to be in approximately correct locations rather than verified exact placements, and that some marker text appears to have been embellished for visitor interest. Even so, the cemetery is a primary Western-history destination and a National Register-eligible historic resource.
Sources
Reports of strange lights and apparitions in and around Boothill Graveyard form part of the broader Tombstone ghost-tour folklore. The cemetery's primary draw is its documented Western history rather than active paranormal lore; specific accounts at Boothill itself are less prominent than those attached to the Bird Cage Theatre and Crystal Palace Saloon in town.
The Shadowlands entry preserves only a single brief sentence about lights and sightings, without specific witness accounts or named entities. Visitors should expect the cemetery to function as a Western-history site first and as a paranormal interest second.
Walk Boothill Graveyard, founded in 1878 as Tombstone's first city cemetery. About 300 people were buried here between 1879 and 1884, including the graves of Billy Clanton, Frank McLaury, and Tom McLaury — the three men killed in the 1881 O.K. Corral gunfight. Separate Chinese and Jewish burial sections survive in the cemetery's northeast corner. The cemetery includes a small museum and gift shop.
Walk among approximately 250 wooden grave markers identifying miners, lawmen, outlaws, and immigrants buried between 1879 and 1884. Locate the graves of Billy Clanton, Frank McLaury, and Tom McLaury — the three men killed at the 1881 Gunfight at the O.K. Corral. A printed guide and posted markers identify notable burials.
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