Boot Hill Cemetary

The following is from my Father Fred Kirkpatrick Jr born in Dodge City Kansas in 1930...

Yep, the original Boot Hill is where the City Hall was at Spruce and Fourth Street. The third ward school was built there and they moved the bodies they could find to q plqce along the west fence of the city cemetery, which was between Avenue B and C about 3-4 blocks north of Military Avenue. My dad went to school at that school and they used to find bones on the play ground, like finger bones, etc.
The reason they buried the outlaw bodies outside the cemetery fence is the people in town did not want them buried in the cemetery. When the old cemetery was moved to Maple Hill Cemetery, they evidently could not or purposely did not move the bodies of the outlaws. The area where they were buried ended up being in an alley after the area was platted, and when the sewer was installed they dug through many of the graves.

Graves On Old Boot Hill

My Grandfather Fred Kirkpatrick, Sr. was born in Dodge City in 1889. His father was prominent attorney and sometimes County Attorney from about 1880 on. Fred became the City Engineer after serving in WWI and working with the City for some time and so he had a hand in the early development of the town.

He was so proud of the brick streets that he designed and had installed. But there is another story that I thought you all might enjoy.

The City was expanding North and there was a need for water and sewer lines for the neighborhood being developed and so my grandfather was in charge of those projects.

As they dug the sewers by hand, many graves were found and one of the men was very spooky about ghosts and would panic when bones were struck. The graves were exhumed and taken to Maple Grove and reburied there but regardless, this man was scared to death. Nearly.

One day late in the day he was working down in the trench and my grandfather was inspecting the work. A cat walked by and SOMEONE threw the cat down on this poor mans bare back. The cat lit with claws extended and the man screamed bloody murder and came up out of that ditch in one leap, running back to town.

My grandfather said the man never even came back for his paycheck. I didnt get it til later but the smirk on Grandpas face MAY have implicated him in the crime of tossing the cat.

True story and just a day in the life of Dodge City, Kansas 1940