Located on the backside of the Rimrocks from Downtown Billings, behind Applebees Restaurant.
The Boothill Cemetery is on the National Register of Historic Places and served as the cemetery for the town of Coulson, a town that no longer exists. The first burials at the cemetery that sat on the hill over looking the town were in 1877. Deaths were caused by such events typhoid outbreaks, accidents, suicides, and murders.
Picture Courtesy of The Western Heritage Center. Billings, Mt.
I.D. O'Donnell (on the right), a local businessman with a serious interest in local history, was given the land which he in turn gave to the city. He helped place and dedicate the obelisk that remains today. Pictured with O'Donnell is Johnny Burkman at the dedication of the obelisk on April 25, 1921 . Burkman was General George Custer's aid but was not with Custer at the Battle of the Little Bighorn, June 25th, 1876. The verses on the obelisk were written by Mrs. B.F. Shuart, wife of Billings' first minister. They read:
of those who blazed the trail
and showed to us our west
in boots and spurs they lie
and on the hill find rest.
The stream flows on, but it matters not
to the sleepers here by the world forgot.
The heroes of many a tale unsung,
they lived and died when the west was young.
This monument marks a historic spot
where thirty-five lie buried.
They played the drama called life
for fortune and fame.
Lost their lives; lost their game.
Upon this rugged hill
the long trail past,
these men of restless will
find rest at last.
The stream flows on, but it matters not
to the sleepers here by the world forgot.
The heroes of many a tale unsung,
they lived and died when the west was young.
Picture by Desiree Baisden. Billings, Mt. Spring 2000.
Ben Walker is listed on the grave marker, but I.D. O'Donnell said at the dedication, "No one was really sure who is buried where".