Wild West Podcast
Welcome to the Wild West podcast, where fact and legend merge. We present the true accounts of individuals who settled in towns built out of hunger for money, regulated by fast guns, who walked on both sides of the law, patrolling, investing in, and regulating the brothels, saloons, and gambling houses. These are stories of the men who made the history of the Old West come alive - bringing with them the birth of legends, brought to order by a six-gun and laid to rest with their boots on. Join us as we take you back in history to the legends of the Wild West. You can support our show by subscribing to Exclusive access to premium content at Wild West Podcast + https://www.buzzsprout.com/64094/subscribe
Wild West Podcast
The Dead Men Who Made Dodge City Infamous Walk Again Through Their Stories
While most Western history fans know the famous lawmen and outlaws who made Dodge City legendary, the actual souls buried on Boot Hill Cemetery have remained largely forgotten—until now. These weren't just nameless bodies; they were real people whose violent deaths created the reputation that still defines Dodge City nearly 150 years later.
The summer of 1872 marked the beginning of Boot Hill's dark legacy when Jack Reynolds, described as a "notoriously contemptible desperado," was shot six times by a railroad worker during an altercation. Newspaper accounts coldly reported that "law-abiding people of the Southwest had been rid of a terror." This callous attitude toward violent death became the norm in early Dodge, where murders occurred with shocking frequency.
From the gambler Denver who shot a man called "Blackjack" simply "for the pleasure of watching him kick," to dance hall owner Tom Sherman who publicly executed a troublemaker named Burns by asking bystanders, "Well, I better shoot him again, hadn't I boys?" before putting a bullet between his eyes—these stories reveal why Dodge earned its nickname as "the wickedest little city in America." The turning point came in June 1873 when William Taylor, a Black cook for Colonel Richard Dodge, was murdered by drunks, prompting military intervention and the establishment of Ford County's first official law enforcement.
Boot Hill was never a proper cemetery but a convenient dumping ground for those nobody claimed or cared about. By 1879, civic leaders had grown weary of Dodge City's association with Boot Hill and closed it down, attempting to reshape the town's blood-soaked image. Yet the forgotten stories of those buried there—ordinary people caught in extraordinary violence—reveal more about the real Wild West than any Hollywood portrayal ever could.
What forgotten stories from America's frontier past fascinate you? Subscribe to hear more untold tales from the Wild West that challenge everything you thought you knew about our shared history.
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