BILLINGS — It was in 2023 when the Friends of Boothill Cemetery adopted the historic site to improve and restore it. The cemetery located in the Billings Heights now looks very different than it did just a year ago.
For Dave Wanzenried of the Friends of Boothill Cemetery, it was integral to preserve the site's history.
"Yellowstone Kelly, Cliff of Skulls, William Clark on his way to reconnoiter with Lewis, all these things are really important here but the most important thing is the history of this cemetery is a small part of that," said Wanzenried. "The big part of all this story is the indigenous people that were here thousands of years before we were here and made an impact and make an imprint on our lives."
One of the biggest changes at Boothill Cemetery had to do with the large sign that was located on top of the site's grassy knoll.
"There was a sign here that's now down in the parking lot that tells a story about this cemetery, a very small part of the story, about one person really that was killed here in his line of duty and happens to be a veteran who's buried right over there." Wanzenried said. "We had this wonderful mount fabricated here in Billings, and a contractor moved the sign down here last month."
A plaque describing the site's historical significance has now replaced that large sign.
"We have a sign on that tells a story about this area. And more importantly about this site being placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1979," said Wanzenried. "I work with the Yellowstone Historic Preservation Society, I work with the Montana Historical Society, the Western Heritage Center to come up with the text that's on it. So now people understand that this place is special, but this entire area is more special still."
Wanzenried said plans are in the works to make the site more educational.
"The most important thing that we're going to do is make this into a very modest interpretive center and kiosk...And put QR codes on it so people can access records, maps, photographs, and narratives so that you can walk from here to Yellowstone Kelly and have a native to explain the significance of the burials that took place right here," said Wanzenried.
Before the Friends of Boothill Cemetery adopted the cemetery, it was hidden in plain sight. Wanzenried changed that by erecting two Boothill Cemetery signs near the entrance so its visible to drivers and pedestrians in the area.
"I drove by it maybe 30 or 40 times, as do many people who live in Billings and didn't know it was here. So now there's signs," Wanzenried added.
A 24 hour lit flag pole and two park benches were also installed to honor the veterans buried here in the past.
"24 hours a day to honor those veterans. And we'll have a ceremony sometime next spring after all this other work is done here to commemorate that," said Wanzenried.
"It's nice because there's so many stories buried in here and we don't want them lost and if we can resurrect them, that's something special," said Rebecca Heimbuck.
With a deep fascination for history, Billings native and historian Heimbuck appreciates the improvements.
"I've always liked history and I have a degree in history. And I've always been interested and curious about where I live," Heimbuck said. "I think it's fantastic."
She founded the popular Facebook page Billings, Montana As She Was & Is. With over 20,000 members, she's made it her mission to educate and inform Billings area residents on significant historical sites like Boothill Cemetery.
"Not only does it preserve history, it gives a little recognition to this place, especially, to a little forgotten, often neglected piece of history. And if they are not taken care of, if they're not focused on, we lose them," said Heimbuck. "Cultures need to be celebrated, need to be documented, need to be acknowledged."
Wanzenried hopes the site will be a place where the community can gather once all the improvements are completed.
"It's a place that we can take pride in now and enjoy as a community and bring friends and neighbors here and visitors from out of town," said Wanzenried.
"I hope that Billings continues to support its history, that it keep continuing to celebrate it, and that we don't lose it. And that it becomes a destination for people to come here and to learn," Heimbuck said.
