John Wesley Hardin

John Wesley Hardin gained his reputation by supposedly killing more people than Billy the Kid and Jesse James. He was killed on August 19, 1895, at the Acme Saloon downtown by John Selman, a sometime lawman who had been on both sides of the law. Selman, in turn, was killed by another gunslinger. Ironically, Wyndam Kemp, who was Selman's lawyer and Jeff Melton, the Acme Saloon owner, are buried not too far from Hardin. In 1995, descendants of Hardin came to El Paso to remove the gunfighter's remains and reinter them in Nixon, Texas. A court injunction stopped them and a judge has since ruled that Hardin's remains will stay in El Paso. Various groups have publicized the fact that several figures of El Paso's wild and wooly days are buried in Concordia. They are attempting to get the word out that Concordia is El Paso's "Boot Hill," and encourage tourists to visit the historical site. Once in El Paso, these visitors can learn of the various cultures reflected in the city and tour other points of interest in Texas, New Mexico and Mexico.

Area: Central / Five Points

Source: EPMH

Uploaded by: El Paso Museum of History