The Fort Boise Cemetery was originally located at the Boise Barracks and relocated to the Foot Hills location after flooding in the year of 1906. The original location was only a half mile south from the current location but the flood caused damages to and erosion to the graves. 166 graves in total were moved until more graves were found during target practice at the Barracks. Military business in the area stopped until the remaining graves were disinterred and moved to the current location. There were additional burials taking place at the new location until 1913, the year the Barracks closed. Three more bodies were buried as soldiers in the new location in 1998 after they were discovered during flood control excavation near the location of the original cemetery site. The three bodies were buried on Memorial Day in 1998 and are thought to be Civil War Veterans.1
After World War II the Department of Veterans Affairs closed down some of their smaller cemeteries due to funding issues, however the Fort Boise Cemetery was saved due to request of the U.S. Department of the Army. Finally in 1974 The City of Boise received the deed to the location under the condition that the location would become a historic site. The site had to be kept in natural state and keep the look similar to how it appeared at the turn of the century.1
Cottonwood Cemetery
The Fort Boise Cemetery is also known as the Cottonwood Cemetery, and many believe it is haunted. The location of the cemetery is in the foothills in a canyon known as Cottonwood Canyon and that is where is get's the name from.2
There are numerous unmarked grave stones in the cemetery and an online database is not online yet, however some of the buried can be found at http://ada.idgenweb.org/ftboise/ftboise.htm. The unmarked grave stones and reports of not only veterans being buried at the location but military families as well, are what fuels the reports of the site being haunted.3
The most popular story being:
"The spirits of children buried in the cemetery have been seen roaming around the area.The spirit of a woman has been seen in the cemetery and in a near by school."3
1.http://parks.cityofboise.org/parks-locations/cemeteries/fort-boise/
2.http://voices.yahoo.com/the-fascinating-history-behind-boises-two-historic-4227061.html
3.http://www.idahohauntings.com/Stories/Cottonwood_Cemetery/Cottonwood_Cemetery.htm
