As a frontier town, Hays City experienced the kind of violence that gave rise to the myth of the American Old West. Several notable figures of the Old West lived in the Hays City of this era, including George Armstrong Custer, his wife Elizabeth Bacon Custer, Calamity Jane, Buffalo Bill Cody, and Wild Bill Hickok who served a brief term as sheriff in 1869. 30 homicides occurred between 1867 and 1873 including a deadly saloon shootout involving Fort Hays soldiers. A cemetery north of town became known as “Boot Hill”; by 1885, it held the bodies of some 79 outlaws. In 1869, the murder of Union Pacific watchman James Hayes led to the lynching of three African American soldiers. This incident caused a feud between soldiers and civilians, giving Hays a reputation as a sundown town. African Americans living in nearby Nicodemus were not welcome after dark. No signs formally establishing this policy were posted, but the town's reputation for racial discrimination persisted into the 1930s.