William Jackson Palmer died on March 13, 1909 at the age of 72. On the day of his death schools, businesses, and trains stopped and flags flew at half mast in Colorado Springs. The mayor said Palmer was "the soldier, the builder of an empire, the philanthropist, the friend of the people, whose life was a blessing." "Gazette" journalist Dave Philipps said that he was "an ardent pacifist, humanitarian and champion of preserving wildlands at a time when conservation was almost unheard of." His and Queen's ashes are buried at Evergreen Cemetery in Colorado Springs, Colorado.