My Genealogy Hound

Haughton, Louisiana, Johnny Horton, Tombstone and Grave, photos

The tombstone at the grave of Johnny Horton, in Hill Crest Memorial Park, Haughton, Louisiana, east of Shreveport and Bossier City, Louisiana. Johnny Horton was born in Los Angeles, California April 30, 1925, but spent most of his early life in Texas. Horton is known for a series of hit songs that came in quick succession just before his death on November 5, 1960.

On September 26, 1953, Horton married Billie Jean Jones who was the widow of the well known country star, Hank Williams who had died on January 1, 1953. Although Horton's musical career as a recording artist had started with several singles released during the early to mid 1950's, none were a financial success. He performed in various musical shows during this time and was well received but still was not having a lot of success until he relocated to the Shreveport, Louisiana area. Here he became a regular performer with the Louisiana Hayride and came to know other early rising stars of the time including Elvis Presley and Johnny Cash. Horton would later consider Johnny Cash to be one of his closest friends. Horton's first albums were released in 1959-1960 and from these albums came a series of hits including The Battle of New Orleans; Sink the Bismarck; and North to Alaska. At the height of his career, he was killed on November 5, 1960 on the drive back to Shreveport after a performance in Austin, Texas. Horton died at the age of 35, at Milano, Texas as the result of a collision with a drunk driver. With his death, his wife, Billie Jean, became a widow for the second time at the age of only 28. See the additional photo below.

A memorial bench at the grave of Johnny Horton. Horton's tombstone can be seen at the left edge of this photo.

Haughton is located in Bossier Parish, east of Shreveport, which is in northwest Louisiana.