The 1800s are notable for its fascination with exhibits and strange things. And it didn't lack promoters or hucksters who would take anyone's...
Strange Amusements
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Articles
Tom Horn Holds His Head High
The popular image of convicted assassin Tom Horn is of a man who met his fate with courage. Up to and including the time he was hanged on November...
Western Events for May 2017
ADVENTURE Narrow Gauge Day Durango, CO, May 5: Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad celebrates continuous operation between Durango and...
Frontier Odometers
In a diary from an emigrant crossing to the California gold fields in 1849. "Life on the Plains and at the Diggins," by Alonzo Delano. He is very...
Gourmet Glitz at Gateway to the West
When high society ladies threw a party in the West, they spared no expense. Women living in rural areas had their challenges, but the wealthy ladies...
Did Tom Horn Kill Willie Nickell?
Did Tom Horn kill Willie Nickell? Brian Madison Venice, Florida That’s one of the great mysteries. Tom Horn confessed to the 1901 ambush killing of...
Sheriff With a Deadly Addiction
Francis Joseph Wattron, born February 5, 1861, in Hermann, Missouri, was a small boy when the town’s alarm bells signaled an accident at Stone Hill...
A Bad Call on the Telephone
Sometimes when you're the biggest king on the hill, it's hard to see new kids climbing the slopes, and that's exactly what happened to Western Union...
The Jackass Mail
In 1849 it took 166 days to travel coast to coast. By the 1860’s you could do it in 60 days. A decade later a train could make the trip in 11 days....
Lady of the Law
I’m of the opinion that, even in today’s society, the women of the frontier are not given all of the credit that is their just due. Wilting violets,...
The Empty Sleeve Gunfight
When Joseph W. Evans passed away suddenly on May 28, 1902, at his home in Phoenix, Arizona Territory lost one of its most successful businessmen and...
How Prevalent Were Bounty Hunters?
How prevalent were bounty hunters? Tom Betts Anaheim, California In 1872, the Supreme Court ruled that bounty hunters were a part of law...