The James-Younger Gang was trying to rob the First National Bank in Northfield, MN on September 7, 1876.  As we know, they were shot to pieces—in...

She was a Mexican woman named Trinidad Escalante Swilling. She married Jack Swilling in Tucson in 1864 and four years later moved north to the town...

Because we are dealing with a legend everyone seems to feel that it must be authentic. I am not interested in authenticity. I am interested in...

One of the Old West’s most popular entertainers was Lola Montez. Tickets to her show went for as high as $500. This exotic Spanish beauty was...

Where is the center of the West? Try Emporia, Kansas. Last weekend, I was the keynote speaker and faculty member at the Center for Great Plains...

On the weekend of June 26-28, 2015 thousands will pilgrimage to the Battle of Little Bighorn National Monument to commemorate the 139th anniversary...

August 15, 1873.  Ellsworth, Kansas. Gunmen Ben and Billy Thompson get into a confrontation that leads to the death of Sheriff Chauncey B. Whitney. ...

Cathay Williams was born a slave in Missouri in 1842, but was freed by Union soldiers during the Civil War. She worked as a paid servant for the...

Stagecoach travel was no place for sissies. The Butterfield Overland Mail began its three-year 2,800 mile run from Tipton, Missouri to San Francisco...

July 19, 1878 Fire is licking at the last room—Susan McSween’s kitchen. In this final refuge, her husband, Alexander, sits with his head in his...

Frank Hamer was a legendary lawman/Texas Ranger.  He was in dozens of gunfights, proving his courage. He led the ambush that brought down Clyde...

Judge Roy Bean, the “Law West of the Pecos,” had some colorful ways to hand out justice in Texas. Like the time someone was stealing cattle from the...