An 1862 gold rush near Yuma, Arizona, spurred the interest of gold prospectors including an Austrian named Henry Wickenburg. His discovery of the...
Wickenburg, Arizona
read more
Articles
How did the term “cowpoke” come about?
How did the term “cowpoke” come about? Mike Franklin Poteet, Texas The dictionary states that “cowboy” is from 1725 and originally meant just what...
A family Bible belonging to the sister of Brushy Bill, who claimed to be Billy the Kid, listed his birth year as 1879. If this is true, then Brushy Bill couldn’t possibly be Billy the Kid, right?
A family Bible belonging to the sister of Brushy Bill, who claimed to be Billy the Kid, listed his birth year as 1879. If this is true, then Brushy...
Was Wyatt Earp as good a hero as we have been led to believe? I’ve read he was involved in a “gold brick” swindle. Can you tell me more about that scam?
Was Wyatt Earp as good a hero as we have been led to believe? I’ve read he was involved in a “gold brick” swindle. Can you tell me more about that...
What shirts were popular in the Old West?
What shirts were popular in the Old West? Katrina Allen Linden, Arizona Most shirts were pullovers and had buttons (or sometimes laces) only partway...
Is 1954’s Dawn at Socorro based on a true story?
Is 1954’s Dawn at Socorro based on a true story? Peter Birkin Kadina, South Australia, Australia Dawn at Socorro brings back memories. I first...
New Mexico Past and Future
Don Diego de Vargas wrote in the late 1600s that New Mexico was “remote beyond compare,” and its cultural history had been as complex as its...
Devil’s Gate
The Sweetwater River Valley in central Wyoming is the setting for this narrative history of a desolate region of the country that remains relatively...
Tom Horn Hits the Auction Block
The former Pinkerton detective and hired gunman hanged for the murder of a rancher’s 14-year-old son, Willie Nickell—a crime he confessed to in...
Preservation: Depot Heroes
Depot Heroes Pioneers participating in the Cherokee Land Run in 1893 settled along four town sites in the Oklahoma Territory: two Pond Creeks and...
Whiskey-Runnin’ Whoop-Up Trail
The landscape along the Whoop-Up Trail was “rolling prairie, cut up occasionally by collies [coulees]—covered with short, dried up grass and prickly...
Have Gun, Safe for Travel?
In this post 9•11 world, where it is getting harder to travel with firearms or wear one as part of an Old West outfit, help is on the way! John...