Most people associate cowboy and western music originating with Gene Autry, Roy Rogers and Tex Ritter but the music predates the era of the “Singing...
Ragtime Cowboy Joe
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True West Blog
Cole Younger
If I had to choose a favorite outlaw, without hesitation I’d say, “Cole Younger.” Besides being a “good man to ride the river with,” he had many...
The Legend of Elfego Baca
One of the most one-sided gun battles in the West was the one-man stand by Elfego Baca at Frisco, New Mexico on October 28th, 1884. “I’ll show the...
Belle Starr: The Bandit Queen
Sometimes an outlaw had to die before he or she gained fame. Myra Belle Shirley is a good example. She grew up in an affluent Southern family, was...
Knights in Dusty Leather
Despite the violent image of the West there were fewer fatalities in the entire history of a raucous cow town than in an average Hollywood...
A Litany of Train Robberies
Credited with pulling the first peacetime train robbery in America goes to the four, relatively unknown, Reno brothers of Indiana, John, Frank,...
Basking in The Limelight
Billy the Kid and four of his gang were delivered to the jail in Las Vegas, New Mexico on December 26, 1880. They were locked up without much...
Western Films in Arizona
Theaters were a popular form of entertainment in early Arizona and the first moving pictures came to the towns in the 1890’s. They were shown...
Angels Camp Gold Rush
One of the stranger gold strike stories comes from Angels Camp, California in 1856. Bennager Rasberry was squirrel hunting when his ramrod got stuck...
The Birth of Tombstone’s Helldorado Celebration
Tombstone’s first Helldorado celebration was in October 1929—and like so many other things tied to the “Town Too Tough To Die,” there was some...
John Clum: Pioneer Footballer
John Clum is best known for his time in Tombstone, as a newspaperman, mayor, and friend of the Earps and Doc Holliday. But when he was a bit young,...
The Lost Belle McKeever Mine
Arizona historian James McClintock called the Lost Belle McKeever, “the richest gold ledge ever discovered in North America.” It was named not for...