From saddlery to silverwork, San Angelo and the surrounding area is home to an abundance of local makers. Explore the wealth and handiwork that...
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True West Blog
Santa Anna: The Girl He Left Behind
A story is told that while the Mexican Army was preparing for the siege at the Alamo in 1836 Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna caught sight of a beautiful...
King of the Gunmen
Pistoleer Fisher racked up a long list of kills. Texan King Fisher had a fearsome reputation as a gunman—one that was built in the 1870s. He was...
The Indian Civil War
For the Cherokee, the conflict pitted brother against brother. The Civil War not only split the United States, but it also tore apart various Indian...
Taking a Stand
Cherokee leader Watie signed an unpopular treaty. Stand Watie was a controversial Cherokee leader. He and several members of his family signed a...
El Jefe! Santa Anna’s Leg
Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna has to be the undisputed “King of Vain” in Mexico’s history. Along with declaring himself as the “Napoleon of the West,”...
Life on the Santa Fe Trail
It wasn’t only the Indians who made life precarious for the travelers on the Santa Fe Trail. The country was literally crawling with rattlesnakes,...
Bringing out the Big Guns
The first time the army used howitzers against Indians In 1862, a Union army force was making its way across Arizona Territory. They had entered...
The Power of the Pardon
A territorial governor let himself go scot-free. Isaac Stevens was a controversial governor of Washington Territory. In the 1850s, he enacted brutal...
In the Palm of his Hand
An outlaw learned the hard way that a palm print was strong evidence. Ben Kuhl was caught red-handed—so to speak. He and two pals pulled the last...
Greenhorns on the Santa Fe Trail
By 1824 the Santa Fe trade was in full swing. Joshua Gregg, in his classic tome, Commerce of the Prairies, described some of the action as he...
Sheriff’s Duties: Other Than Keeping the Peace
As a rule peace officers in the Old West weren’t held to the high standards they are today. It wasn’t unusual to rough up a suspect in order to get...