On January 24th, 1848, James Marshall was constructing a tailrace for a lumber mill on South Fork of the American River. During the previous night,...
The California Gold Rush
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True West Blog
Lola Montez
Women were an attractive curiosity during the heyday of the California Gold Rush. A woman could hang her underwear out on a clothesline and draw a...
Climax Jim
Climax Jim was the darling of the Arizona press during the late 1890s. Thanks to the fertile imaginations of the old timers who knew him and the...
The Saga of Texas Jack
A successful outlaw got out of the game at the right time. Nathaniel Reed was called “Texas Jack”—a bit odd since he was from Arkansas and...
A Long-Lived Legacy
Preacher Smith’s murder couldn’t stop his words. Henry Weston Smith—better known as Preacher Smith—was the first minister in Deadwood when he...
Was Wyatt Earp a Hero or a Villain? Live with Bob Boze Bell
Was Wyatt Earp a HERO or a VILLAIN? Tune in on August 18th at 5pm PDT to hear Bob Boze Bell's take on the matter. Watch on Facebook:...
Divinity in Deadwood
Henry Weston Smith brought the Bible to the Old West town. Henry Weston Smith was the first minister in Deadwood, arriving in May 1876. For...
The Demise of the Wild Bunch
By the early 1900s the law was closing in and Butch was beginning to feel the pressure. He considered going to South America. The cattle...
In His Own Words: Sheriff Commodore Perry Owens
A few years ago the late Jo Baeza and I spent many hours talking about the Pleasant Valley War. She had spent most of her life in Arizona’s...
The Tonto Basin Campaign 1872-1873
The governor of the Arizona Territory Anson P.K. Safford, representatives from Arizona and California appealed to President Ulysses S. Grant to...
Crossing the Line
Johnny Owens used trickery to arrest an outlaw. Johnny Owens was the sheriff of Weston County, based out of Newcastle, Wyoming (photo) in the early...
Protecting the Clean Shirts
Jim Moon faced down a mob at a Chinese laundry. On October 31, 1880, drunken mobs went after Chinese in Denver. Most of Chinatown was destroyed—but...