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Babocomari Land Grant

Babocomari Land Grant

by | Oct 3, 2022 | True West Blog

From 1821 until the Gadsden Purchase in 1854 the Mexican government sold and awarded granted land under Mexico’s 1824 Law of Colonization, it called for a three-year abandonment clause and the new owners were expected to mark the boundaries with monuments. The...
Cowboy Hats and Western Boots

Cowboy Hats and Western Boots

by | Sep 22, 2022 | Features & Gunfights

The two most recognizable fashion icons of the American West are selling out worldwide. Born out of necessity in the post-Civil War West, the American cowboy hat and Western boot have defined their wearers for over 150 years. Corporate American hatmakers and...
The Winner

The Winner

by | Sep 22, 2022 | Inside History, Investigating History

Joseph Glidden’s invention won the West. In the fall of 1873, Joseph Glidden did what many farmers did and do: he went to the county fair. In this case, it was DeKalb County, Illinois, due west of Chicago and south of Rockford. For Glidden, the annual fair turned out...
Aloha Cowboys

Aloha Cowboys

by | Sep 22, 2022 | Art, Guns and Culture, Old West Saviors

Hawaii’s Paniolo Preservation Society keeps the Old West alive in the 50th state.   Here’s a Cliffs Notes history of the cowboy: The first were the Spanish vaqueros, the second were the Hawaiian Paniolos, the third were the boys in the Old West. The most...
Pocket Guns, Ned Kelly and The Kid

Pocket Guns, Ned Kelly and The Kid

by | Sep 6, 2022 | Ask the Marshall

  I’ve read the transcript of Wyatt Earp’s testimony at the inquest following the gunfight at (near) the O.K. Corral, and it seems he drew his gun from a coat pocket when the shooting started. Why would a professional lawman do that?  Mike Burke (Wilmington,...