Contributors
The American West: The Further Adventures Of Ned Beale And The Tejon Ranch
Ned Beale established the Tejon Indian Reservation but it was shut down shut down in 1864. By buying up and consolidating four Mexican land grants, Beale established the Tejon Ranch, which is still in operation today as a working ranch, and is California’s largest tract of private land.
R.B. MillerJanuary 11, 2025
The American West: Ute War Chief Kaniache Tangles With Kit Carson and Ouray
Kit Carson had to walk a fine line in negotiating with the Colorado Utes. He knew the government was eager to move the tribes onto reservations by force if necessary. The Indians knew it, too.
Linda WommackJanuary 10, 2025
The American West: Gateway To The West – St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis, Missouri, the legendary “Gateway to the West,” has a long and important history in the story of America’s westward movement. Once owned by France and then by Spain, it it fell under the jurisdiction of the United States in 1803.
James A. CrutchfieldJanuary 09, 2025
The American West: How Sacajawea Helped Lewis and Clark
Lewis and Clark may not have starved as they ventured up the Missouri River and then down the Columbia River to the Pacific Ocean in 1805, but they could have suffered from scurvy without the food plants gathered and prepared by Sacajawea.
Candy MoultonJanuary 05, 2025
The American West: Bear Butte, The Cheyenne And Lakota Sacred Place
The Cheyenne who have lived in the Northern Plains for hundreds of years, call Bear Butte, Noahvose, or Where the Cheyenne Are Taught. The Lakota call the mountain Mato Paha meaning Bear Butte. The mountain is a sentinel guarding the approaches to the Black Hills.
Bill MarkleyJanuary 04, 2025
The American West: Cattlemen Needed A Solution To Control Rustlers And Hired Tom Horn
When cattlemen needed a solution to the rustling problem in Browns Park, they contacted a man from the Pinkerton Detective Agency. A man who could be relied on to do the job no questions asked: Tom Horn.
Linda WommackJanuary 03, 2025
The American West: A Tale of Two Fur Men
John Jacob Astor's employees experienced many adventures and opportunities in the wilderness of the great Northwest before Astor had to pull out of the Pacific fur trade altogether. Two of them, Ross Cox and Alexander Ross, left written accounts of their adventures.
James A. CrutchfieldJanuary 03, 2025
The American West: Before Tesla Was An Automobile
The Tesla name was appropriated from the man who invented the world we live in today. A man who lived in Colorado Springs and demonstrated the feasibility of his invention at a gold mine in the Rocky Mountains above Telluride. That man was Nikola Tesla.
R.B. MillerJanuary 01, 2025
The American West: Wyoming’s First Female Doctor Kept Big Nose George's Head For Flower Pot
After the lynching and subsequent medical examination of outlaw Big Nose George Parrott, Lillian Heath, who became Wyoming’s first doctor, kept Parrott’s skull cap for years, and used it as a flower pot.
December 30, 2024
The American West: Statehood for Texas
Few issues in American history have generated more political controversy than the annexation of Texas. The decade following its independence from Mexico was filled with debate about the wisdom of allowing the new republic to enter the Union.
James A. CrutchfieldDecember 29, 2024
The American West: Big Trouble in Little Chinatown
The ramifications of the Rock Springs Massacre were only beginning. The murders became an international incident. A formal apology was issued by the United States Government and reparations authorized.
Terry A. Del BeneDecember 28, 2024
The American West: Ned Beale — Unsung Hero
Chances are, the name Ned Beale doesn’t roll off your tongue when reciting heroes of the Old West. It should. Beale’s accomplishments are many, and many are unmatched.
R.B. MillerDecember 27, 2024
The American West: How A Coffee Grinder And A Grindstone Changed Everything
The influence of the Frying Pan Ranch in changing the history of the American West is immeasurable. It proved the usefulness of barbed wire and forever changed livestock raising.
R.B. MillerDecember 26, 2024
The American West: Denver's First Christmas In 1858
The Christmas holidays of 1858 were particularly joyous for Denver City. Wild game was plentiful, as were potatoes, beans, and dried fruit. All were prepared for the holiday meal. Then Richens L. Wooten arrived in Denver City with several wagon loads of merchandise, including wooden kegs of “Taos Lightening.” And the party started!
Linda WommackDecember 22, 2024
The American West: The United States’ First Christmas Present
If the Americans had not crossed the Delaware and if Trenton had not fallen to those rebels, the United States may not have come into existence. The man who saved the day was George Washington – truly the Father of Our Country.
Bill MarkleyDecember 21, 2024
The American West: A Holiday Dinner with Butch Cassidy and the Wild Bunch
Historians write of one fanciful event that took place about 1895 when the Bender Gang, Butch Cassidy, the Sundance Kid, and Elzy Lay treated the residents of the Brown’s Park to Thanksgiving dinner.
Dick PerueDecember 21, 2024
The American West: Chuck Wagons and Cattle Brands
Two enduring features of the heritage and lore of the American West are the development and use of the chuck wagon and the evolution and utilization of branding to denote ownership of cattle.
James A. CrutchfieldDecember 20, 2024
The American West: Northern Boundary Survey
When ordered to make a winter survey in 1873, Second Lieutenant Francis Vinton Greene, of Illinois, set out with a command of men who would face unrelenting cold and extreme challenges as they surveyed the northern boundary between the United States and Canada across Minnesota.
Candy MoultonDecember 15, 2024
The American West: “Is Not This the Red River?”
Zebulon Pike, James Wilkinson, and the quest for the far southwest
James A. CrutchfieldDecember 14, 2024
The American West: Kenneth McKenzie, King Of The Upper Missouri
Kenneth McKenzie ruled an economic empire in the Upper Missouri River Basin during the mid-nineteenth century that was larger than most European countries. His base of operations was Fort Union on the Upper Missouri River.
Bill MarkleyDecember 13, 2024
The American West: The Emperor of America
“In 1859, Joshua Norton declared himself Emperor of the U.S. Norton did not dawdle. He went right to work issuing other decrees, including outlawing Congress. When they did not comply, he ordered the army to put them out. They did not comply, either.”
R.B. MillerDecember 12, 2024
The American West: Things We Get Wrong About Davy Crockett
What have historians gotten wrong about Davy Crockett? Almost everything, including: what to call him, his size, his work ethic, he abandoned his family, and he kept a journal. They were right, however, about his choice of hat.
William GronemanDecember 08, 2024
The American West : Cathay Williams - The First and Only Female Buffalo Soldier
Cathay Williams was the only African American woman to serve in the Civil War and later as a Buffalo soldier in the United States Army, an extraordinary accomplishment.
Linda WommackDecember 08, 2024
The American West: Edward Curtis and His Legacy
Edward Curtis was convinced that he must photographically document the life and lifestyles of American Indians before they became more displaced and marginalized than they already were. With the enthusiasm of a zealot, he embarked on his monumental project.
James A. CrutchfieldDecember 07, 2024