BRAVO Old West Magazine 2024

BRAVO USA

OLD WEST MAGAZINE

Montana, Wyoming

The Cheyenne Frontier Days

Old West Museum Cultivating and Preserving the Western Legacy of Cheyenne Frontier Days Open All Year, 9:00AM - 5:00PM Daily Extended Hours for Cheyenne Frontier Days July 20-29: 8:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m.

BuffaloBill BillCody Cody Buffalo

Cody Wyoming, Rodeo Capital of the World Home of the Buffalo Bill Cody Stampede Rodeo & the Cody Nite Rodeos: cowboys, cowgirls, rodeo entertainers, parades, clowns & more!

This year is the 91st Anniversary of the Buffalo Bill Cody Stampede Rodeo.

Rodeo in Cody, WY is a truly Western event. Its roots go back to ranch contests and games as well as spectacle and drama borrowed from the world famous Wild West shows produced by Col. William F. “Buffalo Bill” Cody.

Top cowboys from across the continent come to Cody, WY for the Buffalo Bill Cody Stampede Rodeo, one of rodeo’s crown jewels that contestants often call “Cowboy Christmas”. For top cowboy and cowgirl contestants, this is the place to win big purses and ride the best stock.

Xtreme Bulls on July 5th features forty of the world’s top bull riders taking their shot at a $50,000 purse and the Cody-Yellowstone Xtreme Bulls title. http:// www.codystampederodeo.com/tickets.cfm Many fine cowboys and cowgirls spend their summers in Cody, Wyoming, competing in the Cody Nite Rodeo and enjoying the lifestyle afforded by this great Western community located near Yellowstone National Park.

If you will not be in town for the July 1st-5th rodeos and activities join us for the other 87 performances of the Cody Nite Rodeo starting June 1st running

Stampede StampedeRodeo Rodeo

every night through August 31st. Performances are general admission and gates open at 7:00 pm with the rodeo beginning at 8:00 pm.

While you’re in town for the Cody Stampede Rodeo, you and your friends or family can also visit the Buffalo Bill Historical Center (BBHC) www.bbhc.org with five internationally acclaimed museums under one roof: the Whitney Gallery of Western Art, the Buffalo Bill Museum, the Plains Indian Museum, the Cody Firearms Museum, the Draper Museum of Natural History and the Harold McCracken Research Library.

Cody is located in Northwestern Wyoming, serviced by Yellowstone Regional Airport http://www.flyyra.com/ is just 52 scenic miles East of Yellowstone National Park where you can see Old Faithful, geysers, wildlife and so much more.

Six Day Wild Bunch Outlaw Trail and Working Ranch Cattle Drive Gallop across sage-spotted plains under deep cerulean skies into red-walled canyons so private and thought provoking, the modern world simply disappears. We ride into our hideout in the hills where the outlaws hide stolen cattle and horses.

Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid robbed stage coaches and trains, escaping into the famous “Hole In The Wall” country. Used a century ago, this trail offers plenty of hiding places for bands of Sioux, Cheyenne, Arapaho, Crow and Blackfeet Indians.

Roundup and trail cattle through the same country as Butch Cassidy, the Sundance Kid, Sitting Bull, Crazy Horse and Dull Knife traveled. Learn how to be a cowboy or cowgirl, saddle and bridle your own horse, sleep in an Indian Lodge and work cattle. Do morning and evening chores, feed, water, and brush your horse, help set up and move camp, and assist with the meals. Enjoy evening talks around the campfire about the day’s adventures and hear tales of the Indians, pioneers, cowboys and outlaws. This is a working ranch vacation.

Rides six days and five nights in “the real Wild West.” www.historictrailswest.com

Six Day Wild Bunch Outlaw Trail and Working Ranch Cattle Drive Pricing: Adult $1595.00 per person • includes your horse, saddle and all meals .

Whitney Gallery of Western Art See artistic masterworks and exciting modern views of the land, people, and wildlife of the West at the Whitney Gallery of Western Art. Visitors are encouraged to make connections across culture and time. The thematic display presents an innovative way of interpreting American art of the West that encourages discovery, creativity, and presents the artwork in a tranquil, contemplative space.

Visitors are welcome to experience the Spirit of the American West through art.

Along with exquisite paintings and sculpture, there are activities located throughout the Whitney Gallery that appeal to all ages and interests.

The collections of the Whitney Gallery of Western Art present a panorama of art about the American West, commemorating the events, people, and the landscape of the Rocky Mountain region. Masterworks in the collection span from the early nineteenth century to contemporary times.

The reconstructed studios of Frederic Remington and Alexander Phimister ter Proctor, as well as the original studio cabin of Joseph Henry Sharp, provide visitors an uncommon opportunity to see the artist’s work environment and discover their process of creation.

In celebration of its fiftieth anniversary, the Whitney Gallery of Western Art was given a new, fresh look. Now grouped by subjects found in art of the West: wildlife, Western landscapes, Native American depictions, Western heroes and legends, and historic events, the Whitney Gallery creates new conversations in art.

Buffalo Bill Historical Center 720 Sheridan Avenue, Cody, Wyoming 82414

307.587.4771, info@bbhc.org

Dan Miller’s COWBOY MUSIC REVUE

Join Dan and his “Empty Saddles Band” at the historic Cody Theater across from the Irma Hotel for an evening of music, comedy and poetry featuring Wendy Corr, Tim Bushnell and Hannah Miller. Now in their 5th season, Dan’s Cowboy Music Revue has entertained thousands of people from all over the world and is a regular stop for many of the tour groups that vacation in Cody.

Dan is the award winning television host of “Xtreme Bulls” on ESPN and “The Best of the West” on the Outdoor Channel. Dan also produces the “Cody Wild West Show,” a live concert series featuring entertainers such such as Lacy J. Dalton, T.G. Sheppard and Mel Tillis. His extraordinary “Cowboy Music Revue” has been featured in “USA Today” and filmed for ESPN and the Travel Channel.

The Cowboy Music Revue performs May through September, Monday through Saturday at the Cody Theater at 1171 Sheridan Avenue. The cost is $15 person and the box office opens at 7:30pm. For tickets and information call 307-272-7855.

Don’t miss your opportunity to enjoy a truly world-class live theater experience in Cody, Wyoming! www.cowboymusicrevue.com

CONTENTS Montana

Wyoming

Helena 21

Cody 67

Missoula 25

Dayton 74

Kalispell 27

Sheridan 75

Great Falls 29

Big Horn 79

Fort Benton 33

Buffalo 81

Malta 45

Kaycee 83

Glasgow 46

Casper 85

Bainsville 47

Lusk 89

Scobey 49

Cheyenne 91

Sidney 50

Laramie 93

Virginia City 51

Rawlins 97

Bozeman 53

Baggs 99

Bridger 55

Rock Springs 100

Lewiston 57

South Pass City 101

Roundup 58

Lander 103

Billings 59

Pinedale 105

Hardin 61

Jackson 106

Ft. Bridger 107

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OLD WEST Magazine 2024

34TH ANNUAL MONTANA COWBOY POETRY GATHERING & WESTERN MUSIC RENDEZVOUS

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission in writing of the copyright holder.

Thursday, August 15, 2021 - Sunday, August 18, 2021 1001 Casino Creek Dr Lewistown, MT 59457 406-535-8721

Publishers note: All effort has been made to keep this guide book up to date regarding shops still being in business, hours, change of names and so on.

Be sure to check ahead if you are traveling out to a destination.

Best, Christopher BRAVO, Old West Magazine ISBN Published and bound in Canada www,adventure-guides.ca Advebnture Guides 1038 East 63rd Avenue Vancouver BC V5X2L1 chris@metro-online.ca

This four-day cultural event gives visitors the opportunity to experience a visual and oral history of the West and central Montana, typical of that depicted by Charlie Russell, who lived and painted in this area for many years. The ultimate goal of this event is to continue passing the legacy of our western heritage on to future generations. The audience has the opportunity to listen to and enjoy genuine western poetry and music from those still practicing that life.

In 1996 a Centennial year, the committee of the annual Buffalo Bill Ball asked Jay Thorington to create a skit as entertainment for the guests attending the ball.

Later the group that performed this skit realized that this was a great idea to perform on the streets of Cody, Wyoming next to the famous Irma Hotel. Subsequently the Gunfighters, a non-profit organization was born. These enthusiast created such characters as Buffalo Bill, Wild Bill Hickok, Ike Clanton, Mad Dog Harry Tracy, Emmett Dalton, Lucky Bill, Doc Payne, Laddy Da, Crazy Cora, Miss Cassie, Fred White and Teton Jackson.

These characters represented the Wild West. All re-enactors created their own authentic costumes.

The players are primarily volunteer and dedicate many hours in preparation for the season as well as make a commitment 6 nights a week from June - Sept. Known well as one of the best shows in the Wild Wild West, you can not afford to miss this yearly event. www.codygunfighters.com -17-

Occidental Hotel Buffalo, Wyoming

877 447 3612

www.occidentalwyoming.com

The Historic Occidental Hotel in Buffalo, Wyoming has hosted many notorious guests over the years including Butch Cassidy and the Hole-inthe-Wall Gang, Calamity Jane, Buffalo Bill, Tom Horn, Teddy Roosevelt, President Herbert Hoover and Ernest Hemingway. The Virginian Restaurant at the Occidental Hotel is named after the famous novel “The Virginian” by Owen Wister who also spent a fair amount of time there. Colorful cowboys, lawmen and drifters were regular customers. Today, the hotel has been accurately and beautifully restored to its original grandeur. Current owners Dawn and John Wexo purchased the building in 1997 and began a 10-year restoration process. All rooms and suites are furnished with antiques and decorated in elegant period style.

Many original features remain such as the embossed tin ceilings and several antique chairs along with the 23 bullet holes in the saloon. The 25-foot back bar in the saloon was brought in by wagon over a hundred years ago. True West Magazine recognized this gem by recently naming The Occidental Hotel “The Best Hotel in the West.”

Montana Helena 21

Sidney 50

Missoula 25

Virginia City 51

Kalispell 27

Bozeman 53

Great Falls 29

Bridger 55

Fort Benton 33

Lewiston 57

Malta 45

Roundup 58

Glasgow 46

Billings 59

Bainsville 47

Hardin 61

Scobey 49

HELENA

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“Queen City of the Rockies”

Montana Historical Society Museum

225 N. Roberts,

406-444-2694

Helena

Helena was founded with the July 14, 1864 discovery of gold in a gulch off the Prickly Pear valley by the “Four Georgians.” The city’s main street is named Last Chance Gulch and lies close to the winding path of the original gulch through the historic downtown district. The original camp was named “Last Chance” by the Four Georgians. By fall, the population had grown to over 200 and the name “Last Chance” was viewed as too crass. On October 30, 1864, a group of at least seven men met to name the town, authorize the layout of the streets, and elect commissioners. By 1888, about 50 millionaires lived in Helena, more per capita than any city in the world. About $3.6 billion (in today’s dollars) of gold was taken from Last Chance Gulch over a 20-year period. By 1888, about 50 millionaires lived in Helena, more per capita than any city in the world.

MONTANA

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©2005 E N Enterprizes

Conrad Mansion NW Montana Historic Village & Museum

Old Fort Baker House Historical Museum

Fort Union Trading Post Museum

Kalispell

C.M. Russell Museum

Bainville

Fort Benton Great Falls

Helena Last Chance Tour Train Montana Historical Society

Bozeman

Billings

Hardin

Virginia City Bridger Nevada City

Museum of the Rockies

Little Big Horn Battlefield Little Big Horn Reenactment

Peter Yegen Museum Western Heritage Center Custer Battlefield Chief Joseph Battlefield

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Wagon Ride Dinners Experience a memorable evening of good food and good times. Travel back in time via horse-drawn wagons through high mountain forest to Montana’s largest, the Moose Meadow Tipi.

Enjoy a gourmet meal, such as prime rib with fresh garden salad, homemade rolls, potatoes du jour, and fresh vegetables; topped off with huckleberry cheesecake and cowboy coffee served family style. As well as, live western entertainment featuring, Montana’s own Bruce Anfinson.

Round trip transportation from historic Helena on our comfortable deluxe buses, wagon ride to and from the Moose Meadow tipi in our custom-made covered wagons pulled by teams of draft horses, a full course gourmet meal complete with Montana huckleberry cheesecake and campfire tunes by, Montana Musical Ambassador, Bruce Anfinson. The whole event is $76 per person. www.lastchanceranch.biz

Last Chance Ranch

2884 Grizzly Gulch, Helena, MT 59601

(406) 442-2884, www.lastchanceranch.biz

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Origional Governor’s Mansion (circa 1888) Montana’s Original Governor’s Mansion has a long and varied history. Early Helena speculator and developer William Chessman constructed the home in 1888, where he lived with his wife Penelope, their two children and servants. After Chessman lost his fortune in the national Panic of 1893, the bank that owned the house’s mortgage sold it to Peter Larson, a railroad contractor and business investor.

Banker Harfield Conrad and his wife Kathryn bought the residence in 1911.

Two years later, the State of Montana purchased the home, designating it as the first official governor’s residence. It served this public function for eight governors and their families over the next 46 years until the completion of the new governor’s mansion near the State Capitol in 1959.

304 North Ewing, Helena, MT 59620, 406-442-3115 Golden Girls Antique Mall 505 North Last Chance Gulch Street • Helena, MT 59601 406-443-3893 Open seven days a week, this large antique mall includes a large selection of vendors.

Jerome House Antiques 1721 Highland Street • Helena, MT 59601 406-442-1776 Jerome House Antiques is open every day and offers an inventory of collectible china, antique..

Missouri River Pawn & Antique 225 East Lyndale Avenue • Helena, MT 59601 406-442-8247

Shop here every week from Monday through Saturday for collectibles, gold, antique guns and tools.

Prickly Pear Antiques & Collectibles 104 East Broadway Street • Helena, MT 59601, 406-443-4421 Prickly Pear carries art prints, books, Depression glass, jewelry and vintage home decor.

Tori’s Antiques 424 North Last Chance Gulch Street • Helena, MT 59601 406-442-5595 You never know what treasures you will find in this charming store.

MISSOULA

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Fort Missoula The city of Missoula began as a tenuous settlement known as Hell Gate in 1860, when entrepreneurs C. P. Higgins and Francis Worden saw trade possibilities and opened a log store in the valley.

The search for gold and the completion of the Mullan Road in 1863 opened up travel from Fort Benton, Montana, to Walla Walla, Washington, and brought people to the Missoula Valley. The settlement became known as Missoula, taken from a Salish Indian word meaning “near the cold, chilling waters.” The city’s success was aided by four factors.

First, the U.S. Army established Fort Missoula southwest of the town in 1877. Second, the Northern Pacific Railroad reached Missoula in 1883, the same year the city was incorporated. Fort Missoula was established by the United States Army in 1877 to protect settlers from Indians.

Historical Museum at Fort Missoula

Bldg. 322, Fort Missoula, Missoula, MT 59804

406.728-3476 www.fortmissoulamuseum.org

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Northern Rockies Heritage Center

The Mission of the Northern Rockies Heritage Center is the preservation of the heritage and integrity of historic Fort Missoula.

The Fort Missoula Property The physical property of Fort Missoula is comprised of nineteen historic buildings, formal open spaces, multiple tree-lined roads, and a small military cemetery, all on the National Historic Register.

The NRHC Property In April 2000 the Northern Rockies Heritage Center received formal title to 16 acres and thirteen Historic Register buildings at Fort Missoula. The historic area now owned and supervised by NRHC includes seventeen acres upon which resides “Officers’ Row”—eight elegant buildings constructed in the early 1900’s for military headquarters and officers’ residences— arranged in an arc around a parade ground.

Military History Fort Missoula is one of Montana’s most visible and accessible links to America’s wars and battles. The Fort was founded in 1877 when two companies of the U.S. Army’s Seventh Infantry were stationed here for action in the Indian Wars, including the forced surrender of Chief Joseph and the Nez Perce tribe. During the 1880’s and 1890’s, the historically acclaimed 24th and 25th Black Infantry Regiments were garrisoned at the Fort. By 1915 construction was completed on the “New Post” area, which incorporated Mission Revival style architecture and a major expansion of the Fort’s size.

KALISPELL

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“flat land above the lake” Kalispell, Montana, began as a railroad town and this fact shaped its history for many years. The word “Kalispell” is from the Salish Indian language and means “flat land (or prairie) above the lake.” The townsite was platted in the Spring of 1891 by founder Charles Conrad for James J. Hill, owner of the Great Northern serve as a division point for a rail route being constructed from St. Paul, MN to Seattle, WA. Soon after “...the iron horse snorted in the Garden of Eden...” the earlier town of Demersville (located just four miles to the southeast of the new town of Kalispell) became a ghost town. Many of its buildings were moved on log rollers across the open prairie to Kalispell. Although established as a railroad town, the period of rail glory did not last long. In 1904 the Great Northern Railway relocated the main line to the north, with Whitefish as its new division point.

Stageline Antiques

Advertising signs, Gas Pumps, Pedal Toys, Coca Cola 2510 Whitefish Stage Kalispell, Montana 59901

406-755-1044

28

The Conrad Mansion Museum The Conrad Mansion was designed by Spokane architect, Kirtland Cutter, and was completed in 1895. The home’s exterior is punctuated by arches, long gables, bay windows and massive native stone chimneys.

The Conrad Mansion in Kalispell, Montana sits proudly today on the edge of the original townsite, atop a bluff overlooking the valley and the Swan mountain range. When Charles E. Conrad, a founder of Kalispell, arrived in the Flathead Valley in 1891, this lovely town with its tree-lined streets was still but a dream.

But Conrad had vision, and he felt that not only had he found a good investment opportunity, but also a permanent home for his descendants. Along with establishing the Kalispell Townsite Company and eventually the Conrad National Bank, he had this gracious Victorian home built for his beloved family in 1895 in what was then a wilderness.

Charles Conrad’s youngest daughter, Alicia Conrad Campbell, actually lived in the home until 1964. Then, in 1974, she made the decision to give the Conrad Mansion to the city of Kalispell in memory of her pioneering parents. The Conrad Mansion is open 10:00a.m. - 5:00p.m. for guided tours on the hour from May 15th to October 14th, Tuesday through Sunday (closed Monday). The last tour starts at 4pm.

The mansion staff and board would like to thank everyone who helped make this year’s Holiday Christmas Bazaar event a success! Everyone commented on the wonderful variety and creativity with those handcrafted items displayed at the event. We would also like to give special recognition to Nikki Sliter for all of her work on this event through the years. Christmas Tours begin the day after Thanksgiving to December 19th, Thursday - Sunday at 11 am, 1 pm, 3pm reservations recommended. www.conradmansion.com

GREAT FALLS

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Named After Several Spectacular Falls The city of Great Falls was not named after one “great fall” but after several spectacular falls that are located on the Missouri river near the city. In fact, these great falls cost the Lewis and Clark Expedition an extra month of precious time and energy to portage around.

Meriwether Lewis was the first white person to visit the site, which he did on June 13, 1805, as part of the Lewis and Clark Expedition. York, an African American slave owned by William Clark and who had participated in the Expedition, was the first black American to visit the site of the future city.

Following the return passage of Lewis and Clark in 1806, there is no record of any white person visiting the site of the city of Great Falls until explorer and trapper Jim Bridger reached the area in 1822.

Lewis and Clark Interpretive Center

4201 Giant Springs Road Great Falls,

406.727.8733

30

C.M.Russell Museum

Welcome to the C.M. Russell Museum, a place where the Old West is still alive. Artist Charles M. Russell captured the landscapes, the spirit, and the culture of the West during the late 1800s and early 1900s. His artwork is part entertainment, party history lesson.

Russell’s log studio was built in 1903 and is adjacent to his home. Made of western red cedar telephone poles, the studio is filled with authentic cowboy gear and Indian artifacts that Russell collected and used as he painted or sculpted. View the setting where Charlie created many of his significant works!

The C.M. Russell home is a blue, two-story frame house built in 1900 for a mere $800! It is furnished with period pieces as well as items from the Russell family. In its time, it was located in the most fashionable district in Great Falls. Charles M. Russell died on October 24, 1926 in the front bedroom of this home.

The Museum Store features unique museum-quality gifts and collectables.

The Store offers a large mail order catalog and can ship items anywhere in the world. It also boasts the largest selection of reproductions of Russell paintings.

Russell’s West Discovery Gallery was designed especially for families and children of all ages to explore together. This interactive gallery features period props, art activities, recreated environments, and a special family guide.

13th Street North Great Falls, MT 59401 (406) 727-8787 www.cmrussell.org

31 Built in the late 1930’s by the National Youth Administration and opened in 1941, the Cowboys Museum is an authentic log cabin with double fireplaces and replicas of hitching posts from Montana’s frontier days.

Inside it is filled with Old West relics. Actual items with which cowboys, stockmen, and pioneers worked with are on display, including rawhide rope, branding irons and ox yokes.

Other exhibits include a lady’s intricately fashioned side-saddle, a trick rope saddle, numerous Indian artifacts, and a Kimball-Reed organ, brought down river from St. Louis to Fort Benton, Montana in 1876.

Gun collectors would be in awe at the ages of some of the guns on display, including an old muzzleloading shotgun, a flintlock rifle, and Civil War bayonets.

The Cowboys Museum also has its share of famed exhibits: a pair of spurs given to Jack Kennedy in 1890 by Tom Horn, the subject of the Steve McQueen movie ‘Tom Horn’, a rivet set made by Kid Curry, local artist Charlie Russell’s black boots (curled from wear), Russell’s bed tarp and pictures of his funeral procession also capture a visitor’s eye.

MONTANA COWBOYS ASSOCIATION MUSEUM & BAR The Cowboys Museum is one of the many projects the Montana Cowboys Association has undertaken to perpetuate the historical importance of our western heritage. Built in the late 1930’s by the National Youth Administration and opened in 1941, the Cowboys Museum is an authentic log cabin with double fireplaces and replicas of hitching posts from Montana’s frontier days.

Inside it is filled with Old West relics.

311 3rd Street Northwest, Great Falls,

406-761-9299

32

Great Falls Historic Trolley and Tour de Great Falls have teamed up to provide visitors and local folks with choices of in-town or out-of-town sightseeing tours, shuttle service transportation, and Step-on Tour Guides.

You have come to the right Place to explore the intriguing and colorful history, bountiful culture and beautiful scenery of this wonderful community known as Great Falls, Montana. Of course, if you wish to venture out of town and take in an excursion to one of our many other attractions in Big Sky Country, again you have come to the right Place.

Whether you are seeking Lewis & Clark Trail sites, museums, pow wow’s, rodeos, historic saloons, waterfalls, awesome historic architecture, historic churches, band concerts and beautiful flower gardens in our parks, festivals, parades, horseback riding, hunting, fishing, floating, hiking, golfing, biking, ball games, auto racing, winter sports, lodging, shopping or a real good restaurant, you have come to the right Place.

If it is the majestic grandeur of the Rocky Mountain scenery, a dude ranch, discovering another city beneath the city streets, dinosaur digs, a buffalo jump, a Hutterite Colony, a scenic “Gates of the Mountains” cruise on the Missouri, or learning about our Capitol and Last Chance Gulch aboard the Helena tour train, you have come to the right Place.

For our local area folks and visitors, perhaps you are planning a convention or conference, class or family reunion, business appreciation excursion, wedding, bachelor/bachelorette, birthday or anniversary party, 4-H or Scouts activity, church outing, school field trip, or another special occasion, and are looking for a unique tour or shuttle service, then you have definitely come to the right Place.

406-771-1100 1-888-707-1100, www.greatfallshistorictrolley.com

FORT BENTON

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The Birthplace of Montana Step back in time as you explore the history of the American West at Fort Benton, Montana’s remarkable museums. Explore hundreds of years of frontier history. The time of the Blackfeet hunts on the northern plains, the passage of Lewis & Clark, the fur & robe trade from palisaded forts along the Upper Missouri, the final attempt to settle the great plains...all the stories can be discovered at Fort Benton’s remarkable museums.

The River and Plains Society P.O. Box 262 Fort Benton,

406-622-5316 www.fortbenton.com

Home of Old Fort Benton, The Museum of the Northern Great Plains The State of Montana’s Museum of Agriculture, The Hornaday/Smithsonian Buffalo & Western Art Gallery, Homestead Village, The Museum of the Upper Missouri and the Upper Missouri River Breaks Interpretive Center

Museum of the Northern Great Plains

1205 20th Street

Fort Benton, Montana, 406-622-5316

34

Historic Old Fort Benton

Experience the fur and buffalo robe trade of the 1850’s at Historic Old Fort Benton, Montana.

Here the Blackfeet and other tribes traded buffalo robes and other furs for trade goods such as beads, guns, blankets, knives, cookware, and cloth.

Our knowledgeable guides will lead you on your journey of discovery of the Fort that became the most important robe trading post on the Upper Missouri River.

The Fort presents a visual and interpretative experience into the romantic era of the early settlement of the Northern plains and provides a comprehensive overview of the Western Fur and Buffalo Robe Trade’s historical significance on the Upper Missouri River. Situated in the heart of the country that was once the center of the Upper Missouri trade region, the Fort stands as a monument to the men and the commerce that opened the West.

Tours Daily from Memorial Day weekend through September 30th Monday through Saturday - Tours are at 10:30 AM & 1:30 PM Sunday Tours are at 1:30 PM

35

Homestead Village Homestead Village, located at the Museum of the Northern Great Plains & Montana Agricultural Center complex, offers the visitor a chance to explore the typical 1900’s rural community.

Many of the buildings located in Homesteader Village are from abandoned homestead era towns. They have been moved onto the site and accurately restored, and furnished. Buildings along the street include a small country church, a bank, a drug store, City Hall, a one room School, a Mercantile and three generations of prairie settler’s dwellings.

36

The Hornaday/Smithsonian Buffalo and Western Art Gallery The Hornaday/Smithsonian Buffalo and Western Art Gallery is located at the Museum of the Northern Great Plains complex. The Gallery is home not only to the world famous Buffalo display but also houses a small but impressive collection of western art by 19th Century artists including John Mix Stanley and Granville Stuart, and contemporary artists including Bob Scriver and Bob Morgan.

The above group of six buffalo (bison) is the most significant collection of an American symbol in the United States.

The animals were collected in 1886 by William T. Hornaday for the National Museum in Washington D.C. It was feared that bison were about to become extinct and none had been preserved in the national collection. They were taken from the last of the wild herd found between the Yellow the Yellowstone and Missouri Rivers, the same area as the last buffalo hunt of the Blackfoot in 1879 before they were forced to the reservation. Twenty-four animals were taken by Hornaday, but only these six mounts were put on exhibition at the Smithsonian in 1887.

During their seventy years of prominent display, the big bull was the model for several national symbols and government issues. Coins and paper currency, the Great Seal of the Department of the Interior, postage stamps and the National Park Service badge bear the likeness of the big bull in the Hornaday Collection.

The group was dismantled, returned to Montana, and placed in storage in 1955.

After years of neglect the mounts were completely restored and returned to public display in 1996.

37

Museum of the Upper Missouri Explore the history and legends of the Upper Missouri River and its head of navigation, Fort Benton, Montana.During the steamboat era, Fort Benton evolved from a fur trade post, to a wild lawless river port full of “scamps and scoundrels” and finally into a sophisticated city of merchant princes, bankers, successful businessmen and cattlemen.

Displays guide you through the eras of exploration, the time of fur posts and military posts, and into the “golden age” of Fort Benton. Wagons rolled in all directions from the Fort Benton levee, carrying people and supplies to the northwestern U.S. and western Canada.

The Whoop-Up Trail, Mullan Road and other important routes are featured in major displays.

Additional displays focus upon historical characters, places, and events along the Upper Missouri and in Fort Benton.

38

The Missouri Breaks National Monument Interpretive Center The Missouri Breaks National Monument Interpretive Center highlights the natural and cultural history of the Upper Missouri River Breaks National Monument. Boating information for those floating the Wild and Scenic Upper Missouri River is available, as well as hands-on exhibits about the land, the wildlife and culture of the area.

View the rifle an exhausted and disheartened Nez Perce leader Chief Joseph surrendered on October 5, 1877 to General Nelson A. Miles, at the Bears Paw Battlefield of Montana.Step inside a replica steamboat pilot house, with artifacts from the actual steamboat the Far West. View a life size version of a Murphy freight wagon that pulled supplies - brought up river on steamboats - to far flung reaches of Montana and beyond. Come learn about the pallid sturgeon and paddlefish – which have been in the Missouri River since the age of the dinosaurs.

The Classroom features a 3-D model of the Missouri River landscape and incredible images – depicted from Karl Bodmer’s journey up the Missouri in 1833.

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The Zortman - Landusky Area The little towns of Zortman and Landusky grew up in the early 1900s around the Ruby Mine, at one time the second largest producer of gold in Montana. From 1904 to 1920, when the mine burned, it produced 5 million dollars in gold. The small towns and surrounding area make interesting territory for exploration.

Though they are officially considered ghost towns, Zortman actually has some thriving businesses.You can try your hand at panning for gold here and also get an enlightened perspective on the environmental costs of mining. The gold-mining companies that once thrived here, but are not currently in operation, used a cyanide-leaching method of mining in which cyanide is poured over rocks containing gold flakes. The cyanide leaches out the small flecks of gold, but the waste water from the process contaminates both the creeks and groundwater. If you explore the area near the town of Landusky you will see beautiful, clear streams with signs warning visitors not to drink or get in the water. You can also see how the mine has eaten up the mountain. It’s an easy place to explore and you will find interesting rock formations in these pretty mountains. This eTrail provides detailed information on family-friendly things to do. The destinations include: Zortman, Camp Creek Campground and Buffington Picnic Area, Landusky, Montana Gulch Campground, and Landusky Cemetery Powell Landusky, a teenager from Missouri, came to Last Chance Gulch during the late 1870s and eked out an existence panning for gold. In 1880, Landusky, in a fight with some Souix Indians, took a bullet in the jaw, which disfigured him for life. In 1893, Landusky and a partner were prospecting along a ridge when they discovered a vein of rich ore thirteen feet wide that would yield them $13,000 a ton and the stampede was on. The mining camp was known as Landusky and on June 9, 1894, it officially became the town of Landusky. Christmas was always a time for celebration for mining activity was at a minimum due to heavy snowfall.

It was to be Powell Landusky’s last Chtristmas. On the morning of December 26, 1894, Powell Landusky walked into a saloon and ordered a drink for it was bitter cold that morning. Kid Curry, with whom Landusky had been feuding, came into the saloon and a fight between two ensued. Landusky was shot and killed by Kid Curry who later was to join up with Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. Enough old structures remain to imagine what Landusky was like in its violent days.

41

The Outlaw Trail

by Candy Moulton

Members of the Wild Bunch Gang hopscotched across one isolated region to another where they found refuge from lawmen and posses once they had pulled off a job—whether it was robbing a bank or a railroad payroll.

They traveled many routes across the West in their quest for riches and for sanctuary, including what became known as the Outlaw Trail, stretching from the Canadian border to the Mexican border.

The pathway from Landusky, Montana, to Alma, New Mexico, took the Wild Bunch through Hole-in-the-Wall Country, across the Red Desert, through Browns Park and on to Robbers Roost. In this colorful country, they engaged in an even more colorful collection of escapades. Before he even joined the Wild Bunch Bunch, Harvey Logan’s deadly shot was known to citizens of Montana, especially after his altercation with the founder of Landusky.

Landusky met his end in late December 1894. Harvey Logan threatened him, and the two got in a fistfight. Landusky ended up pulling a gun on Harvey. When Landusky’s gun misfired, Logan fatally shot back.

Fourteen months later, in February 1896, Jim Winters, a neighboring rancher in Landusky, killed Johnny Logan in a dispute over homesteading rights. Five years passed, but Harvey avenged his brother’s death in 1901 by killing Winters.

The graves of Powell “Pike” Landusky and Harvey’s brother Johnny have bodies in them because men overreacted to situations that might have been settled with simple fisticuffs, had there been a cooler head to turn them.

By the late 1890s, Harvey Logan went by the alias Kid Curry, and was riding with Robert Leroy Parker (Butch Cassidy) and Harry Longabaugh (Sundance Kid) as part of the Wild Bunch. Landusky, Montana, became one of the northern-most points of the Outlaw Trail they used, and that is where we will start on this road of the renegades.

42 Ghost North of the Missouri Landusky is not much of a town these days. In fact, it is almost a ghost located north of the Missouri River.

You can travel the route of the Wild Bunch by taking U.S. 191 south to Lewistown then heading east and south on U.S. 87 through Roundup to Billings. At Billings, drive onto Interstate 90 and follow it east and south through Crow Agency to Sheridan and Buffalo, Wyoming. Plan to spend the night in Buffalo so you can visit the Jim Gatchell Museum before you head south on I-25 and west on state route 190 into Hole-in-the-Wall Country.

Every member of the Wild Bunch spent some time in the Hole during the late 19th century, taking advantage of the isolation of the land and the support they received from small ranchers. Named for the opening in the red wall that allowed access, Hole-in-the-Wall today is a site on public land managed by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management, bordered by private ranches that ring the area.

Like it was when Butch and the boys hung out here, Hole-in-the-Wall Country is isolated, remote, seemingly devoid of people. Some are around, that’s for sure, but as the late, great cowboy singer Chris LeDoux (who lived near Kaycee) once said, “You just can’t see them from the road.” Could it be because there aren’t even many roads around these parts?

After detouring to the Hole, head to Kaycee for a visit to Hoofprints of the Past Museum, then drive south on I-25 to Casper, where you will find a variety of lodging and dining options. I’d be remiss if I didn’t urge you to visit the National Historic Trails Interpretive Center and Fort Caspar, both outstanding facilities with new exhibits in place.

Blasting Rawlins When departing Casper, take Wyoming Highway 220 and U.S. 287 west and south to Rawlins, a community in the center of outlaw country. Visit the Wyoming Frontier Prison (which has its electric chair still in place, though no longer functioning). I first visited this place when I was nine years old, when it was still in use as a prison. The prison scared the heck out of me then, and it is still creepy today.

43 Head a couple blocks up the street from the prison to the Carbon County Museum with its collection of outlaw items including another creepy thing in Rawlins—a pair of shoes made from the hide of Big Nose George Parrott. This outlaw took part in the killing of two deputy sheriffs and was eventually lynched in town (then skinned by the local doctor). He made his mark in Wyoming roughly 20 years before the Wild Bunch rode through.

The Wild Bunch robbed trains both east and west of Rawlins. A spectacular explosion of an express car took place at Wilcox (roughly 60 miles east of Rawlins) on June 2, 1899. The less spectacular, but certainly daring, robbery of a Union Pacific train occurred at Tipton on August 29, 1900, with the gang stealing an estimated $50,000. Anyone who has seen the 1969 classic film Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid knows C.E. Woodcock was aboard both those trains as the express car attendant. To avoid the dynamite blast that almost killed him in Wilcox, Woodcock left the express car in Tipton when the outlaws insisted he get out of their way.

I recommend a picturesque detour from Tipton. To immerse yourself more in Butch and Sundance’s world view, head to the hideouts frequented by the Wild Bunch at Powder Springs and at Browns Park.

Beyond a few isolated ranches, not much was found in this area when the Wild Bunch rode through. To be honest, the area is still quite uninhabited. So be sure to fill your fuel tank and stock up the cooler with water and food for the trip.

The Wild Bunch and their outlaw cohorts often returned to this area of southern Wyoming and northwestern Colorado after pulling off a job. Some of them found work with the local ranchers. They rested here, sharing some of the wealth that they had taken from a variety of banks and trains in diverse locations such as Montpelier, Idaho, Winnemucca, Nevada, and Telluride, Colorado.

PHOTO: Carbon County Museum

44 My first trip through this outlaw country, years ago, took me west from Rawlins to Tipton and then south to Powder Springs before turning east to Baggs, Wyoming, a community where Butch and Sundance routinely spent time. One of the town’s log buildings is reputedly one they stayed in.

From Rawlins, drive on I-80 and head west 20 miles to Creston Junction. Then turn south on Highway 789 to Baggs. From Baggs, you can continue on south on Highway 13 to Craig, Colorado, where you should stop at the Museum of Northwest Colorado, with its display of outlaw items, and then turn west on U.S. 40 and travel across Browns Park.

Another alternate route I suggest is driving west on I-80 to Rock Springs (where Cassidy supposedly once worked as a butcher—and gained his nickname “Butch”) and then traveling south on U.S. 191. Either way, you’ll pass through plenty of wide open country before you enter Utah.

MALTA

45

Kid Curry, began his career here in 1894 In 1894 Kid Curry began his outlaw career here when he shot ‘Pike’ Landusky.

In the following years Kid Curry committed several more crimes in Phillips County, including a train robbery west of Malta in 1901. Authentic artifacts from the period highlight the story of the outlaw and his gang, the Wild Bunch in the Phillips County Musuem. On July 3, 1901 Kid Curry (Harvey Logan), as part of Butch Cassidy’s Wild Bunch, robbed a train just west of Malta, near Wagner, Montana, making off with about $40,000. Rare artifacts from these incidents are on display in our museum, including photographs, newspaper clippings, wanted posters, and pistols. The area also has a rich cowboy heritage. Artifacts from the cowboy lifestyle are exhibited all over the museum.

Phillips County Museum

431 US Hwy 2 E., Malta

406-654-1037 www.phillipscountymuseum.org

GLASGOW

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One Of The Last Three Hide Tipis In Existence Glasgow was founded in 1887 as a railroad town by James J. Hill, who was responsible for creating many communities along the Hi-Line. The town was named after Glasgow, Scotland. Glasgow grew during the 1930s when President Franklin Roosevelt authorized the construction of the Fort Peck Dam, which became a major source of employment for the Glasgow area. Today its economy is heavily dependent on agriculture. Wheat, alfalfa, and barley are the main crops and a large number of beef cattle herds are raised there as well.

The Fort Peck Theatre seen tight is a local National Treasure built in 1934 by the United States Army Corps of Engineers. There is an original Arc movie projector in its lobby.

In 1804 the Lewis and Clark expedition came within 15 miles (24 km) of the future site of Glasgow and noted the extensive herds of buffalo and various game.

Valley County Pioneer Museum

816 Hwy 2 • Glasgow,

406-228-8692 w.ww.valleycountymuseum.com

BAINVILLE

47

The Grandest Fort on the Upper Missouri Fort Union Trading Post was the most important fur trading post on the upper Missouri from 1828 to 1867. At this post, the Assiniboine, Crow, Cree, Ojibway, Blackfeet, Hidatsa, and other tribes traded buffalo robes and other furs for trade goods such as beads, guns, blankets, knives, cookware, and cloth. This partial reconstructed trading post serves as a stage for living history interpretation. During the summer various fur trade personnel are portrayed within the courtyard of the trading post. Between the fort gates through the south entrance is the Trade House. Historically when tribes came to trade the main trading sessions were done here. Come learn the stories and history of this unique place.

Fort Union in partnership with James Memorial Art Center in Williston ND and Mondak Heritage Center in Sidney MT will sponsor Ranger Talks.

(From Culbertson MT, Follow US 2 East to Bainville. A right turn at Bainville leads to a scenic 15 mile gravel road to the fort)

Pioneers Pride Museum

Bainville,

406-769-2596

48

Fort Union Trading Post National Historic Site Fort Union Trading Post was established in 1828 by the American Fur Company. It was not a government or military post, but a business, established for the specific purpose of doing business with the northern plains tribes. This trade business continued until 1867 making it the longest lasting American fur trading post.

The fort had visits from various people who became well known during the fur trade period. Names like, George Catlin, Karl Bodmer, John James Audubon and prince Maximilian. Tribal leaders came from many of the nations that traded here at Fort Union as well. A variety of jobs by skilled workers made up many of the duties done at here.

The people, places and stories are a large part of the make up when looking at Fort Union during its historic period. With the help of local citizens and agencies, the site was acquired by the National Park Service in 1966. After three archaeological projects, reconstruction of the bourgeois house was completed in 1987, followed by the walls and bastions in 1989 and finishing the trade house in 1991. www.nps.gov/fous

SCOBEY

On The Outlaw Trail Long before Scobey, Montana, located near the crossroads of the Wood Mountain Trail and Outlaw Trail, became the city it is today, the wide-open prairies of this region were occupied by Indians pursuing the migrating buffalo followed by the fur traders and the outlaws seeking refuge from their crimes.

Settlers began coming into the area in 1901. Mansfield Daniels, whom the county was eventually named after in 1920, had the vision of starting a settlement along the Poplar River. That year he secured a post office and began building his townsite, which included a blacksmith shop, livery stable, hotel, general implement dealer, and saloon, to name a few. By 1924, Scobey was the largest primary wheat market in the United States and that distinction continued into 1925 and 1926.

Daniels named the town after his friend Major Charles Richardson Anderson Scobey, a cattleman from the Glendive area who served as a Montana Territory legislator and an Indian agent at Fort Peck and Poplar.

Daniels County Museum & Pioneer Town

7 Blocks west of Main Street on 2nd Avenue w.w.w.scobeymt.com/museum.html

49

SIDNEY

50

MonDak Pioneer Town Visit an authentic recreation of an early 20th century MonDak Pioneer Town. In our basement you can step into the past, stroll the boardwalks and visit the first Post Office in Dore, ND, stop by the garage to buy some gas for 23 cents a gallon, and check to see if your train will leave on time at the Sidney Rail Station. The Donald Baue homestead shack was moved from Sioux Pass and placed in the Center’s lower level prior to completion of the main level above. The shack, built in 1907, is all original with a few exceptions.

The city lies along the Yellowstone River and is in proximity to the badlands of the Dakotas.

MonDak Historical Center

120 3rd Ave SE, Sidney, MT 59270

(406) 433-3500

VIRGINIA CITY

51

Ghost Town Of Virginia City In May 1863, after gold was discovered Virginia City was a veritable boomtown of thousands in the midst of a gold rush with no law enforcement whatsoever, except for vigilantism. Most of Montana became under the rule of a Vigilance committee which operated on both sides of the law. Their secret motto, 3-7-77 is still on the badges, patches, and car door insignia of the Montana Highway Patrol.

In the 1940s, Charles and Sue Bovey began buying the town, putting much needed maintenance into failing structures. The ghost town of Virginia City began to be restored for tourism in the 1950s. Most of the city is now owned by the state government and is a National Historic Landmark operated as an open air museum. Of the nearly three hundred structures in town, almost half were built prior to 1900.

The name was intended to honor Varina Howell Davis, the first and only First Lady of the Confederate States of America during the American Civil War.

Virginia City is a living town of 150 year round residents who host the West’s best preserved gold mining town from the 1860s. Visitors walk the same boardwalks that desperate Vigilantes once patrolled. Guests are transported to a time when rowdy miners mingled in saloons and restaurants with women of negotiable affection.

View over 100 historic buildings complete with artifacts and furnishings.

Ride the 1910 fully refurbished steam locomotive, the stagecoach, attend a live theater show, stay the night in homey historic lodging. Shop in unique gift and specialty shops. Enjoy fine dining and old-fashioned bakery and candy shop goods.

52

Nevada City Nevada City is an old placer mining camp 1½ miles west of Virginia City, Montana. It began at the same time when goldwas discovered in Alder Gulch in 1863.

In was one of numerous settlements established along Alder Gulch, surrounding Virginia City, including the camps of Summit, Adobetown, Central City, and Junction scattered up and down the gulch for some 14 miles, was also known as Fourteen-mile City.

Nevada City was populated by placer miners working several mining districts including Browns Gulch just south of the town and Granite Creek, about two miles northwest of Nevada City.

By 1869, the population of the mining camp had fallen to about 100 people. By 1876, Nevada City had all but become a ghost town as the miners moved on to new finds although small mining operations continued to work the original claims for several years. In 1896, the Conrey Placer Mining Company was organized to dredge the gulch for the next 24 years, destroying many of Nevada City’s buildings. The dredges were then disassembled and the heavy wooden barges were left to slowly be reclaimed by nature. Other original Nevada City buildings were destroyed when the highway was built through the area.

Today, the town has been restored as an outdoor historical museum, linked by railroad to the Virginia City Historic District with numerous historic buildings, artifacts, and furnishings. It is owned by the State of Montana and operated by the Montana Heritage Commission, with more than 90 historic buildings from various places around Montana, original Nevada City structures and re-created buildings.

Nevada City is about 27 miles southeast of Twin Bridges, Montana on Highway 287.

BOZEMAN

53

“Valley of the Flowers” In 1863, John Bozeman, along with a partner named John Jacobs, opened the Bozeman Trail, an offshoot from the Oregon Trail leading to the mining town of Virginia City through the Gallatin Valley and the future location of the city of Bozeman. John Bozeman, with Daniel Rouse and William Beall platted the town in 1864, stating “standing right in the gate of the mountains ready to swallow up all tenderfeet that would reach the territory from the east, with their golden fleeces to be taken care of...”. Red Cloud’s War closed the Bozeman Trail in 1868, but the town’s fertile land attracted permanent settlers.

In 1866, Nelson Story arrived with 3,000 head of longhorn cattle, eluding both Native Americans and the U.S. Army, who tried to turn Story back for safety reasons.

Those cattle formed one of the earliest significant herds in Montana’s cattle industry.

Fort Ellis was established in 1867 by Captain R. S. LaMotte and two companies of the 2nd Cavalry, after the murder of John Bozeman near the mouth of Mission Creek on Yellowstone River.

John Bozeman

GALLATIN PIONEER MUSEUM

317 West Main Street Bozeman, 59715

406-522-8122

www.pioneermuseum.org

54

MUSEUM OF THE ROCKIES The museum’s collection about the physical and cultural history of the Rocky Mountains and the people and animals who have lived there dates back more than 500 million years. Its permanent exhibits include: Enduring Peoples, which chronicles the life of American Indians on the Northern Plains and near the Rocky Mountains; History of the Northern Rocky Mountain Region, whose inhabitants included Native Americans, fur traders, gold seekers, and white settlers from frontier days through World War II; Living History Farm, which includes the Tinsley House where costumed interpreters demonstrate life in a turn-of-the-century home; and the Taylor Planetarium, a 40 ft (12 m), 104-seat domed theater.

The Tinsley House, which is preserved by the Museum of the Rockies ies as a living history museum, is intended to provide an overview of homestead life in the 1800s in the Gallatin Valley. The 100 year-old house was originally located in Willow Creek and it was moved to its present site on more than 10 acres (40,000 m2) behind the museum in 1989. The house is made of logs accumulated over the course of two years from the Tobacco Root Mountains and interior items are believed to have been ordered from the Sears catalog. Most items in the house have been donated by Tinsley descendants.

BRIDGER

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Named For The Scout Jim Bridger The town of Bridger was named for the scout Jim Bridger. Residents originally wanted to name the town after George Town one of the original settlers, but Town encouraged residents to name the newly founded town after his old friend Jim Bridger. The Bridger Trail passes to the southeast of the town of Bridger. Jim Bridger began his colorful career in 1822 at the age of 18, as a member of General William Ashley’s Upper Missouri Expedition. He was among the first white men to see the geysers and other natural wonders of the Yellowstone region.

In the winter of 1824-1825, Bridger gained fame as the first European American to see the Great Salt Lake.

James Felix Bridger was an American mountain man, trapper, Army scout and wilderness guide who explored and trapped the Western United States in the first half of the 19th century.

Bridger Bronze Gallery

Bridger, Montana

(406) 687-3743

www.bridgerbronze.com

56

Lonesome Spur Ranch www.lonesomespur.com

The Lonesome Spur Ranch is a real working ranch, where you are invited to participate in the day to day activities.

After the work is done there is always time to have a little fun! Ask Nicholas Evans, author of the “Horse whisperer”.

Mr. Evans stayed with Lonnie while doing research for his best seller novel. The Lonesome Spur was the model for Tom Booker’s grandparents homestead looking out over the Clarks Fork of the Yellowstone River. “From its crest you could see the river curving around like a castle moat and in the distance the snowy peaks of the Pryor and Beartooth Mountains.”

The Lonesome Spur Guest Ranch is a fifth generation, working cattle ranch lying in the Clarks Fork Valley, between the Pryor Mountains and the Beartooth Mountains. We love to share our beautiful sunrises and sunsets, white tail and mule deer, an occasional elk, mountain sheep or moose, the howl of the coyotes and the fleeting sight of the red fox from our rustic lodge.

Guests are invited to join us at branding time the first weekend of May and trailing the cattle to summer pastures around the middle of June. Throughout the summer we work on horseback, monitoring the condition of both cattle and range, and moving the herd from one area to another as often as needed to preserve the health of the ecosystem and the cattle, checking water holes and fences.

LEWISTON

57

Wild Wild West Frontier Festival Lewistown began as a small trading post on the Carroll Trail between Helena and the mouth of the Mussellshell River. Today, Lewistown is surrounded by large cattle ranches and wheat farms and is still a major trading center. Travel over three 150-foot-high trestles and through a half-mile tunnel on the former Milwaukee Railroad Line and you will see 30 miles of scenic landscape that inspired Montana’s renowned Western artist Charlie Russell.

Two historic buildings were combined to create the Lewistown Art Center.

The center houses three galleries, educational classrooms and the signature shop for sale of consignment art from area artists. The exhibits rotate monthly. The center also sponsors a variety of quality performing arts throughout the year.

In 1874, Fort Lewis was established there by Company “F” of the 7th U.S. Infantry.

CENTRAL MONTANA MUSEUM

408 Northeast Main Street Lewistown,

406-535-3642

ROUNDUP

58

Trailhead for the Great 1989 Centennial Cattle Drive Step back into the days of the old west. Cowboys and cattle drives. Coal mines, one room country schools and general stores. Experience life as it was in the old west. Tour an original log cabin built by English Lords for their early cattle operation. With over 7,000 square feet of exhibit area you’re sure to enjoy the experience at the Musselshell Valley Historical Museum.

Old Roundup started as a stage stop between Lewistown and Billings in 1882, with a log building store and saloon, located about 1.5 miles southwest of the present City of Roundup, just across the Musselshell River. Present Roundup started in 1908 when the Milwaukee Railroad came through. The museum is open seven days per week from May 1st through September 30th.

Roundup served as a place for cattlemen to “round up” their cattle along the Musselshell River.

Musselshell Valley Historical Museum

524 First Street West - Roundup, Montana 59072

(406)-323-1525 /www.mvhm.us

BILLINGS

59

“The Magic City” Billings was established in 1882 in Montana Territory near the already existing town of Coulson. The town of Coulson had been situated on the Yellowstone River, which made it ideal for the commerce that Steamboats brought up the river.

However, when the Montana & Minnesota Land Company oversaw the development of potential railroad land, they ignored Coulson, and platted the new town of Billings just a couple of miles to the Northwest. Coulson quickie faded away, most of her residents were absorbed into Billings. Yet for a short time the two towns coexisted, a trol ley even ran between the two. But ultimately there was no future for Coulson as Billings grew. Though it stood on the banks of the Yellowstone River only a couple of miles from the heart of present day Downtown Billings, the city of Billings never built on the land where Coulson once stood. Today Coulson Park sets along the banks of the Yellowstone where the valleys first town once stood.

Moss Mansion

914 Division Street Billings, Montana 59101-1921

(406)256-5100 www.mossmansion.com/

60

Western Heritage Center The Western Heritage Center is a regional museum located in the Historic District in downtown Billings, Montana. This museum used to be the Parmly Billings Memorial Library. Built in 1901, the library turned museum houses a collection of artifacts about the history of the Yellowstone River Valley.

The Western Heritage Center is affiliated with the Smithsonian Institution and is accredited by the American Association of Museums. The museum opened in 1971.

The museum is housed in the Parmly Billings Memorial Library building, a Richardsonian Romanesque building built in 1901 and listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The WHC’s mission is to promote an appreciation of the history of the Northern High Plains by collecting, sharing, and preserving stories and artifacts of Yellowstone River Valley life.

In 2001, the WHC received the Montana Governor’s Humanities Award, being only the second organization to receive the honor reserved for individual contributions to the Humanities. In 2002, the WHC became the first Smithsonian Institution affiliate museum in the Northern Plains. Beginning in 2004, and presently running through 2008, WHC received federal appropriations from the United States Department of the Interior for the American Indian Tribal Histories Project, a program contributing to the preservation of Crow, Northern Cheyenne and Chippewa-Cree tribal histories.

2822 Montana Avenue Billings, 406 256 6809 www.ywhc.org

HARDIN

Little Bighorn Battlefield Hardin is situated on the banks of the Bighorn River. The Bighorn Canyon and Dam allow a majestic view of the water below.

Hardin sits on the edge of the Crow Indian Reservation. The reservation offers two mountain ranges, the rugged Pryor and Bighorn mountains, with rolling hills and semi-arid plains surrounding the peaks.

The town is surrounded by productive ranches and farms, including the largest wheat farm in the world. Coal mining has also contributed greatly to the local economy. Nearby lies the Northern Cheyenne Indian Reservation.

Hardin was named for Samuel H. Hardin, a cattle man from Wyoming who leased tracts of land on the Crow Reservation to range his cattle. Local industry now includes farming and ranching, surface coal mining, fishing and recreational opportunities.

The Little Big Horn Days festival in the 3rd weekend in June, and includes the Custer’s Last Stand Reenactment.

Big Horn County Historical Museum

RR 1 Box 1206A Hardin,

(406) 665-1671 w.w.w.bighorncountymuseum.org/

61

62

Custer’s Last Stand Reenactment The world famous Custer’s Last Stand Reenactment is one of Custer Country’s biggest annual attractions, an annual event celebrated in Hardin. Under the leadership of Sitting Bull, Crazy Horse, and Gall, Sioux, Northern Cheyenne, and Arapaho warriors fight George Armstrong Custer’s Seventh Cavalry troopers. The reenactment script is based on Crow Tribal Elder Joseph Medicine Crow’s translation of oral and written Native American narrative beginning before Lewis and Clark’s epic journey almost 200 years ago. Presentations have a newly expanded emphasis on the impact of the explorers’ travels, to be commemorated with a much-heralded Lewis and Clark bicentennial in 2003-2006. The sweeping pageantry of high plains history is portrayed by over 200 participants, including descendants of the troopers, Indian warriors, and scouts involved in the original battle.

It is listed as one of the ‘Top 100 Events in America’ by Destinations magazine.

Wyoming Cody 67

Laramie 93

Dayton 74

Rawlins 97

Sheridan 75

Baggs 99

Big Horn 79

Rock Springs 100

Buffalo 81

South Pass City 101

Kaycee 83

Lander 103

Casper 85

Pinedale 105

Lusk 89

Jackson 106

Cheyenne 91

Ft. Bridger 107

CODY

67

“Rodeo Capital of the World” Cody is named after William Frederick Cody, primarily known as Buffalo Bill, for William Cody’s part in the creation of the original town. Themes surrounding Cody’s pioneer and Cowboy and Western history are common in the cultural events and activities in the area. The Buffalo Bill Historical Center is a large and modern facility located near the center of the city. It contains five museums in one, and maintains large collections. It is a favorite stopping point for tourists passing through the town, on their way to or from Yellowstone.

During the summer, a re-enactment of a wild-west shoot-out takes place next to the Irma Hotel, another historical site still open for business with a hotel and restaurant, which forms the nucleus of the town.

Old Trail Town, a restoration of more than twenty-five historic Western buildings and artifacts is located in Cody just off the Yellowstone Highway.

Museum of the Old West & Old Trail Town

1831 DeMaris Drive Cody,

307 587 5302 www.MuseumoftheOldWest.org

68 The Old West lives on at the Tecumseh’s Old West Miniature Village and Museum located with Tecumseh’s Trading Post. Thousands of miniature figures trace the history of Wyoming and Montana from the 1600s to the late 1890s at the indoor village located near the Cody Rodeo Grounds and Old Trail Town.

Tiny buffalo driven over the edge of a cliff are suspended in mid-fall. Mountain men fight and throw tomahawks at the Green River Rendezvous. A stockade trading post, first known structure built by whites in Wyoming, is besieged by Sioux.

Chief Joseph retreats from the Army through the mountains. Indians communicate with smoke signals. Little Big Horn swarms withhundreds of people.

A homestead is burned by Indians, with prisoners marching in front of their captors.

A train winds through the scenes, and visitors can push a button to operate it.

Recordings and a map will help guide you through this unique exhibit.

Old West Miniature Village and Museum

140 W. Yellowstone Avenue, Cody

307 587 5362 www.tecumsehs.com

69

BUFFALO BILL HISTORIC CENTER Buffalo Bill Museum Tracing its roots to 1917, the Buffalo Bill Museum is the flagship museum of the Buffalo Bill Historical Center. First opening its doors to the public in 1927 in a log cabin-style building in downtown Cody—modeled after Cody’s house at his “TE Ranch”—southwest of town, the museum remained in that location until 1969 when it was relocated to a newly-built wing of the Buffalo Bill Historical Center. Here, as in its original incarnation, the Buffalo Bill Museum’s focus is on the life and times of William F. “Buffalo Bill” Cody (1846 – 1917), the noted guide, scout, frontiersman, showman, actor, entrepreneur, town founder and American icon.

Positioning the story of Cody’s life within the context of the history and myth of the American West, the museum documents how, in an age without television or motion pictures, and under the persona of “Buffalo Bill,” Cody became the world’s foremost communicator about the history, promise, and enduring spirit of the American West.

In addition to documenting the life and interests of William F. Cody, and the history and operations of Buffalo Bill’s Wild West, the Buffalo Bill Museum collection interprets the history of the American cowboy, dude ranching, western conservation, frontier entrepreneurship, and the source of our concepts about the West.

In May 2012, you will be able to encounter William F. Cody in an entirely new way, when the Buffalo Bill Historical Center proudly opens a brand new Buffalo Bill Museum. Offering authentic artifacts, state-of-the-art exhibits, engaging interactives, and a compelling story, the “new” Buffalo Bill Museum will truly become a “Museum for the 21st Century” about one of the most important historical figures of the 19th century—someone whose legacy still shapes and defines how we think about the West, America, and ourselves. A great institution is poised to become even greater!

70

Cody Firearms Museum The Cody Firearms Museum houses the most comprehensive assemblage of American firearms in the world. The Winchester Collection, the heart of this museum, was transported from New Haven, Connecticut, to Cody, Wyoming, in 1975. Dedicated in 1991, the Cody Firearms Museum provides an expansive permanent home for the collection.

Don’t expect to see only Winchester-made arms here, though; virtually every significant manufacturer in the world is represented. Within the exhibits, visitors are able to trace the evolution of modern firearms technology from its earliest days through today’s outstanding variations.

Firearms collectors can take advantage of the Cody Firearms Museum Records Office to secure information about individual firearms manufactured by Winchester, Marlin lin and L.C. Smith. Factory letters are available to Cody Firearms Museum members and non-members for a fee.

The Cody Firearms Museum is one of the largest and most important collections of American and European firearms to be found in the United States. More than 6,000 objects in the collection chronicle the technological development of firearms from the earliest incarnations to the most modern forms.

On the lower level of the Cody Firearms Museum is the Study Gallery that houses a large collection of firearms displaying the variations of sporting rifles and shotguns from around the world - as well as a look at exhibition shooting. www.bbhc.org

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The Draper Museum of Natural History Start your adventure with the nature of Yellowstone here. Learn about grizzly bears, wolves, moose, eagles, wildfire geology, and more. Explore our exhibits, collections, programs and research. Keep up to date on our golden eagle research by visiting our blog, Golden Eagles: notes from the field, or check out our YouTube channel at DraperNHmuseum.

Immerse yourself in our interactive exhibit experiences, take a field trip with our staff scientist/naturalists, or attend a presentation by leading authorities on Yellowstone’s natural wonders and current topics.

Our mission is to foster natural resource stewardship by promoting increased understanding of and appreciation for the relationships binding humans and nature in the Greater Yellowstone Region. We want to help connect you with the nature of Yellowstone and transform you from visitor to explorer.

Collections of the Draper Museum of Natural History are used for public education, exhibits, and research. Our collection documents the natural history of the Greater Yellowstone region and the relationship between humans and nature. www.bbhc.org

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The Plains Indian Museum The Plains Indian Museum tells the significant story of the lives of Plains Indian peoples, their cultures, traditions, values and histories, as well as the contexts of their lives today.

In the words of Plains Indian Museum Advisory Board member and Crow tribal historian Dr. Joseph Medicine Crow, the Museum is “a living, breathing place where more than just Indian objects are on display.”

Since 1979 the Plains Indian Museum has been a leader in promoting public recognition of the importance of Plains Indian art due to its nationally significant collection. Curator Emma Hansen said, “Visitors to the Plains Indian Museum learn, not only about the beautiful objects made by Indian people, but the stories of the people behind the objects and the special contexts in which these objects were made and used in daily and ceremonial life.”

Plains Indian Map Project The map represents 230 years of movement on the Plains amongst more than 45 different Indian cultures. Territorial, treaty, reservation, and state boundaries flow in an animated timeline.

WYOMING WYOMING ©2005 E N Enterprizes

Fort Ketterman Trail End Historic Site Trail End Museum Fort McKinney Fort Phil Kearny

Rodeo Capital Trail Town Buffalo Bill Historic Centre

Rodeo Capital Trail Town Buffalo Bill Historic Centre

Sheridan

Photograph

Cody Museum of Wildlife Art

Jackson

Independence Rock Fort Casper

Museum of the Mountain Man

Pinedale

Casper

Stagecoach Museum

Rawlins Fort Bridger Old Frontier Prison Fort Fred Steele

Fort Bridger State Park

Laramie Cheyenne

Fort Laramie Historic Park Geological Museum Territorial Prison Laramie Plains Museum Jubilee Days

Photograph

Governors Mansion State Museum Frontier Days Old West Museum

Cartography: Weller Cartographic Services Ltd.

DAYTON

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Dayton Held Wyoming’s First Rodeo Dayton was named in 1882 after Joe Dayton Thorne, one of the founding fathers of the community. The town has the distinction of electing the first female mayor in Wyoming, Susan Wissler. In the early 1890’s Dayton held Wyoming’s first rodeo.

Famous artist, Hans Kleiber, known as the “Etcher Laureate of the Big Horns” made Dayton his home. His studio cabin has been preserved and relocated by the Dayton community to a Main Street location. Another main street location, the Dayton Mercantile is a landmark to the romance of the Frontier West. Pull up to the next hitching rail, step out onto the sidewalk and suddenly you are a part of a by-gone era.

Dayton is located at the confluence of the Tongue River and The Little Tongue River. It is on US Highway 14, just east of the Big Horn Mountains.

The Hans Kleiber Studio Museum The Hans Kleiber Studio Musuem is dedicated to the legacy of Hans Kleiber, Artist of the Big Horns, Author, Wyoming Pioneer and naturalist.

520 Story in Dayton

(307) 655-2217

SHERIDAN

Named After General Philip Sheridan The city was named after General Philip Sheridan, Union cavalry leader in the American Civil War. There are ten places in and near to Sheridan that are on the National Register of Historic Places including: Trail End State Historic Site Sheridan County Court House - 224 South Main Street. The architect was Glenn Charles McAlister.

Fort Mackenzie - 1898 Fort Road - Currently a hospital administered by the Veterans Administration.

The historic Sheridan Inn - 856 Broadway Street - An inn opened in 1893 with a rich history of notable guests.

Sheridan Main Street Historic District - Main Street from Burkitt to Mandel Streets.

Sheridan Railroad Historic District - 201-841 Broadway, 508-955 N. Gould Sheridan Flouring Mills, Inc. - 2161 Coffeen Avenue. The prominent smokestack is a United States Geological Survey map reference station.

Trail End State Historic Site

Visit the seat of a cattle ranching empire of Texas cowboy turned U.S. Senator & Wyoming Governor John B. Kendrick. Trail End Historic Center features a view of early 20th century lifestyle.

400 Clarendon Ave, Sheridan

307-674-4589 www.trailend.org

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76 The museum houses hundreds of unique saddles and memorabilia of the Wild West.

King’s Museum developed from the artistry and handwork of master leather craftsman Don King who developed his own style, “the Sheridan Style” saddle.

As a boy, King followed his father, a working cowboy throughout the west.

He sought out master leather craftsman throughout the west and opened his own business in 1961. Over the years, demand for his work exceeded output and Don quickly became known as one of our country’s premier saddle makers.

Jean King, Museum Curator, uses Don’s words and says “Come See Us!” Don King’s collection of memorabilia now makes up King’s Museum. The Museum features the many Sheridan Rose pattern’s that Don King originated, and includes Texas saddles, American Indian saddles and saddles from many states west of the Mississippi. The museum provides a picture of the Old West through the artwork, silverwork, saddles and Native American collections presented. The museum is open Monday through Saturday 8 AM to 5 PM with a nominal entrance fee to the museum.

King’s Saddlery Museum

184 N. Main St., Sheridan,

307.672.2702 w.w.w.kingropes.com

77 Ms. Georgen explains that the purpose of her history is not to present a comprehensive history of Sheridan but rather to “explore the reasons why Sheridan came to be more than just a cow town [and] how it blossomed and grew into the commercial and cultural hub of northern Wyoming”. Importantly she wants to show “how those who were here at the time – residents and visitors – rather than those who wrote about it after the fact, perceived Sheridan and its surrounding area”. Researching primary and secondary accounts, she brings to life the voices of those who committed to growing the town of Sheridan and ranching and recreating in the Big Goose Valley. Ms. Georgen left no stone unturned and includes the voices of all: the wild and wooly, the practical and commercial, the boosters and boisterous, civic leaders, and those who lived on the edge of, well, civic respectability.

Sheridan County Museum

850 Sibley Circle, (5th Street Exit I-90) Sheridan,

307.673.0644 www.sheridancountyhistory.org/

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Fort Phil Kearny State Historic Site The Fort Phil Kearny State Historic Site is dedicated to the preservation, interpretation and development of the state owned properties along the Bozeman Trail. These include Fort Phil Kearny, the Fetterman Battlefield, the Wagon Box Fight, Connor Battlefield, Crazy Woman Battle, Fort Reno, and Fort Fetterman.

Fort Phil Kearny, named for a popular Union General, was established by Colonel Henry B. Carrington of the 18th U.S. Infantry in July, 1866, near present-day Story, in Northeastern Wyoming. The largest of three forts, including Fort Reno near Kaycee, Wyoming, and C. F. Smith near Hardin, Montana, it was one of the three posts established to protect emigrants traveling the Bozeman Trail north to the gold fields of Montana, and also to prevent intertribal warfare between Native American tribes. It later proved useful to draw attention of Indian forces away from the trans-continental railroad construction corridor to the south.

During its brief two-year existence, Fort Phil Kearny was the focal point of a violent war between the U.S. Army and the Sioux, Cheyenne, and Arapaho Indians. When the Union Pacific Railroad reached a point where the dangerous route was no longer needed, the Bozeman Trail and the three forts were abandoned in the Fort Laramie Treaty of 1868. Shortly after, Fort Phil Kearny was burned, probably by Cheyenne Indians. w.w.w.philkearny.vcn.com/

BIG HORN

79 “This is the only home I have ever known -Robert Parker” Big Horn is located along the valley of Little Goose Creek. Little Goose Creek was the site of General Crook’s camp after the Battle of the Rosebud against the Sioux and Cheyenne on June 17, 1876. Crook was fishing in the Big Horn Mountains on Tepee Creek while Gen. George Custer fell to the Lakota and Cheyenne at the Little Bighorn some 70 miles to the north. The first settler in the Big Horn area was Oliver Perry Hanna, an adventurer, prospector, buffalo hunter, and Indian fighter who built a cabin on Hanna Creek in 1878. During the winter of 1878 and 1879 he rode his horse north on the frozen Tongue River to hunt buffalo in the Yellowstone River Country.

Founded in 1882, Big Horn caught the eye of well-todo cattle and sheep ranchers who established operations along the base of the Big Horn Mountains These included the sheep-breeding Moncreiffe brothers (from Clan Moncreiffe of the Scottish Highlands), Oliver Wallop (a member of the English Nobility), Goelet Gallatin (a descendant of Albert Gallatin US Treasury Secretary under Thomas Jefferson), and Bradford Brinton (a businessman from Big Horn Canyon Chicago). in the 1890s.

Bozeman Trail Museum

335 Johnson St., Big Horn,

307-674-6363

80 out the buffalo on the northern plains. His published recollections told of entire steamships loaded with buffalo hides floating down the Yellowstone River, as well as entire freight trains loaded with buffalo bones.

After the buffalo hunting dried up Hanna made a 400-mile round trip to Fort Laramie to buy seed and a plow, thereby becoming the first farmer to carve a furrow in what became Sheridan County. Hanna attracted many of the first settlers to Big Horn City, which was established in 1882. He operated the Oriental Hotel directly across the street from the Big Horn Mercantile for many years. Dr. William Frackelton “The Sagebrush Dentist” credited O.P. Hanna as the inspiration behind the Crow Tribe’s involvement in a July 1902 reenactment of the Little Bighorn Battle which took place in Sheridan.

Local legend states that Frank James and Big Nose George were hiding out along Little Goose Creek in 1878. Supposedly, things got “too hot” for them in the Black Hills, and so they headed for the unsettled country near the Big Horn Mountains, where they encountered O.P. Hanna. This story has been passed down in the written recollections of early homesteaders, but has not been corroborated with outside historical references or the chronology of the James Gang. The Hilman family employed a mysterious man for a time who regularly engaged in target practice with his pistol. The family believes this man was Butch Cassidy, based on a note left on his sudden departure from the ranch which read: “This is the only home I have ever known -Robert Parker.”

Polo was first played in the area at a summer fair in Sheridan in 1893. Among the players in the match were ex-members of the Ninth Lancers division of the English Cavalry who had brought polo from India.

At one time Big Horn had nearly 1,000 residents and boasted a college, a brick factory, a newspaper, two churches, a hotel, a livery barn, two saloons, and a mercantile. Big Horn made a bid to be the seat of Sheridan County, but a run-off election gave the title to Sheridan in 1888. An exodus of residents and businesses occurred around 1891 when it was learned that the Chicago, Burlington, and Quincy Railroad was being surveyed through Sheridan. The railroad came to Sheridan in 1893, and since that time Big Horn has been a satellite community of Sheridan.

Today Big Horn has a mercantile, two bars, several bed and breakfasts, women’s club, Bozeman Trail Museum housed in a restored blacksmith shop, a park, and an art museum located several miles up Little Goose Creek at the Moncreiffe/Bradford Brinton Memorial Ranch.

BUFFALO

The Infamous “Hole in the Wall” Buffalo’s main street has more than a dozen historic buildings, including the Occidental Hotel where Owen Wister’s Virginian finally “got his man.” The impressive Jim Gatchell Museum has over 15,000 artifacts from the American Old West. Many other Wyoming historical sites are just a short drive from Buffalo including Fort Phil Kearney, Fetterman’s Massacre Site, Wagon Box Fight and the infamous “Hole in the Wall”- the hideout of Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid along with the rest of the “Wild Bunch.” Buffalo, Wyoming is nestled in the foothills of the beautiful Big Horn Mountains and is conveniently located at the intersections of Interstates 25 and 90. Wyoming State Highway 16, on it’s way from Mount Rushmore to Yellowstone National Park, runs through Buffalo.

Fort McKinney (1877–1894) was a military post located in North Eastern Wyoming, near the Powder River.

Jim Gatchell Memorial

Museum In 1900, Jim Gatchell opened a drugstore. The Buffalo Pharmacy was a stopping place for cowboys, lawmen, settlers, cattle barons, and famous army scouts. As a trusted friend of the region’s Native Americans, he received many gifts representing the culture including guns, war bonnets, tools, medicine bags, bows, arrows, and clothing. www.jimgatchell.com

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The Hole-in-the-Wall Hole-in-the-Wall is a remote hideout located in the Big Horn Mountains of Johnson County in northern Wyoming. The site was used in the late 19th century by the Hole in the Wall Gang, a group of cattle rustlers and other outlaws which included Kid Curry, Black Jack Ketchum, and Butch Cassidy’s Wild Bunch gang.

Cassidy, the Sundance Kid, and other desperados met at a log cabin in the Holein-the-Wall country which has been preserved at the Old Trail Town museum in Cody, Wyoming. The cabin was constructed in 1883 by Alexander Ghent.

The area was remote and secluded, easily defended because of its narrow passes, and impossible for lawmen to approach without alerting the outlaws. From the late 1860s to around 1910 the Pass was used frequently by numerous outlaw gangs.

The Gang was not simply one large organized gang of outlaws, but rather was made up of several separate gangs, all operating out of the Hole-in-the-Wall Pass, using it as their base of operations. The gangs formed a coalition, each planning and carrying out its own robberies with very little interaction with the other gangs.

At times, members of one gang would ride along with other gangs, but usually each gang operated separately, meeting up only when they were each at the hideout at the same time.

Eventually it faded into history, with gangs using it less frequently. At its height it featured several cabins that gangs used to lay up during the harsh Wyoming winters, and it had a livery stable, a corral, livestock, and supplies, with each gang contributing their fair share.

The Hole-in-the-Wall, located about 30 miles west of Kaycee, can be accessed

by Willow Creek Ranch. Butch and Sundance also liked to frequent the Occidental Hotel in Buffalo, where rooms are named after them today. South of Buffalo and 16 miles west of Kaycee is the Outlaw Cave Recreation Area. It contains a public campground, a Native American rock shelter with pictographs, and the famous “Outlaw Cave.” Another popular place for the gang to hide out was in Baggs, Wyoming, bordering Colorado and offering a quick escape.

Each year in August, a group of enthusiasts gather for an eight-day Outlaw Trail Ride beginning in Thermopolis and ending at the Hole-in-the-Wall. Guests make the trek across the vast Wyoming countryside on horseback, discovering historical landmarks along the way. The trip also includes a stop at the Hot Springs County Museum which houses the original Hole-in-the-Wall Saloon. In addition to (continued on page 84).

KAYCEE

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The Johnson County War The first homesteader was John Nolan who put up his ranch along the Powder River. The brand he used was KC. During the Cattleman’s Invasion of 1892, the Nolan Ranch was the scene of one of the most cowardly and brutal murders in the history of the west. On April 10, 1892, the “Cattlemen” burned Nolan’s ranch house and murdered Nate Champion and Nick Ray, who were leasing the ranch from Nolan at the time. This was part of a plot to scare the smaller ranchers into leaving Wyoming to the sole use of the large outfits so they could let their herds of cattle have the miles and miles of unfenced grazing land. In 1896, Jim and Jesse Potts decided to build a blacksmith shop at the crossroads where the road from Buffalo to Midwest crossed the Powder River. It was right on the road to the Hole-in-the-Wall country.

Kaycee is home to a museum that preserves the cattle ranching heritage of the area, especially the history of the Johnson County War. In 1834 a band of trappers and traders led by Antonio Montero from Portugal built a trading post East of Kaycee.

Hoofprints of the Past Museum

344 Nolan Avenue, P.O. Box 114, Kaycee, WY 82639

(307) 738-2381 www.hoofprintsofthepast.org/

84 this group, Historic Trails West offers horseback trips across various parts of Wyoming, including a six-day Outlaw Trail Ride through Hole-in-the-Wall, and Thunder Mountain Tours provides an interpretive tour with access to private land that surrounds the area, including views from the top of the bluff.

Plan your own western vacation at an authentic working cattle and horse ranch in some of the most beautiful country in the world.

Willow Creek Ranch at the Hole-In-The-Wall is a 57,000 acre working cattle, horse and guest ranch located below the magnificent red sandstone wal;l of Central Wyoming. Founded in 1882, it operates much the same way as it did over one hundred years ago including fascinating history, beautiful scenery, exciting horseback riding, great trout fishing and much more that makes it the ultimate Wyoming western vacation. This is not a typical dude ranch experience. There’s no televisions, swimming pools, hot tubs or golf courses, but it does have miles and miles of authentic “Old West,” plenty of warm hospitality and great food for everyone. This is a working ranch with cattle drives located by historic outlaw and Native American trails with stays in campsites, bunkhouse and homesteads stays.

May 1 - Nov. 1.

Willow Creek Ranch at the Hole-In-The-Wall

PO Box 10, Kaycee,

(307) 738-2294 www.willowcreekranch.com

CASPER

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Wyoming’s Adventure Capital Named after Lieutenant Caspar Collins, Eleventh Ohio Volunteer Cavalry, who was killed defending the bridge across the Platte river against a horde of some 2000 hostiles in the Battle of the Platte Bridge Station, July 26, 1865. The Platte Bridge Station’s name was then changed to Fort Caspar. That young Lieutenant was further honored as a mountain, a creek, and a town adopted his name. Unfortunately, the mapmaker couldn’t spell, so on most maps, you will find Casper spelled with an “e” instead of an “a” as his parents intended. And, yes, Wyoming Territory did become a State, but that didn’t happen until 1890.

The city was founded by developers as an anticipated stopping point during the expansion of the Wyoming Central Railway; it was an early commercial rival to Bessemer and Douglas, Wyoming.

The lack of a railhead doomed Bessemer in favor of Casper. Douglas, also a railhead, survives to the present day.

(Continued on page 86.)

National Historic Trails Interpretive Center

1501 North Poplar Street Casper, 307-261-7700 www.blm.gov

86 Located in Casper, Wyoming Territory* the Bessemer Vigilance Committee is a group of old west enthusiasts who enjoy the sport of Cowboy Action Shooting.

If you’re new to Cowboy Action Shooting, visit our website and view our history page and our Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) section. If you dream about living in the days of Billy the Kid, Doc Holiday or Annie Oakley, you’ll fit right in.

For details on what we’ve been up to, read our most current issue of the “Gunsight Press” on our website. www.bessemervigilancecommittee.org Experience the original old west while witnessing a letter exchange and pony express ride. www.blm.gov/wy/st/en/NHTIC.html Every summer members of the National Pony Express Association (NPEA) conduct a re-ride of the national Pony Express Trail, commemorating the historic enterprise that delivered the U.S. mail from 1860 to 1861. This summer riders will depart St. Joseph, Missouri on June 11 and ride west to Sacramento, California. The re-ride is completed in 10 days, the same number of days it took 1860s Pony Express riders to deliver the mail. Great Family Event!!! www.blm.gov/wy/st/en/NHTIC.html CENTRAL WYOMING FAIR & RODEO Livestock Shows & Sales, Exhibits to enjoy and purchase, Vendor Booths, Carnival, Fairway Entertainment, Fun & Games, PRCA Rodeo and much much more! www.centralwyomingfair.com HELL’S HALF ACRE SHOOT Join the Bessemer Vigilance Committee at the annual Hell’s Half Acre Shoot.

This is a 2 Day Event. Cost for shooters is $5 per day. Dry camping is available at $7/night/unit). Shooting starts at 10am each day! Held in the base of Hell’s Half Acre (awe-inspiring scenery). www.bessemervigilancecommittee.org Continued from Page 85 The presence of a railhead made Casper the starting off point for the “invaders” in the Johnson County War. The special chartered train carrying the men up from Texas stopped at Casper.

87 Fort Caspar was a military post of the United States Army in present-day Wyoming, named after 2nd Lieutenant Caspar Collins, a U.S. Army officer who was killed in the 1865 Battle of the Platte Bridge Station against the Lakota and Cheyenne. Originally founded in 1859 along the banks of the North Platte River as a trading post and toll bridge on the Oregon Trail, the post was later taken over by the Army and named Platte Bridge Station to protect emigrants and the telegraph line against raids from Lakota and Cheyenne in the ongoing wars between those nations and the United States. The site of the fort, near the intersection of 13th Street and Wyoming Boulevard in Casper, Wyoming, is listed in the National Register of Historic Places and is now owned and operated by the City of Casper as the Fort Caspar Museum and Historic Site.

In 1847, during the first Mormon wagon train to present-day Utah, Brigham Young commissioned a ferry at the site for later emigrants.

Fort Caspar Museum & Historical Site

4001 Ft. Caspar Road, Casper,

307-235-8462 wyoshpo.state.wy.us

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The Pony Express Alexander Majors, William H. Russell and William B. Waddell founded the Pony Express in 1860.At the time, mail was carried either by stagecoach or by a ship that traveled south, through the Isthmus of Panama and back north to San Francisco. The entire process could take longer than one month — the people of Los Angeles did not find out that California was admitted to the Union until six weeks after it was official!

Majors, Russell and Waddell reduced delivery time to less than ten days by hiring riders to ride day and night with the mailbag, called the mochila, through the most dangerous of weather and terrain. They would ride about 80 miles at a time and pass stations every 12-15 miles. At each of these stations, they would transfer the mochila to a new horse and take off again. After their miles were up, the mochila was passed on to a new rider.

The Pony Express connected the eastern part of America with the west quicker and more efficiently than ever before. As people crossed the country in search of good fortune and opportunity, the Express helped them to stay in touch with family and friends that they had left behind. It also enabled the spread of political news during the tumultuous days prior to the Civil War. Riders delivered approximately 35,000 letters between April 1860 and October 1861. At the height of its popularity, one-fifth of the 2000-mile Pony Express trail cut through Wyoming. The state was also home to 39 of the 200 Pony Express stations, including the one at Fort Caspar, located a stone’s throw from modern Casper, Wyoming.

LUSK

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On Famed Cheyenne-Black Hills Stage and Express Line The town was laid out in June 1886 by engineers working on the Wyoming Central Railway. It was named after Frank S. Lusk (1857–1930), a renowned Wyoming rancher and Wyoming Central stockholder. The big spacious, accessible Stagecoach Museum proudly features a stagecoach used on the famed CheyenneBlack Hills Stage and Express Line. The coach was built by Abbott & Downing at Concord NH in the 1860s. It had no springs; the body was h8ng on leather rockers or what was known as “through braces”.This particular six-horse coach was first used on the stage line to the gold fields of Nevada, and was later brought to Wyoming when the Cheyenne-Deadwood line was established in 1876.

The Black Hills Gold Rush brought fortune seekers to the Wyoming Territory.

Within two years, the stage coach route between Cheyenne, Wyoming and Deadwood, South Dakota delivered freight, including salt pork and whiskey.

Stagecoach Museum

322 Main Street, Lusk,

307 334 3444 www.stagecoachmuseum.yolasite.com

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Fort Laramie National Historic Site

Fort Laramie (founded in about 1833–34 as Fort William after founder William Sublette, then also its name from its sale in 1844 into the 1870s Fort John, now found in use less often in historical references) was a significant 19th century trading post and diplomatic site located at the confluence of the Laramie River and the North Platte River in the upper Platte River Valley in the eastern part of the U.S. state of Wyoming. Founded in the 1830s to service the overland fur trade during the middle 19th century, it sat at the bottom of the long climb leading to the best and lowest crossing point at South Pass into western descending valleys and so was a primary stopping point on the Oregon Trail. Along with Bent’s Fort on the Arkansas River, the trading post and its supporting industries and businesses were the most significant economic hub of commerce in the region.

In 1849 it was purchased and its operations were taken over by the United States Army to protect the many wagon trains of migrant travelers on the Oregon Trail, and hence the subsidiary co-located northern emigrant trails which split off further west such as the California and Mormon trails. The middle reaches of the Mormon trail stayed on the north banks of the Platte and North Platte River and merged with the other Emigrant trails heading west over the continental divide from Fort JohnLaramie. The name Fort Laramie came into gradual use, likely as a convenient shortening of “Fort John at the Laramie River”. www.nps.gov/fola

CHEYENNE

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Named After The Cheyenne Nation On July 5, 1867, General Grenville M. Dodge and his survey crew platted the site now known as Cheyenne in Dakota Territory (later Wyoming Territory). This site was chosen as the point at which the Union Pacific Railroad crossed Crow Creek, a tributary of the South Platte River. The city was not named by Dodge, as his memoirs state, but rather by friends who accompanied him to the area Dodge called “Crow Creek Crossing.” It was named for the American Indian Cheyenne nation, one of the most famous and prominent Great Plains tribes closely allied with the Arapaho. As the capital of the Wyoming Territory and the only city of any consequence, as well as being the seat of the stockyards.

The construction of the Union Pacific Railroad brought hopes of prosperity to the region when it reached Cheyenne on November 13, 1867. The population at the time numbered over 4,000, and grew rapidly.

This rapid growth earned the city the nickname “Magic City of the Plains”.

Nelson Museum of the West

1714 Carey Ave. Cheyenne,

307-635-7670 www.nelsonmuseum.com/

92 where cattle were loaded on the Union Pacific Railroad, the city’s Cheyenne Club was the natural meeting place for the organization of the large well-capitalized ranches called the Wyoming Stock Growers Association.

The Cheyenne Frontier Days Old West Museum is located in Frontier Park in historic Cheyenne, Wyoming. Come see for yourself why we are the #1 year ‘round cultural tourism attraction in Southeast Wyoming. Marvel at one of the nation’s largest collection of historic horse-drawn carriages and wagons, experience the region’s most celebrated western art exhibitions and trace the history of Cheyenne Frontier Days from its humble beginnings in 1897 to the world renowned pageantry today as The Daddy of ‘em All ®.

Is this your first trip to Cheyenne Frontier Days? Well, you’re in for a treat! Since the first rodeos in America in the late 1800’s, folks have enjoyed the thrill of witnessing horse and cowboy teamwork.

Cheyenne Frontier Days Old West Museum

4610 N. Carey Ave. Frontier Park Cheyenne,

(307) 778-7290

LARAMIE

“ungovernable” Laramie was founded in the mid-1860s as a tent city near the Overland Stage Line route and the Union Pacific portion of the first transcontinental railroad. Laramie suffered initially from lawlessness. Its first mayor, M.C. Brown, resigned after three turbulent weeks in mid-1868, saying that the town was “ungovernable.”

This was much due to threats he received from three half-brothers, early Old West gunman “Big” Steve Long, Con Moyer and Ace Moyer. Long was Laramie’s first marshal, and with his brothers owned the saloon Bucket of Blood. The three began harassing settlers, forcing them to sign over the deeds to their property to them. Any who refused were killed, usually goaded into a gunfight by Long. By October 1868, Long had killed 13 men.

The first Albany County sheriff, rancher N. K. Boswell, organized a “Vigilance Committee” in response.

On October 28, 1868, Boswell led the committee into the Bucket of Blood, overwhelmed the three brothers, and lynched them at an unfinished cabin down the street.

Laramie Plains Museum

603 Ivinson Street, Laramie,

(307) 742-4448, www.laramiemuseum.org

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Wyoming Territorial Prison Listed on the National Register, visitors can spend the day touring the beautifully restored Wyoming Territorial Prison. Built in 1872, the prison held some of the most notorious outlaws in the region, including Butch Cassidy. Visitors to the 190- acre facility can also enjoy the newly restored Warden’s House and Horse Barn Exhibit Hall featuring rotating displays and a family friendly scavenger hunt.

New for 2008:“Community Art, Western Art” featuring original pieces by the local Laramie Art Guilds. In the prison, learn more about Butch Cassidy in “The Reel, Not Real, Butch Cassidy” exhibit. Those wishing to take a little piece of the prison and Wyoming home with them can stop by the Visitor’s Center and gift shop for a splendid array of memorabilia. Large groups and RVs are welcome!

Plenty of parking.

Bring your lunch and have a picnic on the grounds and let the kids stretch their legs. Lots to see and do.

Pick up a brochure in the gift shop and head toward the prison for a self-guided tour. (Development of an audio tour system is in the works.) Plan to spend at least an hour inside. Stops along the tour include: furnished cells, the prisoners’ dining area, guard’s quarters, infirmary, women’s quarters, laundry room, warden’s office, and various exhibit galleries.

From Interstate 80, exit 311, Snowy Range Road, and travel east towards downtown Laramie. Our entrance is a quarter mile east on Snowy Range Road on the left hand side.

975 Snowy Range Road Laramie, WY 82070 (307) 745-6161 (Office) www.wyoparks.state.wy.us

95 Twenty sites in Laramie, including the Wyoming Territorial Prison, are included on the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP). The prison site includes buildings and other exhibits from a frontier community of the late 19th century.

The other sites are the Downtown Laramie Historic District, the Ivinson Mansion and Grounds, Old Main on the University of Wyoming campus, the Barn at Oxford Horse Ranch, Bath Ranch, Bath Row, Charles E. Blair House, John D. Conley House, Cooper Mansion, East Side School, Fort Sanders Guardhouse, William Goodale House, Lehman-Tunnell Mansion, Lincoln School, Richardson’s Overland Trail Ranch, St. Matthew’s Cathedral Close, St. Paulus Kirche, Union Pacific Athletic Club, and the Vee Bar Ranch Lodge.

Laramie Historic Railroad Depot

1st Street and Kearney Street, Laramie,

307-399-3772 www.laramiedepot.org

The Vee Bar guest and dude ranch located near Laramie Wyoming is a familyfriendly vacation destination that is sure to please the horse loving cowboy or cowgirl in you.

A Vee Bar guest ranch vacation emphasizes horseback riding, but that is only the beginning of your Wyoming family vacation. The ranch activities you will experience at the Vee Bar Dude Ranch include hiking, fishing, river tubing, trap shooting, camping, herding cattle, hayrides and more!

“You really have a beautiful family. They were very warm in welcoming us and so easy to talk to. We all just had so much fun! It was my best vacation ever & I’m sure I can speak for my sisters and niece also. We will definitely be back - hopefully in the near future. Thanks once again.”

--Anita Hofstetter (more guest comments) This historical dude ranch prides itself on providing True Western Hospitality, and when you have to leave your vacation of a lifetime, you will realize you just aquired a new group of friends that you will miss dearly. Check out our guest comments!

Vacation activities do center around western horseback riding and the Vee Bar claims one of the best horseback riding programs to be found at any guest ranch.

Your experience will range from riding in the meadows to riding across the top of Sheep Mountain in the Medicine Bow National Forest.

This Wyoming ranch is a great vacation place for kids. The terrain is gentle and safe with plenty of room to run and play. Children six and older are eligible for horseback riding activities with parents or other children. All children can work on their horsemanship skills by competing in the gymkhana or moving cattle while receiving pointers and coaching from our family-friendly wranglers.

38 Vee Bar Ranch Road | Laramie, Wyoming 82070

Phone: (307) 745-7036 or 1-800-483-3227 www.veebar.com

RAWLINS

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Named For Union General John Aaron Rawlins In 1867, while in command of the troops protecting the crew surveying the route of the first trans-continental railroad, General John A. Rawlins (chief of staff of the U.S. Army) expressed a wish for a drink of good, cold water. A detachment of scouts explored the countryside as they rode west and approached the hills that stand guard over the present city, and they discovered a spring.

General Rawlins declared it was the most refreshing drink he had ever tasted and exclaimed, “If anything is ever named after me, I hope it will be a spring of water.” General Grenville Dodge, commander of the survey party, immediately named it Rawlins Springs and the community that grew around it bore the same name. Later shortened to Rawlins, the town was incorporated in 1886 and was designated the seat of Carbon County.

Wyoming Frontier Prison

500 West Walnut Street, Rawlins

307 324 4422 www.wyomingfrontierprison.org

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Fort Fred Steele In 1868, laborers were hard at work building the Union Pacific portion of the transcontinental railroad. In Wyoming, the U.S. government established three outposts to protect work crews and blossoming communities along the railroad route.

Named after the Union general of the 20th U.S. Infantry, Fort Fred Steele was one such military post. After the railroad was complete, Fort Fred Steele remained an important settlement on the rail line since it provided protection for the vulnerable railroad bridge across the North Platte River. By 1886, however, the fort closed, and the town of Fort Steele became quiet until the construction of the Lincoln Highway during the first part of the 20th century. Until it was rerouted to the present location of Interstate 80, the Lincoln Highway took motorists straight through the middle of Fort Fred Steele. Today, visitors to the fort can walk along an interpretive trail and see the remnants of two large warehouses, the officer’s quarters, and the powder magazine, the only fully intact structure remaining. Spend an afternoon strolling among the fort’s surviving buildings and foundations and listen for the sounds of sledgehammers striking metal.

Viewing area, interpretative trail, and fishing. Camping is prohibited.

East of Rawlins—from Interstate 80, take Exit 219 toward Sinclair and follow the signs. www.wyomingheritage.org/fortFredSteele.html

BAGGS

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Old Trail Re-enactment

www.townofbaggs.com

This summer when the wagon trian came through Baggs, these riders picked up the mail and took it by Pony Express as part of the old trail re-enactment. The Kerns Wagon Train followed the actual South Cherokee Trail from Buckboard Crossing on the Green River to Encampment. They hope to go from Encampment east next summer.

Baggs is home to the Outlaw Stop, a branch of the Little Snake River Museum.

ROCK SPRINGS

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Housed In The Original Rock Springs City Hall The Rock Springs Historical Museum is housed in the original Rock Springs City Hall. The building was built in 1894 at an original cost of $28,200. The funds for the construction did not come from the ever present Union Pacific Coal Company and Railroad, but from revenues collected in the issuing of liquor licenses. The building is built from native sandstone and boasts an impressive 14-foot foundation that was made necessary by the presence of “quicksand” at the site. It served as the City Hall, Police Station and Fire Station until the early 1980’s, when the new City Hall on D street was completed.

The building sat empty for some time until the Rock Springs Centennial Celebration in 1988. Through the hard work and dedication of a group of volunteers, the “Centennial Museum” opened on June 4, 1988 after only a few months of planning and designing. Artifacts were loaned and donated by local residents and the volunteers created many exhibits to show what it was like to live here “in the old days”. Because of the success of the Centennial Museum, plans soon began to make it a permanent part of the city. In 1991-1992, with funds from the Abandoned Mine Land Reclamation Program the building under went a 1.7 million dollar restoration to bring it back toits 1890’s condition. www.rswy.net

Tipton Was The Site of A 1900 Train Robbery By Butch Cassidy And The Wild Bunch A station on the Overland Route and Union Pacific Railroad between Hillside and Robinson, Tipton was the site of the August 29, 1900 train robbery by Butch Cassidy and the Wild Bunch. The engineer was ordered to pull the express car ahead after it had been detached from the rest of the train. The railroad organized a special outlaw hunting squad to pursue the Hole-in-the-Wall gang.

SOUTH PASS CITY

Stage And Telegraph Station On The Oregon Trail South Pass City sprang into existence as a stage and telegraph station on the Oregon Trail during the 1850s. The site of this first settlement was about 9 miles south of present-day South Pass City at what is today known as Burnt Ranch.

Burnt Ranch was located where the Emigrant Trails crossed the Sweetwater River for the last time and ascended toward South Pass. In 1866 gold was discovered in the vicinity, and a year later prospecting began on what would become the Carissa mine. Prospectors and adventurers quickly arrived and founded what is today known as South Pass City.

Within a year the community’s population had swelled to about 2,000.

One of those who arrived in 1869 was Esther Hobart Morris. In 1870 she became the first woman in the United States to serve as a Justice of the Peace.

By the mid-1870s South Pass City’s population was reduced to about 100 people.

Carissa Mine Project

www.southpasscity.com

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South Pass City Historical Site

South Pass City was the most important town established during the shortlived period of discovery and development in Wyoming’s Sweetwater gold mining district. Laid out in 1867 the City reached its pinnacle about 1870 after which it steadily declined in stature and importance. In all, an estimated seven million dollars worth of precious metal was produced from the mines in the South Pass City region. The town derives its name from the famous landmark of South Pass, located just ten miles to the southwest. Thousands of people traveled through the South Pass region during the era of overland migration; however, this phase of American history is only indirectly related to that of South Pass City. More important to South Pass City is its association with the ‘’woman suffrage’’ movement in the United States and its relationship to the early development of the State of Wyoming. Mrs. Esther Morris encouraged South Pass City legislator William H. Bright to introduce a bill that would give women the right to vote and hold office. The passage of that bill made Wyoming the first territory in the United States to grant the franchise to women. Wyoming Territory attained the additional distinction of having the first woman ever appointed as a Justice of the Peace. At South Pass City Mrs. Morris succeeded incumbent Justice James Stillman. Starting February 14, 1870 Esther Morris presided over thirty-four cases at South Pass City before turning over the office to a new Justice on November 14, 1870. Only a few major original buildings remain at the South Pass City site on land administered by the State of Wyoming.

LANDER

Westward Terminus Of The “Cowboy Line” On October 1, 1906, Lander became the westward terminus of the “Cowboy Line” of the Chicago and North Western Railway, thus originating the slogan “where rails end and trails begin.” Originally intended to be a transcontinental mainline to Coos Bay, Oregon or Eureka, California, the line never went further west, and service to Lander was abandoned in 1972. Lander has a rich history that includes the Pony Express, women’s suffrage, the first oil well in Wyoming (discovered in 1833), ranching & farming, the uranium & coal industries, and forestry. Today, Lander is known as the “City of Bronze” for its bronze foundry, which has produced many statues seen throughout the U.S. The community’s appreciation for western history, culture, arts, and entertainment has manifested within the numerous businesses, organizations, and unique annual events.

Lander was known as Pushroot, Fort Brown, and Fort Augur prior to its current name. The town was named Lander in honor of General Frederick W. Lander, a famous transcontinental explorer who surveyed the Oregon Trail’s Lander Cutoff.

Fremont County Pioneer Museum

1443 Main Street, Lander,

307-332-3373 www.fcpm.org

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THE MUSEUM of the AMERICAN WEST Welcome to The Museum of the American West, the only institution which celebrates the different groups of people who utilized the critical geography of what is now central Wyoming to shape the American West.

Established in 1998, the Museum of the American West is a unique notfor-profit outdoor/indoor museum complex. The MAW mission is to preserve and perpetuate the unmatched natural and cultural history of the Wind River and Sweetwater Valleys and the South Pass region of the Central Rocky Mountains.

When the MAW becomes fully operational it will offer educational programming and tours of historic exhibits, cultural reenactments and presentations, and other outdoor events.

The Museum of the American West commits its resources and energies to promote, establish and maintain a museum complex dedicated to preserve and perpetuate the natural and cultural history of the South Pass, Sweetwater and Wind River Valley areas of the Central Rocky Mountains. The MAW highlights the cultural heritage of this nationally significant geographic region through presentation and interpretation of relationships among the Eastern Shoshone, the Northern Arapaho, the pioneers and their descendents, and others attracted to this community. With the help of our collaborative partners, the MAW will bring an authentic western history to life for many generations of residents and visitors, and provide them a rare opportunity to broaden their appreciation and understanding of the role this area had in the history of the American West.

1445 West Main Street, Lander, WY 82520

PINEDALE

Home Of The Mountain Man The Museum of the Mountain Man, located on a hill overlooking Pinedale, houses a wonderful collection of artifacts of the Western Fur trade, including Jim Bridger’s rifle. The 15,000 square feet of exhibit area is housed in a rotunda built of wood to evoke the spirit of a lodge. A visual and interpretive experience of the romantic era of the Mountain Man, the museum houses exhibits on the fur trade, western exploration, Plains Indians and the early settlement of Western Wyoming.

The Museum, and the Sublette County Historical Society, sponsor the Rendezvous Pageant held during the Green River Rendezvous every year in July. Visit the Museum today and relive the legacy of the Mountain Man! Pinedale is an important hunting outfitting town and a gateway to the Wind River Mountains. It is also a major gateway to the Jackson Hole area in Wyoming.

Museum of the Mountain Man

PO Box 909 • 700 E Hennick • Pinedale, 1-877-686-6266 www.museumofthemountainman.com

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JACKSON

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Often Referred To As “Jackson Hole” Jackson Hole was part of Oregon Country when Meriwether Lewis and William Clark (1804-1806) searched for a inland waterway route to the Pacific. Their reports began to lure people west. Independent mountain men in search of beaver traversed Jackson Hole and wrote the first accounts of this region. They exported beaver and other animal hides to the eastern United States and Europe for the manufacture of hats. Local legend has it that the valley was named for fur trapper David E. “Davey” Jackson in 1829, perhaps earlier. It was one of Jackson’s favorite beaver-trapping haunts. Jackson was a partner of Jedediah Smith and William Sublette; when they sold their fur trapping firm later it became known as the Rocky Mountain Fur Company. The valley was originally called Jackson’s Hole.

The first people to settle the region were Native Americans, then fur trappers, and then homesteaders.

Jackson Hole Historical Society & Museum

105 Mercill Ave . PO Box 1005 . Jackson,

307.733.9605 www.jacksonholehistory.org

FT. BRIDGER

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‘Daniel’ Boone of the Rockies’ Fort Bridger was originally a 19th century fur trading outpost established in 1842 on Blacks Fork of the Green River and later a vital resupply point for wagon trains on the Oregon Trail, California Trail and Mormon Trail. The Army established a military post here in 1858 during the Utah War until it was finally closed in 1890.

A small town, Fort Bridger, Wyoming, remains near the fort and takes its name from it. The post was established by the mountain man Jim Bridger, after whom it is named, and Louis Vasquez. In 1855, Mormons took over Fort Bridger, reportedly buying it from Bridger for $8,000 in gold coins. The first owner of the fort was perhaps the most picturesque figure in early Wyoming. Fort Bridger, which he built and Bridger’s Pass, which he discovered were named for him.

Today, Fort Bridger is a historic site. Jim Bridger’s trading post is reconstructed, along with other historic buildings from the military.

Ft. Bridger Historical Site

PO Box 35 Ft. Bridger,

(307) 782-3842 (Office) wyoparks.state.wy.us

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Fort Bridger Rendezvous 2019 The Fort Bridger Rendezvous is a mountain man rendezvous in celebration of the Fur Trade Rendezvous Era that occurred in the Rocky Mountains between 1825-1840. It is one of the largest mountain man gatherings in the nation.

Held annually the first weekend of September at Fort Bridger Wyoming, this Mountain Man Rendezvous is an experience your family will be sure to remember for years. Come and experience historic Fort Bridger at its best!

Admission for the general public is $3.00 for everyone 12 years and up. Come authentically dressed from head to toe in mountain man garb, or any pre-1840 clothing and get in free! State regulations prohibit alcohol consumption. Dogs are welcome, however, please review the dog policy before bringing your dog(s) as viola tors will be fined. Remember you are on a State historic site which is under the direction of Wyoming State Parks Division.

Gates open at 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. September 2 to September 5, 2011 Do to the economy we are reducing the gate fees from$4.00 to $3.00 per person”.

Gate fees $3.00 per person 12 and up / Children 11 and under are Free Dressed in period clothing (pre 1840′s fur trade) from head to toe, admission is Free.

P.O. BOX 151 Woodruff Ut 84086 fbrainc@fortbridgerrendezvous.net

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Index B BAGGS 97 BAINVILLE 45 BIG HORN 77 Big Horn County Historical Museum 59 BILLINGS 57 BOZEMAN 51 Bozeman Trail Museum 77 BRIDGER 53 Bridger Bronze Gallery 53 Brigham Young 85 BUFFALO 79 Buffalo Bill 65 BUFFALO BILL HISTORIC CENTER Buffalo Bill Museum 67 Butch Cassidy and the Wild Bunch 98

C C.M.Russell Museum 28 Carissa Mine Project 99 CASPER 83 CENTRAL MONTANA MUSEUM 55 CHEYENNE 89 Cheyenne Frontier Days 1 Cheyenne Frontier Days Old West Museum 90 CODY 65 Cody Firearms Museum 68 cody gunfighters 13 Cody Stampede Rodeo 5 Custer’s Last Stand Reenactment 60

D DAYTON 72

F Fort Bridger Rendezvous 106 Fort Caspar Museum & Historical Site 85

Fort Ellis 51 Fort Fred Steele 96 Fort Laramie National Historic Site 88 Fort McKinney 79 Fort Missoula 23 Fort Phil Kearny State Historic Site 76 Fort Union Trading Post 45 Fort Union Trading Post National Historic Site 46 Fremont County Pioneer Museum 101 FT. BRIDGER 105 Ft. Bridger Historical Site 105

G GALLATIN PIONEER MUSEUM 51 General John Aaron Rawlins 95 General Philip Sheridan 73 GLASGOW 44 GREAT FALLS 27 Great Falls Historic Trolley and Tour de Great Falls 30

H HARDIN 59 Harry Longabaugh (Sundance Kid) 39 Harvey Logan 39 HELENA 19 Historical Museum at Fort Missoula 23 Historic Old Fort Benton 32 historic trails west 8 Hole-in-the-Wall 39 Hole in the Wall 79 Homestead Village 33 Hoofprints of the Past Museum 81

J JACKSON 104 Jackson Hole Historical Society & Museum 104 Jim Bridger 53 Jim Gatchell Memorial Museum 79

110 John Bozeman 51

N

K

National Historic Trails Interpretive Center 83 Nelson Museum of the West 89 Nevada City 50 Northern Rockies Heritage Center 24

KALISPELL 25 KAYCEE 81 Kid Curry 39, 43 King’s Saddlery Museum 74 King’s Saddlery Museum 74

L LANDER 101 LARAMIE 91 Laramie Historic Railroad Depot 93 Laramie Plains Museum 91 Last Chance Ranch 21 last chance ranch 21 Lewis and Clark expedition 44 Lewis and Clark Interpretive Center 27 LEWISTON 55 Lieutenant Caspar Collins 83 Little Bighorn Battlefield 59 Lonesome Spur Ranch 54 LUSK 87

M MALTA 43 Meriwether Lewis and William Clark 104 MISSOULA 23 MonDak Historical Center 48 Montana’s Original Governor’s Mansion 22 MONTANA COWBOYS ASSOCIATION MUSEUM & BAR 29 Montana Historical Society Museum 19 Moss Mansion 57 Museum of the Mountain Man 103 Museum of the Northern Great Plains 31 Museum of the Old West & Old Trail Town 65 MUSEUM OF THE ROCKIES 52 Museum of the Upper Missouri 35 Musselshell Valley Historical Museum 56

O Occidental Hotel 14 Old Trail Town 65 Old West Museum 2

P Phillips County Museum 43 PINEDALE 103 Pioneers Pride Museum 45

R RAWLINS 95 Robbers Roost 39 Robert Leroy Parker (Butch Cassidy) 39 ROCK SPRINGS 98 ROUNDUP 56

S SHERIDAN 73 Sheridan County Museum 75 SIDNEY 48 SOUTH PASS CITY 99 South Pass City Historical Site 100 Stagecoach Museum 87 Stageline Antiques 25

T Tecumseh’s Old West Miniature Village and Museum 66 The Black Hills Gold Rush 87 The Buffalo Bill Historical Center 65 The Conrad Mansion Museum 26 The Cowboy Line 101

19 The Cowboy Music Revue 10 The Draper Museum of Natural History 69 The Fort Peck Theatre 44 The Hans Kleiber Studio Museum 72 The Hole-in-the-Wall 80 The Hornaday/Smithsonian Buffalo and Western Art Gallery 34 The Johnson County War 81 The Missouri Breaks National Monument Interpretive Center 36 THE MUSEUM of the AMERICAN WEST 102 The Oregon Trail 99 The Outlaw Trail 39 The Plains Indian Museum 70 The Pony Express 86 The Rock Springs Historical Museum 98 The Tinsley House 52 The Vee Bar guest and dude ranch 94 The Zortman - Landusky Area 37 Trail End State Historic Site 73

U Union Pacific Railroad 76

V Valley County Pioneer Museum 44 VIRGINIA CITY 49

W Western Heritage Center 58 Whitney Gallery of Western Art 9 Wild Bunch 43 Wild Bunch Gang 39 William Frederick Cody 65 Willow Creek Ranch at the Hole-In-The-Wall 82 Wyoming Frontier Prison 95 Wyoming Territorial Prison 92

AMBASSADOR A story about empire written for PBS with roots going back to the Knights Templar, the Pirates of the Caribbean, the opening of the Wild West and COLONIAL CANADA! www.kitsband.ca

RS OF EMPIRE