Historical West

The Bandit Queen’s Treasures

bandit-queens-treasure_belle-starr_gravesite_oklahomaMyra Maybelle Shirley, better known to the world as Belle Starr, made a name for herself in a world of shoot- ’em-up men.

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To Gary Owen in Glory

army-bands_transcontinental-railroadAfter the 13 Colonies rebelled against King George III, fife, drums and trumpets kept field commands attune to men in the heat of combat or on the march.

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Photos Don't Lie!

jun09_photos_dont_lie_250We got a sneak peek at a great new photo book Historic Photos of Texas Lawmen by Mike Cox. Really some stunners in there.

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The Truth Behind True Grit

apr11_true_grit

Fort Smith was once the last bastion of law and order before the wild frontier.

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Why Don't We Remember the Alamo?

Maybe because there's not much of it left in San Antonio.

It’s a chilly afternoon, with a hint of rain in the air of San Antonio, Texas.

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Cleopatras on the American Nile

Memorable women on the Colorado River.

If the Colorado River is the “American Nile,” as some fanciful writers have called it, was there a Cleopatra along its banks?

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The Frontiersman's Mexican Loop Holster

From the mid-1870's to today, this gunleather form is still the classic Western holster.

"Before leaving the train, I had prudently strapped to my waist a new (how distressingly new) Colt’s six-shooter, that looked and felt a yard long ... the rig I had taken so much time in selecting and felt so proud of [was] quickly consigned to the scrap heap ... [My] pistol had to be stripped of its flap holster and rehabited in the then new décolleté Olive [a Mexican Loop-style] scabbard.”

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Honor in Sacrifice

The Alamo at 175.

Death—that one great certainty of life—haunts us all.

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Whiskey Rows

Frontier Saloons from The Palace in Prescott to The Exchange in Helena.

At 47, merchant Philip Drachman teamed his freight overland from Yuma, Arizona, by mule train before the Southern Pacific reached his home base in Tucson in 1880.

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Black Warriors of the West

A photographic record of the Buffalo Soldier.

In the wake of the Civil War the American West offered perceived opportunities for nearly every element of society.

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Sticks and Stones Can Break Your Bank

PBS star and auction house founder Wes Cowan reveals his favorite collectibles.

The American West has its myths, but it is also steeped with genuine characters and events which we can identify with, even more than 200 years later.

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Stay on Target When Collecting Gun Shots

Old West photos showing firearms being worn or brandished can tell much about the subject and the period. 

How many times have you looked at an antique photo and thought, “If this old photo could only talk?” Well, they do, in a way.

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Trophy Hunting in Yellowstone

Early tourists capture their memories of our nation's first national park.

A journey along the “Grand Loop” of Yellowstone National Park in the late 1800s was a true adventure.

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Who Is Boley Brown?

A pictorial look at the almost-forgotten Texas cattle king of the 24 Ranch.

Heading east on Highway 380 from Post, Texas, to the ghost town of Clairemont is a 45-minute drive through a wide open and sparsely populated country. You'll find nothing but range land in this remote part of West Texas.

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Great Secrets of Our National Parks

Some of the best findings by accidental anthropologists and studied experts.

Through blowing snow, a pair of cowboys rode across the top of a mesa, searching for stray cattle.

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Trumpeting Elephants & Kicking Asses

jf10_democrat

On August 27, 1871, an arcing ax handle landed solidly on John Lemon’s head, plummeting him to the ground.

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The Last Cowboy President?

How U.S. Presidents have recreated themselves as cowboys since the turn of the 20th century.

Lyndon B. Johnson compared going to Vietnam’s aid to coming to the aid of the defenders at the Alamo.

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The Vaquero: A World-Class Horseman

Head and shoulders above his counterparts for nearly 500 years.

As an Old West fan you may have tried your hand at riding a horse; you might even consider yourself pretty proficient at it.

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Roadside Culture

The Indian Market before and after Santa Fe’s.

“We call these people ‘untutored,’ and yet, to watch a desert dweller spill varicolored sands between his fingers into a magic pattern on the ground glowing with color and beauty; to see rich designs springing from under the flying fingers of a Navajo woman seated impassive before her loom; to see the cunning of the silversmith; enigmatic pictures evolving in beads and straw, sheer beauty flowing from the finger tips of this strange race of men and women, to study their symbolism and listen to their age-old tradition, is to be lost in wonder.”

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American West: Then & Now

The successes in preserving our American West landmarks.

Chances are you’ve never heard of Mrs. Nettie M. Dickson of Arrow Rock, Missouri. You may not have heard about Arrow Rock, for that matter.

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True Texas Cowboys

Remembering Great Granddad through historic photographs of South Texas pioneers.

As a teen in the 1880s, my great-grandfather Tolbert Alexander Burford worked as a wrangler and cowboy during the end of the great cattle drives.

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True West Site Guide

Mission

True West captures the spirit of the American West with authenticity, personality and humor by linking our history to our present. Whether you call it the Wild West, the Old West or the Far West, America's frontier history comes to life in True West, the world's oldest, continuously published Western Americana magazine.

Western movie fans, re-enactors, history buffs and road warriors, we got your history covered: outlaw, cowboy, Indian, lawman, gunfighter, fur trapper, miner, prospector, gambler, soldier, entertainer and pioneer. Check out these True Westerners now!
 

Product of the Month

The Illustrated Life and Times of Wyatt Earp

Wyatt Earp

"Your book is fascinating, coupling your powerful illustrations [and] tracking...from birth to Tombstone to the legend [Wyatt] had become;...even Wyatt would approve." --By Hugh O'Brian, of the TV series The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp

"Hands down the definitive books on Wyatt Earp and Doc Holliday." --By Allen Barra, New York Newsday