Top 10 True Western Towns of 2008
By: TW Editors 01/02/2008
Towns to Watch
BRACKETTVILLE, TX
Brackettville is a strange mix of history and legend. The history is Fort Clark, founded in 1852 as a frontier post in southwest Texas that later became home to the famed Buffalo Soldiers. Many buildings have been preserved and restored as part of a historic district. The legend is Alamo Village, just a few miles north of town, one of the most active movie locations in the Lone Star State. Visitors can see where John Wayne’s The Alamo and parts of Lonesome Dove (among others) were shot.
CALDWELL, KS
Last year, a local family finished an unusual monument to a recently lost loved one. The family restored the Border Queen Bordello, a landmark in this former cowtown. That “do it yourself” attitude toward historic preservation is pretty much the rule in this town of 1,280 folks. Caldwell is on the Chisholm Trail; it was the starting point for the last U.S. land rush in 1893 and more than a few gunfights took place there. Check out the Cherokee Strip Visitors Center and Museum.
CODY, WY
Buffalo Bill is all over this town that he helped found in 1895. He built the Irma Hotel in 1902 and named it after his daughter. He was the force behind construction of the nearby dam that bears his name in 1905. Even his boyhood home was moved to Cody. But the jewel in the crown has to be the Buffalo Bill Historical Center, “five museums under one roof” that form one of the most complete Western collections anyplace. The old showman himself would have to be impressed.
COFFEYVILLE, KS
Okay, so the Dalton Gang wasn’t exactly welcomed with open arms when they attempted to withdraw bank funds in October 1892. Overall, Coffeyville is a visitor friendly town. The annual Dalton Days is a major attraction, as is the Dalton Defenders Museum. The plaza—where both banks from the attempted robbery were located—is little changed; same goes for Death Alley, where gang members and townsmen met their maker in the bloody shoot-out. Three of the outlaws stuck around; their grave is at Elmwood Cemetery.
CREEDE, CO
Creede hit the jackpot when silver was discovered in 1890, drawing in fortune seekers including Soapy Smith, Doc Holliday and the assassin of Jesse James, the coward Robert Ford. The last mine closed in 1985, and tourism is the game for the southwest Colorado burg. Creede offers many attractions:?a well-preserved downtown, the historic museum in the old train depot and a mining museum in (naturally) an old mine. The heritage is rich, befitting a Western boomtown.
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