OldWest.org: Wild West Stories & Old West Legends (original) (raw)

Outlaws

Jack McCall: The Man Who Killed Wild Bill Hickok

Outlaws

7 Facts about Johnny Ringo You Won’t Learn from Movies

Arts & Entertainment

29 of the Best Tombstone Movie Quotes (1993)

wives of wyatt earp

People

The Wives of Wyatt Earp, from Aurilla Sutherland to Sadie Marcus

john wesley hardin

Outlaws

8 Murderous Facts about John Wesley Hardin

curly bill Brocius

Outlaws

Curly Bill Brocius: Was He Really Shot and Killed by Wyatt Earp?

famous sheriffs of the old west

Lawmen

8 Famous (and Infamous) Sheriffs of the Old West

Latest Posts

james kirker

People

James Kirker: Lord of the Scalp Hunters

On July 7, 1846, a camp of peace-seeking Chokonen and Nednhi Chiricahua Apache men, women, and children was…

texas rangers raid mexico bandits

Lawmen

The Porvenir Massacre: A Borderlands Tragedy

Sometime after midnight on January 28, 1918, Company B of the Texas Rangers—under the command of Captain James…

chipita rodriguez hanging

People

The Hanging of Chipita Rodriguez

Late in the summer of 1863, a horse trader named John Savage rode through the warm, tree-scrubbed lowlands…

Laramie City vigilante hanging

Lawmen

N.K. Boswell: The Man Who Tamed Laramie City

In the spring of 1868, the Union Pacific Railroad came roaring west across the plains, laying down ties,…

skeleton cave massacre battle of salt river canyon

Indigenous History

Skeleton Cave Massacre: The Tragic Battle of Salt River Canyon

In early 1906, a cattleman named Jeff Adams, his two sons, and nearby rancher Ivy Crabtree discovered a…

northfield raid

Outlaws

The Northfield Raid & the Strange Fate of Two Dead Outlaws

On Friday, July 7, 1876, the James-Younger Gang robbed an express car on the Missouri Pacific Railroad in…

Life in the West

10 Wild West Guns that Shaped the Old West (from Revolvers to Rifles)

native american mythical creatures

Indigenous History

10 Native American Mythical Creatures, from Thunderbirds to Skinwalkers

lost treasure california

Lost Mines & Treasure

Lost Treasure in California: True Stories of the Golden State’s Hidden Riches

cheyenne dog soldiers

Indigenous History

7 Facts About Cheyenne Dog Soldiers & Their Warrior Legacies

josephine marcus earp

People

Josephine Earp: Adventurous Woman of the West

old west hangings

Life in the West

Old West Hangings: The Grim Ritual of Frontier Justice

Many settlements in the West may not have been as violent as movies often depict them to be,…

cholera oregon trail depiction american west

Oregon Trail

Cholera on the Oregon Trail: The Blue Scythe of Death

On April 3, 1849, 18-year-old Rachel E. Warren married Nathan Pattison, 23, in Randolph County, Illinois, just south…

pat garrett

Lawmen

The Menacing Plot to Kill Pat Garrett

On the crisp morning of February 29, 1908, fifty-seven-year-old Pat Garrett loaded his buckboard, embraced his wife and…

jack mccall deadwood

Outlaws

Jack McCall: The Man Who Killed Wild Bill Hickok

On November 9, 1876, two men attempted to escape from the jail in Yankton, Dakota Territory. Both had…

olive oatman

People

Olive Oatman: Tattooed Captive of the Frontier

In the summer of 1850, the Oatman family headed west with visions of a promised land in the…

rufus buck gang

Outlaws

Rufus Buck and His Gang: A Tale of Violence and Frontier Justice

On July 1, 1896, five young men, chained and dressed in black, walked to the gallows at Fort…