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Perhaps attracted by the theatrics of Wild West shows, the early film industry enthusiastically embraced the Western genre. William S. Hart (1870-1946) was a Shakespearian stage actor who became a celebrity of Westerns in the silent film era,…

Kentucky native Colonel George Washington Miller (d. 1903) established the 101 Ranch in Indian Territory (now Oklahoma) in 1879. Through acquisitions and lease agreements with the Ponca, Tonkawa, and Osage Indians, the ranch grew from a modest 2,000…

Arguably, no one did more to perpetuate the romantic ideal of the West in the American consciousness than William "Buffalo Bill" Cody (1846-1917). Cody was a true Westerner, having worked as a messenger for the Pony Express, as a scout for the U.S.…

The Ghost Dance movement began in Nevada in 1889, promising American Indians the coming of a messiah who would vanquish the whites and aid in restoring the natives' way of life. The Ghost Dance quickly spread east to the Sioux reservations in North…

On June 25, 1876, General George A. Custer led the Seventh Calvary into battle against Sioux and Cheyenne Indians along the Little Bighorn River in Montana. The utter defeat of Custer and his men at "Custer's Last Stand" is one of the defining…

Savage immigrated to New York from England in 1855 after converting to Mormonism. By the time he left for Salt Lake City five years later, he had been trained in photography and immediately established himself as a professional photographer upon his…

After being severely injured during the Civil War battle at Antietam, Soule headed west in 1867 to improve his health. He was the brother of John P. Soule (1827-1904), founder of the Soule Photographic Company in Boston, and so set off completely…