Be transported into the wild and wooly past of the American Wild West, its history and legends of cowboys, western cowgirls and pioneer women of the west, guns (like the legendary 1873 Colt Peacemaker) and other interesting western facts like the Pony Express Mail Delivery, famous outlaws and lawmen and the exciting Gunfight at O.K. Corral which took place in Tombstone, Arizona

Look for information on movie cowboys and great singing cowboys. We also offer cowboy poetry, cowboy songs, western cowboy recipes, plus links to other great facts about the American West.  

For example: Cowboys like Wild Bill Hickok, who had talent as gunfighter and scout, along with his reputation as a lawman liked to play poker and was shot dead while he was playing. When shot, he was holding a pair of aces and a pair of eights, all black. From then on that hand is referred to as Dead Man’s hand.

Our section on Native Americans or American Indians, if you prefer, details aspects of Indian society including valuable modern information on American Indian ancestry and DNA testing. You'll find interesting Native American Indian sacred places and battlegrounds to visit, authentic Indian recipes and Native legends and creation stories. Read historical information about the heroism of Native Americans during the two world wars when they served as "Code Talkers". Read about American Indian arts and crafts, especially Indian jewelry and dances. The Wild West was a fascinating time and place in American history.

Coming Up in November:   Prepare your school project now! November is National American Indian Heritage Month in the U.S. Almost a century ago the effort began to create a national day of recognition and celebration for the many contributions to our nation of the First Americans. In 1990, a resolution proclaimed November as the month to honor tribal traditions and educate the public about the history of American Indians. Come celebrate at the Wild West.org by visiting our Native Americans section.

The American west featured all sorts of people from pioneers and scouts to lawmen, outlaws, gangs and gunfighters (gunslingers), to the American cowboy, and legendary pioneering women on the frontier. You'll find history, lore and biographies of the lives and times of those who populated the Wild West. Meet "Billy The Kid", Jesse James, the Clantons and the Dalton gang and the lawmen who stopped them, famous sheriffs and their deputies. Learn interesting western facts about inventions like barbed wire and denim blue jeans.

Explore the life of the cowboy who spent up to four straight months in the saddle, often in the same clothes every day. He ate every meal at the chuck wagon, drinking nothing but coffee and water. At night, if a storm came and the cattle started running, it was the cowboy's job to jump on his horse to head off the cattle and round them up safely.

You'll also learn of the adventures of pioneers and famous American Indians (Native Americans) and their battles against European settlers; how they created beautiful arts, crafts, beadwork and stunning silver jewelry like the spectacular squash blossom necklace and ruggedly handsome Navajo Indian rugs and weavings they favored. You can read about American Indian dances and spirituality and religious practices plus enjoy authentic native recipes.

Another interesting tidbit:  A Western saloon is a kind of bar particular to the Old West. Saloons served such customers as fur trappers, cowboys, soldiers, gold prospectors and miners and gamblers.  By way of entertainment, saloons offered dancing girls. Many saloons offered poker, brag, three-card monte, and dice games. Today, you don't have to go to a bar or saloon to gamble, you can play online slots and poker and even dice games. Other games were added as saloons continued to thrive and face growing competition. These added games included billiards, darts. Some saloons even incorporated piano players and theatrical skits.  If you want a small taste of the games they played in the old west go to go to our games section.