The Lure of Silver and Gold Brings Thousands of Emigrants Into the West, Pushing Native Americans Away from Their Land, Food and Water
When the Army pulled back, the Indians went on the attack.
As men began choosing sides and preparing to fight in America’s Civil War, men in the West also were preparing to fight for their lands and their way of life: The warriors of America’s Indian tribes. The discovery of silver in what is now northern Nevada brought thousands of prospectors into the region, pressuring Paiutes. All it took was a spark to start the Pyramid Valley War.
Wander Along a Trail of Western History at Fort Bridger
Visit the grounds at Wyoming’s Fort Bridger State Historic Site and it’s like wandering along a trail of history, a tributary of the great American West where explorers, fur trappers, Oregon Trail emigrants and Pony Express riders coursed by on their way to settling and taming the frontier.Fort Bridger’s beginnings go back to 1843 when mountain man Jim Bridger set up a trading post on the Black Fork ofthe Green River, close to the Oregon Trail.But Fort Bridger State Historic Site is more than just the story of a mountain man’s trading post, and later a US Army outpost. It reflects the history of what was going on in the West from the 1840s through the early 1900s.
Historic interpreter Ariel Staley shown by Fort Bridger's bellows. LFP photo
Arizona:
Saguaro NP Offers A View of the Southwest's Desert Giants
Saguaro National Park—adjacent to Tucson, Arizona—celebrated its 75th anniversary on March 1, and since April and May are great months to see desert wildflowers in bloom, we thought in this issue of OldWestNewWest.Com we’d spotlight the park and its desert beauty.The park is one of the most unique properties within the National Park System. For one thing, the 91,000-acre park has a major U.S. city right in the middle of it. The population of greater Tucson is nearly 1 million persons.
In the United States only southern Arizona and extreme southwest California harbor these giant cacti. NPS photo
Los Angeles:
Cowboy Culture, Presidential Politics Meet at Autry Center
One really was a working cowboy, another enjoyed riding horses and clearing brush at his California ranch, while others wrapped themselves in the image of the heroic American cowboy. Who are they? Presidents of the United States of America.From Theodore Roosevelt to George W. Bush, presidents have used the image of the cowboy to define themselves and their administrations to the nation and the world.In this election year, the Autry National Center in Los Angeles explores the fascinating and ongoing intersection of cowboy culture and presidential politics in “Cowboys and Presidents,” an exhibit which opened April 11 and runs through Sept. 7.
President Ronald Reagan at his Southern California ranch.
People of the West / Dr. William Deverell
Interest in the American West Remains Very Strong
William Deverell is opening the door to new information about the West. LFP photo
“There’s no question about it,” Dr. William Deverell says, “there remains a very strong interest in the West. I’d say a majority of scholars come to the Huntington Library to study the West, and it’s growing. We haven’t even scratched the surface of what happened.” Deverell is director for the Huntington-USC Institute on California and the West, or ICW for short, and he’s leading efforts to explore and utilize the vast resources of American West material at the Huntington Library as part of a collaboration started in 2004 between the University of Southern California and the Huntington.
News Update: 40th Annual C.M. Russell Auction Reaches All New Records
The 40th Annual C.M. Russell Auction eclipsed last year’s record $2.4 million weekend with an unofficial auction total of just under $3 million.Highlights of the 2008 event, which took place March 12-15 at Great Falls, Mont., included a single-night auction record of $2,052,750 on Saturday, smashing last year’s $1.46 million record. Andy Thomas, who had earlier in the week received the Jurors’ Best of Show award for his oil painting entitled “Charlie Russell and His Characters,” (shown on the left) sold his piece for $180,000, which is the highest price ever paid for a piece of art at the auction by any artist other than Russell.
Illegal Tour Operators a Problem for National Parks, Visitors
They may not look like crooks, and their motivations even may be well intentioned, but illegal tour operators are a problem for the National Park Service, and when things go bad it is usually the park visitor who ends up impacted.“It is an ongoing issue for us,” Jo A. Pendry, chief of the National Park Service Concession Program, told OldWestNewWest.Com. “And it is really a difficult thing for our parks to oversee or discover.”
Check out our six tips to pick a 'real' tour operator or guide.
Always make sure your tour operator is authorized by the National Park Service, such as this Colorado River rafting group. NPS photo
Nevada:
Red Rock Canyon NCA Offers World-Class Routes for Rock Climbers
Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area, just 17 miles outside of the Las Vegas Strip, has become one of the finest rock climbing areas in the world, and a favorite place for fans of the sport. The area offers a variety of routes and trails, and climbing courses that range from easy to difficult. More than one million people a year visit the 195,819-acre park unit, which includes a 13-mile scenic drive, 30 miles of hiking trails, picnic areas, campground, interpretive boardwalk, and visitor center. The area is about to get a new $23 million visitor center.
A climber ascends a sandstone wall at Red Rock Canyon. BLM photo
Deadwood, South Dakota:
City Says Historic Saint Ambrose Cemetery Will Have a Future
Some simply call it Deadwood’s other cemetery, while others don’t even know that it’s there, but all that’s about to change for the Black Hills’ historic Saint Ambrose Cemetery. Due to erosion, sporadic maintenance and even vandalism, the cemetery currently is depressed and unsafe. But the city says the 1880s graveyard that originally served as a resting place for many Irish Catholic settlers will be restored and preserved for generations to come.
The Angel of Saint Ambrose guards the remains of two-year-old Oscar Stanley Rewman. Deadwood Preservation Dept. photo
The West:
Squabble's Over: Rival Western History Groups Merge
It’s kind of like the old Western B-movie scene where two gunfighters meet face-to-face on Main Street and one of them always says, “This town ain’t big enough for the two of us!” Well, it looks like the two gunfighters have decided the town is big enough—if they join forces.In January, the National Association for Outlaw and Lawmen History (NOLA), formed in 1974, and the Western Outlaw-Lawman History Association (WOLA), founded in 1990, officially merged to form the Wild West History Association (WWHA). President Robert McCubbin says the move has created the primary Wild West history organization in the world.
A member enjoys cowboy-style shooting at a recent group gathering. WWHA photo
The West:
Rehabbing America's Old West Into a New West
Saving the ever-dwindling number of Old West buildings from the late 1800s and early 1900s has gotten a real boost with the Federal Historic Rehabilitation Tax Credit Program. Now marking 30 years, the program recently was revised to help make it easier to understand and emphasize that the tax credit program isn't just for large commercial projects such as the rehabbing of the Hotel Stockton (right) in California's Central Valley. State tax credit programs, such as those in Colorado and Missouri, are helping incentivize developers to rehab and not just demolish.
The rehabilitated Hotel Stockton in Central California.
Northern California:
Fort Ross Historic Park Has Russian Surprises for Visitors
Many visitors to Fort Ross State Historic Park, 12 miles north of the town of Jenner on state Highway One, are surprised to discover that Russians, along with native Alaskans, established a place for themselves in early California history. Roughly 75 miles north of San Francisco—about a two-hour drive—Fort Ross State Historic Park is one of the first five state parks developed in the California State Park system.
Russian explorers in 1812 founded a Northern California colony for trading. California State Parks photo
Arizona:
Grand Canyon Visitors To Find Hermit Road Closed This Summer
Visitors to Grand Canyon National Park this year will find the South Rim’s very popular Hermits Rest and Hermit Trailhead areas closed, or at least very hard to get to due to extensive road reconstruction. Set for repair and widening is Hermit Road, a much-traveled roadway between Grand Canyon Village and Hermits Rest. It includes nine overlooks, access to the historic Hermits Rest and Hermit Trailhead, seven miles of improved and unimproved rim trails, and many popular spots for viewing sunset panoramas. The construction schedule will have its greatest impact on visitors in the summer months. Grand Canyon park is the second busiest park in the National Park Service System, and sees around 4.5 million visitors a year.
Grand Canyon N.P. trail crew repair a section of the South Kaibab Trail. Hermit Road construction this summer will also include trail work. Richard Goepfrich, NPS photo
Wyoming:
High Def Rockefeller Center will Bring Grand Tetons to Visitors Up Close
The new Laurance Rockefeller Preserve Center at Grand Teton National Park will offer visitors a new way to experience the park. Photo by David J. Swift
The new Laurance S. Rockefeller Preserve Center, opening around mid-summer, will offer visitors a new way to experience Grand Teton National Park through high definition television and audio sensaround presentations. We offer our readers a special sneak preview of what the building looks like, both inside and out. The Center is part of Laurance Rockefeller's $160 million gift of 1,100 acres of land, the new Center and an endowment to support the Center. Early reports say the experience will 'wow' park visitors. Click here for more
News in the West: West Claims Seven 'Most Visited' National Parks in 2007 (NEW) Click here for details...
Autry's Masters of the American West Art Sale Sets New Sales Record (UPDATED) Click here for details...
