FORGOTTEN QUEEN OF THE WILD WEST SHOWS

It was a simple idea: if Americans couldn’t travel to see the West for themselves, the West would come to them.

So for 30 years from 1883 to 1913, the region was celebrated in Buffalo Bill’s Wild West show. It combined the breathtaking spectacles of a circus with a Smithsonian-level dedication to preserving the West’s unique legacy. My Grandfather Powell told me about seeing Buffalo Bill and his show as a boy in 1910.

Imitation, they say, is the most sincere form of flattery. And Buffalo Bill’s show had many imitators. Some very good, like Pawnee Bill’s West West. And many that were not so good.

With that entertainment form largely forgotten today, it’s no surprise that people also forgot the important role women played in those shows. Continue reading →