Famous Pioneer Towns, Forts and Places

Wild West
If you're fascinated by Western heritage, Wild West is the magazine for you. Each issue focuses on the history, people, places and events that shaped the American frontier, presenting the conflicts and issues of the day through absorbing features and photo essays. Read about Cowboys, Indians, gunslingers, lawmen and the other colorful icons of Western culture.
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More great gift ideas... Western Books and both classic and new Western Movies.

Frontier Trails - lots of good info!
Deserted Lands - Great photos of old places!
Check out Shawn Hall's Nevada Ghost Town website.
Tim's 1880's Info Swap
The Old Spanish Trail.Org - great info about THE trail!!
An out-of-the-way place of interest near Santa Barbara, CA...
the Cold Spring Tavern offers a wide range of food and entertainment.
Over one hundred twenty years ago, dusty stagecoaches stopped here at what was then known as
"Cold Spring Relay Station" to change teams of horses and allow travelers to rest
at this stagecoach stop and enjoy one of the most delicious meals in the Old West.
The Tavern was purchased in 1941 by Adelaide Ovington and her daughter, Audrey.
Today the tavern is still a "rest stop" though now travelers arrive in more modern coaches
to enjoy the food and refreshment whch is still among the best in the West.
While at Cold Spring Tavern check out the old "Road Gang House"
where the Chinese Road Gang bunked when they built
the Toll Road through the rugged San Marcos Pass in 1868.
Across from it is the Ojai Jail. Built by Andrew Van Curen in 1873
and once featured in "Ripley's Believe It or Not";
the two buildings keep each other company through the ages.
At night Cold Spring is pure magic! Lamp-lit dinner and fireside dining
make it a romantic setting for an unforgettable evening.
Day or night, stopping at Cold Spring is a rewarding, refreshing experience.
After it you can go back and tackle the world again!

The Alamo
In the path of the Westward expansion, this is a heroic symbol of the ultimate sacrifice.
189 volunteers died in the struggle for Texas independence from Mexico.

The National Park Service
Our collected heritage, including archeology, historic places, structures landscapes and museums. An excellent way to get involved in our heritage !!
Western Forts
AmericanWest Forts Page
Fort Phil Kearny and the Fetterman and Wagon Box Battlefields.
Trading Forts (ca. 1836)
Links to Old West Forts and Towns
HISTORIC FORTS OF THE OLD WEST
Forts of the Old West Fort Bayard, New Mexico - Fort Concho, Texas - Fort Huachuca, Arizona - Fort Lincoln, North Dakota - Fort MacArthur Museum - Fort Verde, Arizona - Fort Riley, Kansas - Fort Walla Walla, Washington
Kansas Forts
Fergus County Historical Forts And Camps, Montana
Old Forts, State & National Monuments, New Mexico
Oregon Military Camps and Forts
Forts Folle Avoine - A Historical Park featuring the Wisconsin fur trade 1802.

Towns By State
Alaska
Klondike Fever
Klondike Gold Rush National Historic Park.
Arizona
Tombstone
Jerome
Ghost Towns of Arizona

California
Bodie
Images from Bodie
Chimney Rock, site of the last Indian battle in Southern California, 1867. Thank you to Cindy Lazenby!
Death Valley Chamber of Commerce's Home Page.
Death Valley The first pioneer wagons entered one of the hottest places on earth in 1849 ("the forty-niners") looking for a short cut to California. This began the turbulent modern history of Death Valley with the exploits of silver and other precious metals.
The SierraWeb's Death Valley page.
Death Valley Ghost Towns
Fresno City and County Historical Society
History of California www.my.ca.gov
Colorado
A new Colorado info page.
Ghost Towns at Lake City
Ghost Towns of Colorado (Fourteener Country)
Kansas
Dodge City
Missouri
The Gateway Arch
The Gateway Arch at the Jefferson National Expansion Memorial in St. Louis, MO., commemorates the westward growth of the United States between 1803 and 1890. It is a memorial not only to Thomas Jefferson and the Louisiana Purchase, but also to the people who lived in and settled the American West.
Nevada
Historic Mining Towns of Nevada
More on Nevada Ghost Towns
New Mexico
New Mexico Ghost Towns
More on New Mexico Ghost Towns
Even more on New Mexico Ghost Towns
Sierra County, New Mexico, Ghost Towns
Oklahoma
Fair Valley, OK
Oregon
Fine Photography of ghost towns in Oregon.
South Dakota
Deadwood
Wind Cave National Park, the National Park Services' page on Black Hills history - a good article.
Human history in the Black Hills, a bit more detailed article covering prehistory to the present time. Presented by the American Park Network. Historic Deadwood
Black Hills - Description and History, 1878. From the business directory for the Black Hills, Dakota Territory taken from Wolfe's Mercantile Guide, Gazetteer, and Business Directory of Cities...", published in 1878.
A mining bibliography
Black Hills Legends - Rough & Tumble Deadwood, South Dakota. A Legends of America webpage; there are many advertisements but some good information and pictures.
Texas
The Alamo. In the path of the Westward expansion, a heroic symbol of the ultimate sacrifice, when 189 volunteers died in the struggle for Texas independence from Mexico.
Utah
Southern Utah Ghost Towns

Movies made (Hollywood-style) about other pioneer towns:
High Noon (1952) - Generic, no specific town
Shane (1953) - Area of Jackson Hole, WY

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