The Legendary Cooking of Tie Sing
How a Chinese immigrant cooked his way into history, and got a mountain in Yosemite named after him.
Tag Rachel Kovaciny
Author and blogger Rachel Kovaciny writes The Wild West of Yesteryear, a regular column that brings the Old West to life through vivid stories about its people, traditions, and history.
Sharlott Hall: She Loved a Territory into a State
The remarkable story of Sharlot Hall and the fight for Arizona’s future.
The Black Seminole Scouts
How a unit of African-American and Seminole men became legendary frontier scouts.
Mean, Ornery, and Worth Saving: Doc Holliday
Bat Masterson despised Doc Holliday, yet risked his reputation, money, and influence to save him from the gallows, all because of one man: Wyatt Earp.
John B. Stetson: The Hat That Shaped the West
Think the cowboy hat was born on the open range? Think again. The Stetson’s story begins with a sick young hatter, a Colorado gold rush, a beaver pelt… and a legendary piece of American history.
The Remarkable Life of Louis L’Amour: America’s Frontier Storyteller
Louis L’Amour lived the adventures he wrote about. From prizefighting to seafaring to bestselling novelist, his real life was as thrilling as his Western tales.
A School in Her Living Room: The Legacy of Elizabeth Thorn Scott Flood
In 1854, Elizabeth Thorn Scott Flood opened her Sacramento home to Black children denied an education—and changed history. From humble beginnings, her schools grew into the foundation of equal education in California, ensuring that all children, regardless of race, could learn and thrive.
Bullets and Bloodshed: The Lincoln County War
Billy the Kid Was Just a Footnote
in the Lincoln County War.
From Needles to Notebooks: The Life of Mollie Dorsey Sanford
Mollie Dorsey Sanford began journaling as a teen and ended up leaving behind one of the most vivid accounts of pioneer life in the West. From homesteading in Nebraska to surviving gold rush towns in Colorado, Mollie’s story shines with wit, courage, and heart. Discover the woman behind the diary and the frontier life she recorded.
A Broken Heart & a Brave Journey: The Life of Chief Joseph
Chief Joseph’s haunting words—“I will fight no more forever”—echo through American history. But what led the Nez Perce leader to say them? In 1877, after a 1,200-mile journey toward freedom, he surrendered just 40 miles from the Canadian border. This post explores the events behind his famous speech, the choices he faced, and why his legacy of courage, wisdom, and heartbreak still moves us today.