A road trip through the states of Arkansas, Missouri and Oklahoma would quicky prove to nonbelievers that the violent ways of the frontier flourished here, too. While the thick underbrush, tall trees and rolling hillsides conflict with the popular image of the Western United States, the three gateway states embody the spirit and the history of the Wild West.
Arkansas
Beginning in the state’s far northeast corner near the Missouri bootheel lies Paragould, the county seat of Greene County. For decades, from the 1870s through the turn of the century, Greene County and Paragould was an epicenter of violence and lawlessness. Named for the railroad magnates whose tracks crossed in the middle of town, Paragould is perhaps most famous for the 1909 murder of Charles Gragg by James Trammell. The killer fled to San Francisco and was apprehended before fleeing a second time, never to be heard from again by local authorities. But it turns out that Trammell had escaped to New South Wales, Australia, where he died an old man in 1966. Today, the site of the killing is preserved as a boutique clothing store along a quaint and restored downtown shopping district.
Traveling southwest past Little Rock you’ll find Hot Springs. If one can look past all the glitz and glamour of the gangster era, the intrepid visitor will discover a rich Western history. It was here that legendary lawman Bat Masterson visited and stayed at the famed Arlington Hotel. In March 1899, Hot Springs Chief of Police Thomas C. Toler and Garland County Sheriff Bob Williams fought for authority over the town’s gambling and the illegal kickbacks that came with it. The feud boiled over with supporters from both factions on Central Avenue in Hot Springs, and five were killed and three wounded.
Denne historien er fra April 2023-utgaven av True West.
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Denne historien er fra April 2023-utgaven av True West.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
Where Did the Loot Go? - This is one of those find the money stories. And it's one that has attracted treasure hunters for more than 150 years.
Whatever happened to the $97,000 from the Reno Gang's last heist? Up to a dozen members of the Reno Gang stopped a Jeffersonville, Madison and Indianapolis train at a watering station in southern Indiana. The outlaws had prior intelligence about its main load: express car safes held about $97,000 in government bonds and notes. In the process of the job, one of the crew was killed and two others hurt. The gang made a clean getaway with the loot.
Hero of Horsepower - Los Angeles lawman William Hammel tamed one of the West's wildest towns with hard work and horseless carriages.
Los Angeles lawman William Hammel tamed one of the West's wildest towns with hard work and horseless carriages.
From the Basin to the Plains
Discover Wyoming on a road trip to Cody, Casper and Cheyenne.
COLLECTING AMERICAN OUTLAWS
Wilbur Zink has preserved the Younger Gang's history in more ways than one.
Spencer's West
After the Civil War, savvy frontiersmen chose the Spencer repeating carbine.
Firearms With a Storied Past
Rock Island gavels off high profits from historic firearms.
She Means Business!
An energetic and ambitious woman has come to Lincoln, New Mexico, to restore the town's legendary Ellis Store.
Ride that Train!
HERITAGE RAILROADS KEEP THE OLD WEST ALIVE ACROSS THE UNITED STATES.
Saddle Up with a Western
Old West fiction and nonfiction are the perfect genres to fill your summer reading list.
RENEGADES OF THE RAILS
RAILROADS WERE OPEN SEASON FOR OKLAHOMA AND INDIAN TERRITORY OUTLAW GANGS.