American Old West Timeline of Events

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American Old West

The American Old West, or the Wild West, comprises the history, geography, people, lore, and cultural expression of life in the Western United States, most often referring to the latter half of the 19th century, between the American Civil War and the end of the century...

Timeline of Events

1821

11.16.1821

American Old West: Missouri trader William Becknell arrives in Santa Fe, New Mexico over a route that became known as the Santa Fe Trail.

1856

11.17.1856

American Old West: On the Sonoita River in present-day southern Arizona, the United States Army establishes Fort Buchanan in order to help control new land acquired in the Gadsden Purchase.

1873

7.21.1873

At Adair, Iowa, Jesse James and the James-Younger gang pull off the first successful train robbery in the American Old West.

1882

4.3.1882

American Old West: Jesse James is killed by Robert Ford.

1883

11.3.1883

American Old West: Self-described "Black Bart the poet" gets away with his last stagecoach robbery, but leaves an incriminating clue that eventually leads to his capture.

1902

11.30.1902

American Old West: Second-in-command of Butch Cassidy's Wild Bunch gang, Kid Curry Logan, is sentenced to 20 years imprisonment with hard labor.