Experience The Old West In Arizona With These 18 Amazing Places (2023)

FAQs

What is the best Old West town to visit? ›

Located south of Phoenix, Rawhide is a trek back in time to the exciting days of the old west. Visitors to the Valley of Sun should not miss a chance to experience the acclaimed Rawhide Steakhouse and Saloon, not to mention all the other attractions that Rawhide boasts for people of all ages.

Spanning a thirty-year period, from the late 1800s until the 1920s, Hell Paso is the true story of the desperate men and notorious women that made El Paso, Texas the Old West's most dangerous town.

Dodge City, Kansas

This famous wild western town located in Kansas got its start in 1847 when Fort Mann was built to protect people on the Santa Fe Trail. Interestingly, Dodge City is still very famous in modern day.

Bandera, Texas, a rural town nestled in the rolling hills of Texas Hill Country, is the “Cowboy Capital of the World,” a nod to its geographic importance in the last big cattle drives of the 19th Century.

The Wild West, also known as the Old West or the American Frontier, refers to the geography, history, folklore, and cultural expression of the western United States during its frontier period. The Wild West was given its name for the lawlessness of the territories west of the Mississippi River.

The deserts in the southern part of the state make it a prime location for westerns. Old Tucson Studios is a studio just west of Tucson where several film and television westerns were filmed, including 3:10 to Yuma (1957), Cimarron (1960), The Outlaw Josey Wales (1976), and Rio Bravo (1959).

Many infamous outlaws terrorized the Old West, gunslingers like Billy the Kid and John Wesley Hardin. But one name stands out as the most efficient, elusive killer of the bunch—Deacon Jim Miller. His dastardly deeds included the first documented murder on the South Plains.

klahoma became a premier haven for African Americans moving Westward from 1865-1920. By 1890, Oklahoma could claim over 137,000 African American residents living in all black towns across Oklahoma.

What are 3 famous boomtowns in the West? ›

Early boomtowns, such as Leeds, Liverpool, and Manchester, experienced a dramatic surge in population and economic activity during the Industrial Revolution at the turn of the 19th century.

But there are plenty of towns and cities from the Old West that are not only inhabited, but still thriving. Old West towns were often founded for similar reasons. Many were started as mining towns, including infamous places like Deadwood, Tombstone, and Virginia City.

Texas. Texas is known as the cowboy capital of the world. From South Texas mesquite trees to open prairies in the Panhandle, there are cowboys hard at work. There is still a great need on many Texan ranches to brand commercial cattle so that they can be identified.

The Dallas Cowboys are the team with the most shopped-for tickets in 392 US counties, making them the clear NFL leader. Much of this fandom is, of course, concentrated in the team's home state of Texas, but the Cowboys' influence reaches beyond the Lone Star State.

One of the most basic cowboy hat rules is to remove your hat when entering a public building or private home. If you're attending a formal occasion, your hat should remain off while indoors. If it's an informal occasion, feel free to put it back on.

Along the trail, the staples of a cowboy diet consisted of beans, hard biscuits, dried meat, dried fruit, and coffee. Occasionally, a type of bread known as pan de campo (or “camp bread”), which was cooked on a skillet was also available. These along with a little bit of sugar were the staples of the chuckwagon pantry.

The term cowboy has interesting origins. Originally, White cowboys were called cowhands, and African Americans were pejoratively referred to as “cowboys.” African American men being called “boy” regardless of their age stems from slavery and the plantation era in the South.

Cowboys knew where the springs were and drank from them, or had a well and got their water from it.

Like their animals, most are cooperative, tending to want to get along. Cowboys number 1 million at most, according to the Department of Agriculture. At the Working Ranch Cowboys Association, or WRCA, manager Leman Wall estimates that figure at closer to 600,000.

Where in Arizona was John Wayne's ranch? ›

Hacienda Corona near Nogales

After becoming business partners and best friends with a local man who owned a ranch for 50 years, Wayne became a regular visitor to the area.

About the same time, Wayne purchased a 50,000-acre cattle ranch near Eagar from the Mars candy family to raise prized Hereford cows, a premium beef breed. The Mars Family called it the Milky Way 26 Bar Ranch, but it quickly became known as the John Wayne Ranch once word spread of its famous new owner.

The Marilyn Monroe Suite at the San Carlos Hotel in downtown Phoenix.

According to Thrillist, the most hippie town in Arizona is Bisbee. The website explains: "Once upon a time, this town 10 miles from the Mexican border was a mining town full of the sorts of guys who probably would have complained about hippies.

Disease. Emigrants feared death from a variety of causes along the trail: lack of food or water; Indian attacks; accidents, or rattlesnake bites were a few. However, the number one killer, by a wide margin, was disease. The most dangerous diseases were those spread by poor sanitary conditions and personal contact.

Annie Oakley

During her lifetime, Phoebe Ann Moses (Annie Oakley's given name) traveled the world, becoming a legendary shooting star in a very male-dominated sport. Annie Oakley's early life in Ohio was troubled. She lost her father to pneumonia at age 6, and the family of eight slipped into poverty.

Legend says the Wild West outlaw Billy the Kid—cattle rustler, gunslinger, murderer, escape artist—killed 21 people before he turned 21 years old, his age at death.

Bob Munden was listed in the Guinness Book of World Records as “The Fastest Man with a Gun Who Ever Lived”. One journalist reckoned that if Munden had been at the OK Corral in Tombstone, Arizona, on October 26, 1881, the gunfight would have been over in 5 to 10 seconds.

In rainy, snowy, windy, and/or sleety weather, he pulled up the canvas flaps of his roll and remained snug and warm (the waterproof tarpaulin underneath him kept ground moisture from seeping in). If the roll was covered with snow and ice during the night, the extra weight made it that much warmer inside.

After murdering an estimated 25 men (mostly law officers), committing at least 43 robberies, 12 or more one-on-one hold ups and making at least six jail breaks Harry Tracy, the last gunfighter of the Old West, was dead at age 27.

What was the average age of a cowboy? ›

The average cowboy was 16 to 30 years old. He was paid very little money (about $1 a day). The work was often tedious. Much of the country where the cowboys worked was unfenced "open range," where ranchers grazed their cattle.

Vaqueros were African, Mexican, Native American, and Spanish men. The vaquero way of life started in a European country called Spain. In the 1500s, the Spanish explored and began settling in the Americas. They brought animals such as cattle and horses with them and built ranches.

A small number of Vikings had black—or brown—skin, according to reliable historical evidence. For centuries, dark-skinned people either willingly traveled to Scandinavia or were forcibly taken there as slaves. Over time, some assimilated with the Vikings through farming, marriage, combat, and other cultural factors.

Augustine, Florida. Known as “the nation's oldest city,” St. Augustine, Florida, has beautiful cobblestone streets and Spanish-inspired architecture.

Yosemite

One of the most popular tourist destinations in the west, Yosemite National Park is well worth the trip.

Bodie, California

In 2005, both Bodie and Calico were named state ghost towns: Calico as the official state silver rush ghost town and Bodie as the official state gold rush ghost town.

1. Charleston, South Carolina. Charleston is by far one of the most beautiful cities in the US. Pastel-painted houses line the cobblestone streets, while colossal oak trees with Spanish moss set the scene.

Some stars, when they're not working, prefer to live away from flashing lights and annoying fans in quaint country towns. From Justin Timberlake hiding out in Montana to Taylor Swift's beach-side home in Rhode Island, here's where you can see famous faces even if you don't live in a huge city.

What do people do for fun in the West region? ›

What is this? There is no better way to explore the Western US than in a car or RV, so you can visit every destination at your own pace and stop at any hidden gem between.

Best Arizona ghost town for exploring historic buildings: Swansea. Swansea is a well-preserved ghost town in western Arizona under preservation by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM). Named after the Welsh hometown of founder George Mitchell, Swansea's serious mining operations began in the mid-1880s.

There are thousands of abandoned hamlets in the U.S. Some people still live and vacation in them.