By Emily Stifler Explorebigsky.com Managing Editor
This article was first published in the Summer 2012 edition of Mountain Outlaw magazine.
CODY – Buffalo Bill Cody was ahead of his
time.
Born in 1846, he was a P ony Express
rider, Army scout, frontiersman,
guide, showman, entrepre –
neur and town founder. He toured
the U.S. and Europe, performing in
front of millions, including Queen
Victoria.
“Buffalo Bill was the first inter –
national rock star,” says Bruce
Eldredge, director of the Buffalo
Bill Historical Center.
He was an American icon long
before television, movies or the In –
ternet. He also stood up for Native
American and women’s rights, and
for conservation.
The Buffalo Bill Museum in
Cody, Wyoming near the east gate
of Yellowstone National Park,
was founded as a memorial a few
months after his death. Today it
draws more than 160,000 annual
visitors and is housed in a historical
center that also includes the
Whitney Museum for Western
Art, Plains Indian Museum,
Draper Museum of Natural
Science, and Winchester Arms
Museum.
“It is indeed the Smithsonian
of the Wild West,” said Dewey
Blanton from the American Association
of Museums.
The wing hosting the Buffalo Bill
Museum this year received a $1.25
million remodel, its first facelift in 30
years. Through authentic artifacts and
interactive multi-media, the modernized
exhibit tells Buffalo Bill’s story
in the context of the history and tall
tales of the American West.
