Cowboys and Indians

Another of our Oklahoma City stops was the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum.  Located just a five-minute drive from our RV Park, it kept us busy for the better part of a day, and we still didn’t see it all.  

Originally established in 1955 as the Cowboy Hall of Fame and Museum, the museum is said to have the world's most extensive collection of American rodeo photographs, barbed wire, saddlery, and early rodeo trophies.  In 2000 when it received full accreditation from the American Alliance of Museums, it took on its present name.

As you enter the museum, you will be overwhelmed by The End of the Trail, sculpted by James Earle Fraser for the 1915 Panama-Pacific International Exposition in San Francisco, California, where the piece was awarded the gold medal for sculpture.

Following the Exposition, it was not possible for the piece to be cast in bronze because the United States had entered World War I and materials for making bronze were scarce.  The piece was discarded, but in 1919 residents of Tulare County, California, rescued the piece and relocated it to Mooney Grove Park near Visalia, CA.

Residents of Tulare County, California, rescued The End of the Trail in 1919 and relocated the piece to Mooney Grove Park, near Visalia, California.  The National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum acquired the plaster piece in 1968, had the plaster piece cast in bronze, and returned the cast sculpture to Mooney Grove Park.

Another large sculpture by Fraser is this  Abraham Lincoln model.  Although Lincoln is not always thought of as a western president, he was very influential in the country's western development.  He signed into law the Homestead Act and the College Land Grant Act, among others.

Just around the corner in the Museum's special events center are the Windows to the West, Wilson Hurley's five enormous triptychs, two of which are shown here.

Each center panel is 16' x 16' and each end panel is 10' x 16'.  They are magnificent.

At the entrance of the section devoted to Rodeo and the American Cowboy stands a small mounted sculpture of Ben Johnson, Jr.

He is known as the only man to have won an RCA World Championship and an Academy Award.  Johnson won the World Team Roping Championship in 1953 and an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor in 1971 for The Last Picture Show.

Among the many trophy saddles, belt buckles and other memorabilia on display are photos of champion cowboys and cowgirls.  (Yes, in the early days of rodeo, before barrel racing became their exclusive venue, women also rode bucking broncs.)

In the Rodeo section of the museum, the visitor walks through a mock-up of a rodeo arena.  Each event is explained, complete with its rules and scoring procedures.  (Who knew that a Cowboy's score is determined half by his performance and half by the bucking bronc or bull he is attempting to ride?)  There are also videos showing championship performances, and this life-size cowboy competing in saddle bronc riding.  

The museum isn't just dedicated to cowboys and rodeo, though.  There is an impressive collection of Native American art and artifacts.  Unfortunately, many areas of the Museum prohibit photography, so you'll have to visit to see what I couldn't capture in camera.  There is also the replica of a turn-of-the-century town called Prosperity Junction.  You can walk down its streets at dusk and look into the various establishments.  John was quick to check out the  Silver Dollar Saloon.

Outside, the Museum grounds are beautiful.  As you stroll through the well-kept beds and along the stream, you come upon gravesite of renowned rodeo bucking bulls and horses, champion roping horses, and even a longhorn steer that lived at the Museum for several years.

There is statuary everywhere, but the most impressive are this rendering of Frederick Remington's Coming Through the Rye...

...and a 33-foot tall depiction of Wild Bill Hickok.

The Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum is a great attraction; don't miss it if you're in town.