Centennial State Diaries - Buffalo Bill Cody Museum and Grave Lookout Mountain

Buffalo Bill Cody Museum and Grave
987 Lookout Mountain Road
Golden, CO 80401

One of the absolute best things about living in Colorado is having a home deep in the heart of the history of the Wild West. At some point, every great gunslinger, vaudevillian or peacekeeper made their way through Colorado before making their way into history.

For this edition of the Centennial State Diaries, I had an opportunity to visit the museum and grave site of William Frederick “Buffalo Bill” Cody. Through his Wild West shows, he defined the aura, mystique and the very West itself for history books around the world.

Step into the mind and the myth of the man who defined the American Wild West.

A Brief History of Buffalo Bill Cody

William Frederick Cody was born on February 26, 1846, on a farm located outside Le Claire, IA. After spending a few years in Ontario, Canada, where he was baptized at the Dixie Union Chapel in Peel County, William Cody’s family moved to Fort Leavenworth, Kansas Territory in 1853 just prior to the United States Civil War.

The Cody family was ardently opposed to slavery, and Isaac Cody, William Cody’s father, was stabbed twice with a Bowie knife while delivering a blistering antislavery speech at a local trading post where pro-slavery men held meetings. While Issac Cody survived, he ultimately died in from complications related to that stabbing in April 1857.

At the age of 14, William Cody was struck with gold fever and he started out for California. However, he met an agent for the Pony Express and signed on with them instead. At the ripe age of seventeen, Cody attempted to join the Union Army during the Civil War but was turned down because of his age. So, he enlisted in the Kansas Cavalry and was discharged in 1865. He returned to the Army in 1868 as the Chief of Scouts for the Plains Wars, where he scouted for Indians and fought in 16 different battles. It was during this period he earned the name "Buffalo Bill."

While under contract with the Kansas Pacific Railroad, William Cody had a contract to provide workers with Bison (American Buffalo) meat. He was purported to have killed 4,282 buffalo within an eighteen month period. It was during this time he served as the scout for a highly publicized buffalo hunting expedition for the Grand Duke Alexei Alexandrovich of Russia and befriended Brevet General George Armstrong Custer. In 1869, he met Ned Buntline, who published adventure stories based upon William Cody's adventures, which launched the legend of Buffalo Bill Cody into the minds of mainstream America and thrust him upon the world stage.

Personal Effects of William Frederick “Buffalo Bill” Cody

0.50 Caliber Model 1866 Springfield - Buffalo Bill’s best-known Buffalo Hunting Rifle

The Buffalo Bill Museum on Lookout Mountain holds an incredible treasure trove of his personal effects, collected by his adopted son Johnny Baker during his time with the Wild West show (February 26, 1846 – January 10, 1917).

Buffalo Bill’s Last Show Outfit for His Final Public Appearance November 11, 1916

Buffalo Bill’s Ivory Handled Bowie Knife and Shiloh Cane Carved from a Confederate Flagstaff Captured at the Battle of Shiloh

Ore from one of Buffalo Bill’s Mines near Oracle, Arizona

Buffalo Bill’s Colt Dragoon Revolver Used While Riding for the Pony Express

Ivory Scrimshaw Horn Commemorating Buffalo Bill’s Time with the Pony Express

Buffalo Bill Cody’s Original Script “Twenty Days”

The Desk and Camp Chair of Buffalo Bill Cody from his time with the Wild West Show

Original Edison Wax Cylinder Recording of Buffalo Bill’s Farewell March and Two Step

The Final Cartridge Shot by Buffalo Bill Before his Death

Buffalo Bill Cassidy Equal Rights for Women

The museum holds objects celebrating Buffalo Bill Cody’s commitment to Women’s Suffrage in the United States. Not only did his Wild West shows openly feature female performers such as Goldie Griffith, Lulu Parr, and Annie Oakley, but he also provided equal pay to the female cast in his Wild West shows.

Lulu Bell Parr and Goldie Griffith

Lulu Bell Parr picked up the skill of bronc riding while living with her aunt and uncle in Fort Wayne, Indian after the death of her parents. After spending some seasons performing trick shooting and bronc riding with Pawnee Bill's Wild West Show, she jumped at the opportunity to tour with Buffalo Bill's *Wild West* Show until 1913. She is currently enshrined in the National Cowgirl Museum and Hall of Fame.

Goldie Griffith took up bronc riding after she met a longtime love interest, Charlie Mulhall while performing with the 101 Wild West show. By the spring of 1912, she was riding with the 101 Wild West show on the road, and within a year, she was approached by Buffalo Bill Cody as a female bronc rider. The night before her wedding to Harry Smith Walters, she was thrown into the stands during a performance and it landed her in the hospital. Sore and bruised, she left the hospital, mounted her horse, and had a wedding ceremony with Harry Walters in Madison Square Garden arena with 8,000 spectators in attendance as Buffalo Bill Cody gave away the bride to be, Goldie Griffith.

Goldie Griffith’s Steemer Trunk

Annie Oakley Portrait from Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show

Native North American Indian Artifacts (Chief Sitting Bull and Lakota Medicine Man Short Bull)

In addition to advocating for Women's Suffrage and Equal Pay, Buffalo Bill Cody also advocated for Native North American Indian rights as well. The museum holds a number of Plains Indian artifacts.

Chief Sitting Bull and Buffalo Bill Cody

The history of Chief Sitting Bull and Buffalo Bill Cody was mutually linked through General George Armstrong Custer’s death at the Little Bighorn Massacre in 1876. The death of Custer devastated William Cody and forced Sitting Bull to flee into Mountain Wood, North-West Territories, where he would remain until 1881. Upon his return, he became part of Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show.

The museum holds a number of the personal effects of Chief Sitting Bull, from his head dress to his bow and his peace pipe. The ceremonial garb and moccasins of Sitting Bull’s wife are also housed at the museum on Overlook Mountain.

Outside of the personal effects of Sitting Bull, the museum holds an extensive collection of Native American artifacts. A series of tomahawks, war maces, moccasins, spoons, drums and other artifacts from the Plains Indian tribes are featured throughout.

The Peace Pipe Owned by Sitting Bull

Original Bow and Arrows Possessed by Sitting Bull

Short Bull and Buffalo Bill Cassidy

In addition to artifacts owned by Sitting Bull, the museum owns artifacts from Short Bull, the Lakota Medicine Man instrumental in bringing the Ghost Dance Movement to the South Dakota reservations. Ultimately the fear of Indian uprising related to the Ghost Dance Movement led to the massacre at Wounded Knee and the fatal shooting of Sitting Bull.

After the fatal shooting of Sitting Bull at Fort Yates and Short Bull’s subsequent imprisonment, he joined Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show.

Original Headdress Presented to Buffalo Bill Cody by Short Bull

Dew Claw Necklace Owned by Short Bull and Presented to Buffalo Bill Cody

On your next trip into Denver, take a step into the history of the man who defined the American West. It’s a slice of history you should not pass up.

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If You Enjoy This Edition of The Centennial State Diaries, Check Out Some Previous Editions

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• Centennial State Diary (Historic Places Edition) – Doc Holliday Trail
• Centennial State Diary (Entertainment Venues Edition) – Glenwood Springs Vaudeville Review
• Centennial State Diary (Eateries/Bar Edition) – Linger
• Centennial State Diary (Eateries/Bar Edition) - The Syntax Physic Opera