American Countryside

Many Americans celebrate Cinco de Mayo every May, but the date does not garner as much attention in Mexico.  So why does the commemoration of a Mexican victory against the French in 1862 receive more notice north of the border than in the place it occurred?

Southeast of Sacramento you’ll find many towns that trace their roots to the gold rush days of the late 1840s.  One such town is Columbia, and not only does it have ties to the 49ers, but you can come experience the place, much as it was, over a century ago…

Most people don’t look at a road atlas these days when they need to go somewhere.  However, if you visit Baker, Montana, you might appreciate looking at one, for it will show that there is a lot of wide open spaces…and those distances might just tell you it’s time to get some gas…

Most steers don’t live to the age of 15 years old.  When one does, well, there’s probably an interesting story behind him.  That’s the case for a bovine that for awhile made his home in the bar in Baker, Montana…

In the 1920s and 30s, one farmer in southeastern Montana was raising some of the largest steers the country had ever seen.  In fact, one of those steers in particular was so large, people wanted to see the mammoth bovine firsthand.  That steer and his owner became quite a show…

Within the boundaries of one of northwest Louisiana’s larger cities, you’ll find an old fort.  It was this outpost around which today’s city grew and the history shared here reveals much about life from the 1700s and 1800s…

In northwestern Louisiana you’ll find lands once the home to the Caddo Nation.  When the first European explorers came here, they soon developed a trading network with the Caddo and built an outpost here…

John Sellers says the key to winning an old-west shootout was not quickness, but accuracy.  And when you take into account how difficult it was to hit a distant target, well, that changes the reality behind how those duels were conducted…

In a movie “western” you might see two gunslingers fire their pistols at each other in the town square.  That’s exactly what happened here.  It was all over a small gambling debt and a stolen pocket watch.  What resulted was a first of its kind confrontation…

When the Civil War ended, there were still many unsettled scores of course.  Towns along the border with North and South were especially prone to violence between individuals supporting one side or the other.  That was the case here in Springfield, Missouri, and the tensions would have deadly results…