Buffalo Bill visited Salem thirteen times between 1874 and 1916.
William Frederick Cody (1846-1917) was born in LeClair, Iowa in 1846. After his father’s death, he left home at age eleven to herd cattle and drive a wagon train across the Great Plains. He then worked a as a fur trapper and gold miner before joining the Pony Express at age fifteen in 1860. While serving the Union Army during the Civil War, Cody earned the nickname “Buffalo Bill” for his hunting skills. After the war, he continued as a civilian scout for which he received the Medal of Honor in 1872. That same year, he was introduced to showbusiness in Chicago when he appeared in the play “Scouts of the Prarier” along with its playwright, Ned Buntiline and fellow scout “Texas Jack” Omohundro. The show received mixed reviews from critics, but it was clear that Buffalo Bill was a hit with his sold-out audiences. A traveling production of the show was quickly formed with Texas Jack and the addition of Cody’s longtime friend “Wild Bill” Hickok to the cast.
In 1882, William Cody created Buffalo Bill’s Wild West show, a circus-like event which included parades, live animals, races, and rodeo-style performances. Cody recruited ranch hands to demonstrate their skills and showcased now historical figures such as Sitting Bull, Annie Oakley, and Calamity Jane. The show heavily influenced portrayals of the West in literature and cinema and popularized the terms “cowboy” and “cowgirl.” In 1887, the Wild West show was invited to perform for Queen Victoria’s Golden Jubilee celebration in England. The show was a success and credited with improving international relations between the U.S. and Britain. Buffalo Bill’s Wild West subsequently began a European tour, making Buffalo Bill an international celebrity.
The original Wild West show came to an end in Denver, Colorado in July 1913 when it was seized and auctioned off by Denver businessman, Harry Tammen. Tammen had used an unpaid loan as leverage to end the Wild West show and get Buffalo Bill to join his Sells-Floto Circus, which he did for the 1914 and 1915 seasons. William Cody died in Denver, Colorado in 1917. The Sells-Floto Circus continued to use his name and likeness after his death, until the show was discontinued by new owners, the Ringling Brothers in 1938.
Salem historian, Sidney Perley, was especially interested in William “Buffalo Bill” Cody and traced the family’s ancestry to Philip LeCody’s arrival in Salem from France in 1687. In 1925, Cody family members and the director of the Buffalo Bill Museum in Cody, Wyoming, visited Sidney Perley in Salem to view land near Dodge Street where Philip LeCody had once lived.
Dates Buffalo Bill Visited Salem:
June 12, 1874
January 2, 1875 (Unconfirmed)
April 25, 1876
October 29, 1877
April 1, 1880
December 3, 1880
March 15, 1883
January 22, 1884
July 9, 1895
June 8, 1897
July 3, 1899
May 26, 1911
June 22, 1916
Buffalo Bill toured with five different attractions during his lifetime:
1872 - 1886: Buffalo Bill’s Combination (acting troupe)
1884 - 1908: Buffalo Bill’s Wild West
1909 - 1913: Buffalo Bill’s Wild West and Pawnee Bill’s Far East
1914 - 1915: Sells-Floto Circus and Buffalo Bill’s Wild West
1916: Buffalo Bill and the 101 Ranch Combined
(Dates courtesy of the Buffalo Bill Museum and Grave)
0 Comments.