Old Trail Town
Old Trail Town is a collection of historic buildings and western artifacts that provide a hands-on way to experience Wyoming's frontier history. Located in west Cody along the Yellowstone Highway, the collection of buildings and artifacts marks the area originally surveyed as Cody's town site by Buffalo Bill 1895.
Most of the collection came from within 150 miles of Cody. Many buildings were dismantled, then reassembled at Trail Town.
Current projects include an outlaw's cabin brought from near the Montana
border. Kid Curry and the Sundance Kid used the cabin as a hide-out. Mud Spring Cabin
at Trail Town was also used by Kid Curry and the Sundance Kid before they
held up a bank in Red Lodge, Montana. Butch Cassidy, the Sundance Kid,
and other outlaws in the region met at yet another cabin brought in from Hole in the Wall Country.
It was built by Alexander Ghent built the cabin in 1883.
Perhaps the most interesting is Curly's cabin, from Crow Agency, Montana. Curly was a scout
for General Custer and was with him before the Battle of the Little Big
Horn on June 25, 1876, escaping just before the conflict. The government built his cabin in
1885, rewarding him for his service to the country.
Trail Town History
Bob Edgar, a native of the Wyoming Big Horn Basin, developed an interest in archaeology and history at a young age. After exploring much of the region, and having spent seven years working as an archaeologist for the Buffalo Bill Historical Center in Cody, Bob realized that the old historical buildings and associated material were rapidly disappearing from the landscape.
In the spring of 1967, the work began to gather the historic buildings and relics to be displayed at a site on the west side of Cody. This was the area Buffalo Bill and his
associates had surveyed for the first town site of "Cody City" in 1895.
Many of the buildings were taken completely apart, moved to the new site, and reassembled. The Trail Town collection now consists of over 25 buildings, dating from 1879 to
1901, one hundred horse drawn vehicles, plus an extensive collection of memorabilia of the Wyoming frontier and Indian
artifacts.
The project has been helped by the support of the ranch people of the region, and by the cooperation and support of many friends.
Trail Town is the largest collection of its kind in
Wyoming. Visitors can conveniently stroll between buildings and
artifacts along the boardwalk, or head out to the graveyard, where local and national folk
heroes are buried.
The Grave Site of John "Liver Eating" Johnston
The grave of Liver Eating Johnston was relocated to Old Trail Town on June 8, 1974.
During his colorful career, Johnston, who was born in 1824 and died in 1900, had been a trapper, hunter, wood hawk, army scout, marshal, and Civil War veteran. In recent years he has become well known from the movie "Jeremiah Johnson," which was based on Johnston's life.
Over 2,000 people attended the reburial service for Liver Eating Johnston at Old Trail Town; probably the largest burial service in the
history of Wyoming. The bronze statue of Johnston erected over the grave was sculpted by Peter Fillerup of Cody.
Open Mid May--Mid September
8:00 A.M. - 8:00 P.M.
Call for details: 307-587-5302
- content from Old Trail Town
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