The “Wild West” is what we call the Western United States during the time period from 1865 to around 1890.  Legendary stories fill the history of the West, including the gunfight at the OK Corral.  Men and women such as Jesse James, Geronimo, “Wild Bill” Hickock, Annie Oakley, and Black Bart are household names.

The West expanded while the already settled East went through the healing of Civil War and an industrial revolution.  Many traveled west in wagon trains to find a new life.  Many people took up land through Homesteading.  Much of the land was open to the public, or in the public domain.  The Homestead Act of 1862 stated that people could claim up to 160 acres of land.  They would have to work that land for five years and they would receive the title to that land.  It is true that guns often settled squabbles, due to the lack of local law enforcement.  The Indian Wars also shaped the West as the United States fought with the Apache until Geronimo surrendered in 1886.