On July 23, Old Cowtown Museum celebrated with our National Day of the Cowboy event. Well over 400 people participated in this well-planned event. Even with temperatures hitting 104 degrees outside, our visitors had many positive comments on this jam-packed day of fun.

We provided many talks and presentations. These included information on Jesse Chisholm, cowboy weapons, and the vaqueros. Others discussed hunters to herders, the demise of Park City, and the origins of the Chisholm Trail.

Hands-on activities were available throughout the day. Things like roping and branding, horseshoes and croquet provided visitors to try their hand. You could even use the washboard for cleaning laundry!

In addition to our regular exhibits, additional displays were available special for this event. One display showed the various types of barbed wire. Another discussed cowboys, cattle, and trails.

Children’s activities provided youth the opportunity to participate in different ways. There was cow chip tossing, a hobby horse rodeo, and filling a cowboy bathtub race. One special treat for the kids was to find the outlaw; kids returning to the gift shop with proof of his finding were rewarded with a prize.

Performers lined the streets or showcased their talents indoors. Entre Nous demonstrated their Victorian dances while the Daisy Longstems danced in the saloon. Our gunfight group performed multiple dime-novel-inspired scenarios. Dr. Beaumont captivated crowds with his traveling medicine show. We had a cowboy musician and bull whip demonstrations. There was even a costume contest in the early afternoon.

Because of all these amazing things, Cowtown provided the public with a wonderful July event.