There are few parts of our history that can be distilled into concrete ideas and symbols like the old west. This particular time and place in American history has gone from history to legend of true mythic stature. As a young country, the United States has not yet had time to develop the legends and myths of the old world. However, the trivia of the Old West and the stories of its greatest heroes are certainly the closest we’ve gotten so far.
An old west quiz will primarily refer to events that took place in the late 19th century in the western part of the United States. The term “the west” at the time generally meant everything on the other side of the Mississippi.
The Old West brings to mind ranchers and ranchers, explorers and gunslingers. It is the image of the two extremes in the west that are most commonly discussed and portrayed. The first winger is the lawman, the gunslinger who took the piece with a star on his chest and a pistol at his hip. The second is the outlaw, robbing trains, banks, and stealing horses and stealing cattle.
Old West trivia has plenty of famous lawmen for storytelling, but surely there is no one more famous in that regard than Wyatt Earp. Earp, along with his brothers and Doc Holiday, were involved in the famous shooting at the OK Coral in Tombstone, Arizona. This single incident has formed the basis for more stories, books, and movies written about the Old West than any dozen other incidents combined.
A Wild West quiz isn’t just going to be about law enforcement officers though. Outlaws will also receive some consideration. Probably the two most famous of the breed would be Billy the Kid and Jesse James. James was possibly originally a civil war fighter who may have become an outlaw due to hard times in later years. He would eventually be assassinated by Robert Ford. Billy the Kid was a charismatic and stylish young figure with a habit of violence. Billy the Kid was hunted down and killed by a man who may have been his friend, Sheriff Pat Garrett.
There are also other figures that make up the best of Old West trivia. Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, Poncho Villa, the Pinkerton Detective Agency, Sitting Bull and more are legendary figures that make up the mythical landscape of the American Old West.