1872 in the American Old West

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See also: 1871 in the American Old West, other events of 1872, 1873 in the American Old West and the list of 'years in the American Old West'.

1 Events
2 Arts and literature
3 Births
4 Deaths

[edit] Events

William F. "Buffalo Bill" Cody, as a scout for the U.S. 5th Cavalry Regiment, is awarded the congressional Medal of Honor. Later that year, he appears on stage for the first time portraying himself in "Scouts of the Prarie".
Ellsworth succeeds Abilene as the northern stopping point on the Old Texas cattle trail.
Following the completion of the Santa Fe Railroad line across the border of the Colorado Territory, the use of the Santa Fe Trail begins to decline although Dodge City would remain a major cattle shipping town for the next decade. The Santa Fe Railroad would also complete a railine at Wichita, Kansas causing a major population boom over the next several years.

[edit] Arts and literature

"Home on the Range", later adopted as the state song of Kansas, first appears in a poem "My Western Home" written by Dr. Brewster M. Higley. Following its publication, is it set to music by Daniel Kelley.