Beckoning Frontiers
The Memoir of a Wyoming Entrepreneur
Published on 1. June 2020
Book
Paperback/Softback
432 pages
978-1-4962-2045-5 (ISBN)
Description
2021 Publication Award in Biography from the Wyoming State Historical Society
Westerners International Co-Founders Book Award, second place
George W. T. Beck, an influential rancher and entrepreneur in the American West, collaborated with William F. "Buffalo Bill" Cody to establish the town of Cody, Wyoming, in the 1890s. He advanced his financial investments in Wyoming through his numerous personal and professional contacts with various eastern investors and politicians in Washington DC. Beck's family-his father a Kentucky senator and his mother a grandniece of George Washington-and his adventures in the American West resulted in personal associates who ranged from western legends Buffalo Bill, Jesse James, and Calamity Jane to wealthy American elites such as George and Phoebe Hearst and Theodore Roosevelt.
This definitive edition of Beck's memoir provides a glimpse of early life in Wyoming, offering readers a rare perspective on how community boosters cooperated with political leaders and wealthy financiers. Beck's memoir, introduced and annotated by Lynn J. Houze and Jeremy M. Johnston, offers a unique and sometimes amusing view of financial dealings in eastern boardrooms, as well as stories of Beck's adventures with Buffalo Bill in Wyoming. Beck's memoir demonstrates not only his interest in developing the West but also his humor and his willingness to collaborate with a variety of people.
Westerners International Co-Founders Book Award, second place
George W. T. Beck, an influential rancher and entrepreneur in the American West, collaborated with William F. "Buffalo Bill" Cody to establish the town of Cody, Wyoming, in the 1890s. He advanced his financial investments in Wyoming through his numerous personal and professional contacts with various eastern investors and politicians in Washington DC. Beck's family-his father a Kentucky senator and his mother a grandniece of George Washington-and his adventures in the American West resulted in personal associates who ranged from western legends Buffalo Bill, Jesse James, and Calamity Jane to wealthy American elites such as George and Phoebe Hearst and Theodore Roosevelt.
This definitive edition of Beck's memoir provides a glimpse of early life in Wyoming, offering readers a rare perspective on how community boosters cooperated with political leaders and wealthy financiers. Beck's memoir, introduced and annotated by Lynn J. Houze and Jeremy M. Johnston, offers a unique and sometimes amusing view of financial dealings in eastern boardrooms, as well as stories of Beck's adventures with Buffalo Bill in Wyoming. Beck's memoir demonstrates not only his interest in developing the West but also his humor and his willingness to collaborate with a variety of people.
Reviews / Votes
"This book is a delightful armchair visit to the old American West provided by a true Wyoming entrepreneur. His varied experiences, extensive travels, vivid stories, and nonstop adventures make this great reading."-Ann Chambers Noble, Pacific Northwest Quarterly "Beck's memoirs from childhood to old age make good reading."-Sandra K. Sagala, Roundup MagazineMore details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
Lincoln
United States
Edition type
Annotated edition
Product notice
Paperback (trade)
Illustrations
19 photographs, 2 illustrations, index
Dimensions
Height: 229 mm
Width: 152 mm
Thickness: 24 mm
Weight
630 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-4962-2045-5 (9781496220455)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
George W. T. Beck | Lynn Houze | Jeremy M. Johnston
Beckoning Frontiers
The Memoir of a Wyoming Entrepreneur
E-Book
06/2020
University of Nebraska Press
€124.99
Available for download
George W. T. Beck | Lynn Houze | Jeremy M. Johnston
Beckoning Frontiers
The Memoir of a Wyoming Entrepreneur
E-Book
06/2020
University of Nebraska Press
€29.49
Available for download
Persons
George W. T. Beck (1856-1943) was a rancher, politician, and community developer in the American West who collaborated with William F. "Buffalo Bill" Cody to establish the community of Cody, Wyoming. Lynn J. Houze is the director and curator of the Cody Heritage Museum. Jeremy M. Johnston is the Tate Endowed Chair of American Western History at the Buffalo Bill Museum. Alan K. Simpson served as a U.S. senator for Wyoming from 1979 to 1997. Peter K. Simpson is a historian and a former administrator at the University of Wyoming in Laramie and also served in the Wyoming House of Representatives from 1981 to 1984.
Content
List of Illustrations
Foreword
Alan K. Simpson and Peter K. Simpson
Series Editors’ Preface
Acknowledgments
Introduction
Lynn J. Houze and Jeremy M. Johnston
Beckoning Frontiers: The Memoir of George Washington Thornton Beck
Preface
1. Family and Boyhood in Kentucky and Washington DC, 1856–1865
2. Post Civil War, 1865–1874
3. A Student at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, 1874–1876
4. Prospecting in Colorado, 1877–1879
5. Working on the Northern Pacific Railroad, 1879–1880
6. Homesteading in Wyoming, 1880–1886
7. Sheepherding and Crow Indians
8. Return to the East
9. Trips to the South and to Cuba
10. Wyoming Territorial Legislator, 1889–1890
11. Another Trip Back East and to California
12. Beckton, Wyoming
13. The Johnson County War, 1892
14. Wyoming Politics
15. The Shoshone Irrigation Company and Cody, Wyoming
16. Developing the Town of Cody and Hunting Trips
17. Finishing the Cody Canal, Marriage, and Family Life in Cody
18. The Leiter Ball, the Frederic Remington Visit, and a Bank Robbery
19. Another Ute Uprising and Famous Guests
20. The Shoshone Reclamation Project and the Cody Power Plant
Afterword
Betty Jane Gerber
Appendix 1: Select Letters from William F. “Buffalo Bill” Cody to George Beck regarding the Cody Canal Project
Appendix 2: Speech by George Beck at the Laying of the Cornerstone for a New City Hall, Cody, Wyoming
Appendix 3: Summary of a Talk Delivered by Thornton “Tee” Beck about the Beck Family
Notes
Bibliography
Index
Foreword
Alan K. Simpson and Peter K. Simpson
Series Editors’ Preface
Acknowledgments
Introduction
Lynn J. Houze and Jeremy M. Johnston
Beckoning Frontiers: The Memoir of George Washington Thornton Beck
Preface
1. Family and Boyhood in Kentucky and Washington DC, 1856–1865
2. Post Civil War, 1865–1874
3. A Student at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, 1874–1876
4. Prospecting in Colorado, 1877–1879
5. Working on the Northern Pacific Railroad, 1879–1880
6. Homesteading in Wyoming, 1880–1886
7. Sheepherding and Crow Indians
8. Return to the East
9. Trips to the South and to Cuba
10. Wyoming Territorial Legislator, 1889–1890
11. Another Trip Back East and to California
12. Beckton, Wyoming
13. The Johnson County War, 1892
14. Wyoming Politics
15. The Shoshone Irrigation Company and Cody, Wyoming
16. Developing the Town of Cody and Hunting Trips
17. Finishing the Cody Canal, Marriage, and Family Life in Cody
18. The Leiter Ball, the Frederic Remington Visit, and a Bank Robbery
19. Another Ute Uprising and Famous Guests
20. The Shoshone Reclamation Project and the Cody Power Plant
Afterword
Betty Jane Gerber
Appendix 1: Select Letters from William F. “Buffalo Bill” Cody to George Beck regarding the Cody Canal Project
Appendix 2: Speech by George Beck at the Laying of the Cornerstone for a New City Hall, Cody, Wyoming
Appendix 3: Summary of a Talk Delivered by Thornton “Tee” Beck about the Beck Family
Notes
Bibliography
Index