1216 - Buffalo Bill in Lanesboro
Historic photograph of Buffalo Bill Cody seated with the Powell brothers—George “Night Hawk,” William “Bronco Bill,” and Frank “White Beaver”—posing together in Lanesboro, Minnesota.
When William (Buffalo Bill) Cody first walked the wooden-plank sidewalks of Lanesboro in the late 1870s, he and this little town had two things in common. Both were young (Cody was in his late 20s; Lanesboro had existed for barely a decade). Both were also on the verge of very big things!
With a railroad, a new dam, and busy flour mills, Lanesboro was becoming a “mini-boomtown.” Cody, a former Army Scout, Pony Express rider, and buffalo hunter would—in the next two decades—become the most famous American celebrity in the world. That story has its own Lanesboro connection!
Buffalo Bill came here to visit Dr. Frank Powell, an Army buddy who was Lanesboro’s first doctor. Reuniting in Lanesboro, what a pair they made and what a ruckus they raised! Both were enthusiastic, bigger-than-life, self-promoting, attention-grabbing showmen who thought nothing of riding horses down main street in full buckskin, long-hair flowing, whooping it up, and firing pistols all the way! One afternoon they even took turns shooting an apple off a local boy’s head!
Legend says it was here that Cody and Powell sketched out the first ideas of what would turn into Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show—part rodeo, part carnival, part live-action history theater—an extravaganza that eventually traveled the world and entertained millions. The show’s earliest dress rehearsal happened in Lanesboro, with local native Americans participating—believe it or not!
Buffalo Bill left his mark here. A tall bluff outside of town is named “Buffalo Bill’s Peak.” Each August Lanesboro celebrates Buffalo Bill Days, a weekend of street dances, sports tournaments, fireworks, and a parade, the kind of fun Buffalo Bill would have enjoyed as much as anyone!