Buffalo Bill at the Trans-Mississippi and International Exposition and Indian Congress of 1898 - Omaha, NE
Posted by: 
cldisme
N 41° 17.439 W 095° 56.523
15T E 253645 N 4575198
Buffalo Bill's first performance and his popularity in Omaha are remembered.
Waymark Code: WM9609
Location: Nebraska, United States
Date Posted: 07/04/2010
Views: 10
This Nebraska Historical Marker is erected to commemorate the Buffalo Bill's first performance in 1883 near the posted coordinates. Buffalo Bill returned to the site perform again in 1898 as part of the Trans-Mississippi and International Exposition, but had to move to a different location due to his extreme popularity.
The historical marker reads as follows:
Buffalo Bill at the Trans-Mississippi and International Exposition and Indian Congress of 1898
William F. "Buffalo Bill" Cody held the first official performance of his Wild West show just half a mile northeast of here on May 19, 1883. Eight thousand people attended the premiere at the Omaha Driving Park near Eighteenth and Sprague streets. That site later featured a local wild west show as part of Omaha's 1898 Trans-Mississippi Exposition. Cody brought his Wild West back to Omaha for the exposition, and August 31 was designated "Cody Day." Buffalo Bill had become so popular, however, that he had to hold his actual show two miles south, near Twentieth and Paul streets, to accommodate the crowds.
Cody's Wild West was seen by millions of people in twelve countries during its thirty years of performances, making Buffalo Bill among the world's most famous and recognizable personalities. He died in 1917 and is buried on Lookout Mountain near Denver. The Buffalo Bill Historical Center in Cody, Wyoming, and Scout's Rest Ranch State Historical Park in North Platte honor this legendary man, who first attracted throngs of people to his Wild West show here in Omaha.
Trans-Mississippi Exposition Historical Association
Nebraska State Historical Society
In Memory of Randall D. Horwath
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