There are a lot of misunderstandings about cowboys. We will try to set the record straight. It is generally believed that cowboys were brought into the Romantic Era of the American West about 1880. The truth of the matter is that the very first cowboys were born in the mountains and prairies of Argentina. These so-called cowboys were really the Gauchos of South America. The Spanish mustang was brought to Argentina as early as 1650. By 1700, the Gauchos were not only great horsemen but could handle wild cattle on the ranges of Argentina.

As the cattle business migrated to Mexico, the Vaquero was born. The development of these great horsemen and cattle herders took on two different cultures. The working Vaquero was the rough rider of the ranges in Mexico. Their counterpart, the gentleman ranch owners were called Charros. These men were mostly of Spanish nobility and developed arena, or ring, events for competition.

As the demand for beef became important in the new United States, cattle ranches were located basically in Georgia and Alabama. The cattle business in North America actually began in the southeast. The original cowboys were mostly black slaves who wore big hats and boots. These black cowboys were also great hands with horses and cattle.

When the demand for beef increased for eastern consumption, the ranching business became widespread. From the southeast the cattle business moved from Texas and Oklahoma to the northern plains of Montana and the Dakotas. The cowboy as we know him developed in the great Romantic Era of the American West. As a member you will "see" who these great characters were. They still are today!

The first cowboys of the 1800’s were young men seeking adventure in the difficult trail drives of that period. In the days long before barbed wire, before the domestic breeds of cattle came to the American west these young men made their mark on this romantic period. As the west became populated, these horsemen and cattlemen were called by many names.

In California were found the expert horsemen known as paneos and vaqueros. As this style of cowboying moved into the northwest they were called buckaroos. This name still holds today. Many of the other names, depending on the area of the west they worked were: drovers, trail drivers, and of course the most common name: The American Cowboy.

You will find in the MAJOR MENU on this site where and when the legend began. How did this bigger-than-life hero find his way into the consciousness of the world? In all of history where could we find more heroics than was displayed by the courage and honesty of this breaker of wild horses, controller of cattle, rider and roper that became a part of this greatest of western legends.

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