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Name: African Americans of Round Top
Brand: David Collins
SKU: 9781467160742
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African Americans of Round Top

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Dallas's Radio Station WRR

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Texas Gunslingers

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Haunted Flagstaff

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The Downfall of Galveston's May Walker Burleson

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Museum of the American Railroad

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Medicine Park

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Fort Worth

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Fort Bliss

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Skiing in New Mexico

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1960s Austin Gangsters

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Arizona's Haunted Route 66

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Haunted Albuquerque

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Tyler

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The True Story of Notorious Arizona Outlaw Augustine Chacón

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Bryan

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Humble

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Mineral Wells

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Gunfights & Sites in Texas Ranger History

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New Mexico in World War II

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Classic Restaurants of Oklahoma City

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Pueblos of New Mexico

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Clifton and Morenci Mining District

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Richmond

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Hidden History of Southeast New Mexico

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Flagstaff

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Texas BBQ Adventure Guide

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Historic Tales from the Texas Republic

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Tyler

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The Galveston-Houston Packet: Steamboats on Buffalo Bayou

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Wicked San Antonio

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Roman Spectacle on the Rio Grande

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Marfa

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New Mexico Filmmaking

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Scottsdale

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African Americans of Round Top

9781467160742

$24.99 $18.74 Save 25%

Round Top's African American pioneers came into Texas in 1825 when Stephen F. Austin brought in 300 Anglo-Americans, and the people they enslaved, for the purpose of colonizing the area. Soon afterward, more slaves were bought in from other slaveholding states. After the Civil War ended, the descendants of these original Round Top pioneers began building their own community. Many earned money by toiling away in the cotton fields for the very men who had once enslaved them. Others earned money working as cowboys, washerwomen, barbers, or blacksmiths. In 1867, the group founded the Concord Missionary Baptist Church as a communal space for them to come together and pool their resources to buy their own land, build their own homes, and hire teachers, which led to the creation of the Concord Missionary Baptist Church Colored School. For generations, this school successfully educated freedmen, their children, and their descendants before finally closing its doors due to desegregation. Despite many challenges, they overcame obstacles that grew into a prosperous community.

Dallas's Radio Station WRR

9781467161749

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Radio station WRR, the United States’ first fire and police dispatch network, originated in 1920 thanks to the innovative thinking of Dallas police and fire signal superintendent Henry Garrett, who realized the potential of communicating via the then brand-new medium of wireless radio transmission. When dispatchers began broadcasting music between fire alarms, citizens listened on their homemade sets, and the Dallas, Texas, radio station was born. In August 1921, operating with 50 watts, WRR became the first federally licensed radio station west of the Mississippi River and the second in the United States. During the last 103 years, the WRR call letters have been at the heart of both an AM and an FM station, and North Texas listeners eagerly tuned in to both frequencies.

Texas Gunslingers

9781467132718

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Images of America: Texas Gunslingers presents the concept of Texas as the Gunfighter Capital of the West. Indeed, after the cowboy--a Texas creation--the most colorful and romanticized frontier figure is the gunfighter. Nothing is more dramatic than life and death conflict, and the image of men in big hats and boots brandishing six-shooters and Winchesters has been portrayed in countless Western novels, movies, and television shows. Texas made an enormous contribution to gunfighter lore. Texas Rangers were responsible for the evolution of Sam Colt's revolving pistol, key weapon of gunfighters. More shoot-outs occurred in Texas than in any other state or territory. More gunfighters were from Texas, including kill-crazy Wes Hardin and Killin' Jim Miller, the West's premier assassin. There were more blood feuds in Texas than in any other state. Frequently, gunplay erupted in towns such as Tascosa, El Paso, Fort Worth, and Lampasas, where four lawmen were killed in an 1873 saloon battle.

Haunted Flagstaff

9781467150699

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The spirits of the Old West are alive and kicking in Flagstaff.

Once home to outlaws and pioneers, many former residents of this small mountain town never left. Read about the ghosts of the Weatherford Hotel, where strange sightings and disturbing events aren't just confined to the Zane Grey Ballroom. Step inside the Hotel Monte Vista, where locals swear that the Grizzly Meat Man still roams the hallways. Discover the historic train depot, an eternal home to those departed souls that once worked the rails, including a ghostly former train conductor.

Join author Susan Johnson as she uncovers the supernatural side of Flagstaff's fascinating history.

The Downfall of Galveston's May Walker Burleson

9781467139663

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Jennie May Walker Burleson was envied for having everything a woman of her time could want--the privileged upbringing, the dazzling good looks, the dashing war hero husband. She was admired for demonstrating that a woman could want more, from the front of the 1913 Woman Suffrage Procession to the bottom of a Mesoamerican archaeological dig. But as she stood over the body of her husband's second wife, gun in hand, society's envy and admiration quickly hardened into pity and scorn. T. Felder Dorn examines the complicated trajectory of her life as socialite, suffragist and shooter.

Museum of the American Railroad

9781467115681

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Establishing its collection as the Age of Steam exhibit at Dallas's Fair Park in 1963, the Museum of the American Railroad would go on to acquire over 45 locomotives and railcars. By 2006, the museum needed to move from its first home to a larger facility to allow more space to exhibit the collection of railcars, documents, and other artifacts. One of the keystone pieces is the GG-1 electric locomotive that pulled Robert Kennedy's funeral train in 1968. It has been restored to its original Pennsylvania Railroad appearance. The museum also houses the Centennial--the world's largest diesel-electric locomotive--as well as the rare and famous Santa Fe Alco PA-1 locomotive, acquired from the Smithsonian Institution.

Medicine Park

9780738577456

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The historic cobblestone community of Medicine Park was founded on July 4, 1908, as Oklahoma's first planned resort. It is located in southwest Oklahoma at the entry to the Wichita Mountains National Wildlife Refuge, the second most visited wildlife refuge in the country, hosting 1.5 million annual visitors. Through the political connections of founder Sen. Elmer Thomas, the resort enjoyed a great deal of early success. Tourists flocked to the area to enjoy mountains, wildlife, swimming, fishing, food, and lodging. From its founding through the 1930s, it became a getaway to relax, chum-around, gamble, and even partake in some illegal bootleg whisky. Medicine Park became known as the jewel of the Southwest. There was a spa, dance hall, bathhouse, general store, school, hydroelectric plant, and cafe, along with creek swimming and tennis courts. Following World War II, the resort was subject to economic struggles that lasted more than four decades. Today much of the resort town of 400 has been restored and revitalized, and there is renewed excitement about its future.

Fort Worth

9781467103848

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Fort Worth exudes a vivacious Western spirit founded upon a rich history. In 1849, four years after the Republic of Texas became the 28th state, the Army built a fort to keep native tribes west of the Trinity. That fort grew into a focal stop on the Chisholm Trail and later became the western terminus of the railroad. In World War I, Fort Worth housed one Army and three aircraft training bases, while Fort Worth Stockyards, which became one of the largest in the nation, provided multitudes of horses and mules. From pianos on dirt floors to the Van Cliburn Competition, from the earliest portraits by itinerant French artists to world-class art museums, Fort Worth has always been home to high culture. Groups such as the Woman's Wednesday Club made sure art and libraries stood in the old fort town once more famous for its saloons. No matter the era, and no matter the many reasons, Fort Worth will always be "where the West begins."

Fort Bliss

9781467129152

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Established as one of many frontier Army posts in 1849 following the Mexican-American War, Fort Bliss, Texas, has endured as an Army installation when most other frontier posts have faded from memory. From a small collection of adobe buildings, it has seen growth, decline, two closures, and ultimately survival as the major Army maneuver post that it is today. The post, named for West Point math prodigy and soldier William Wallace Smith Bliss, has served many roles in America's conflicts and has seen the march of technology in war fighting. Its role today includes training for the Army's only armored division, known as 1st Armored Division; training for major Army air and missile defense forces; serving as a mobilization platform for Army soldiers and civilians to deploy to support America's missions overseas; and testing of major equipment to be adopted for military use.

Skiing in New Mexico

9781467107020

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New Mexico's long and distinguished skiing history began with the miners of the late 19th century and its pioneer settlers. Ski area development was launched in the 1930s in the Sandia Mountains near Albuquerque and quickly spread to the southernmost range of the Rocky Mountains--the Sangre de Cristos, north of Santa Fe. Students of a boarding school, the Los Alamos Ranch School, took up the sport in the Jemez Mountains, and when the school was occupied in the 1940s by American and international scientists like Neils Bohr working to create the world's first atomic bomb, they enthusiastically pursued skiing in their rare spare time. Taos Ski Valley's founding in 1955 elevated the scene to world-class status, and today, there are eight major downhill ski areas and one cross-country center stretching from the deserts of south-central New Mexico to the Colorado border.

1960s Austin Gangsters

9781626198401

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Timmy Overton of Austin and Jerry Ray James of Odessa were football stars who traded athletics for lives of crime. The original rebels without causes, nihilists with Cadillacs and Elvis hair, the Overton gang and their associates formed a ragtag white trash mafia that bedazzled Austin law enforcement for most of the 1960s. Tied into a loose network of crooked lawyers, pimps and used car dealers who became known as the "traveling criminals," they burglarized banks and ran smuggling and prostitution rings all over Texas. Author Jesse Sublett presents a detailed account of these Austin miscreants, who rose to folk hero status despite their violent criminal acts.

Arizona's Haunted Route 66

9781467146661

$21.99 $16.49 Save 25%

Arizona claims one of the longest segments of the famous Route 66. Along the nearly four hundred miles of road are stops filled with legends, history, superstitions and spirits of travelers who experienced untimely accidents and murders. Meet Leorena Shipley, an aspiring actress whose career was cut short by tragedy. Discover how the Apache Death Cave became the haunted site of a mass grave. Visit the Monte Vista Hotel, one of the most haunted hotels in Arizona. Learn how the Grand Canyon Caverns were discovered and became a favorite attraction. Travel to Oatman, a ghost town with a multitude of spirits. Join author and paranormal historian Debe Branning on a haunted road trip across Arizona and discover the spooky history of the Mother Road.

Haunted Albuquerque

9781467149785

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When the railroad arrived in Albuquerque in 1880, a whole new town of stores and saloons sprouted along the tracks in tents and shacks. But just like the original settlement, which came to be known as Old Town, the additional districts produced their fair share of macabre tales and ghostly lore. At the KiMo Theater, the crew still leaves out donuts for the tragic young victim of a 1951 water heater explosion. A mysterious woman in a black dress visits the bar at the Old Albuquerque Press Club with an apparent hankering for gin. From inexplicable occurrences at the Old Bernalillo County Courthouse to infamous residents of the Fairview Cemetery, Cody Polston gathers enough of Albuquerque's haunted heritage to entertain the most dismissive skeptic.

Tyler

9780738548418

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Nestled in the beautiful Piney Woods of East Texas, Tyler is known as the "Rose Capital of America." While the moniker is well-deserved given the local rose industry, the Rose Festival, and its claim to America's largest municipal rose garden, Tyler's history is just as colorful as any rose. From the days when it hosted the largest Confederate prisoner-of-war camp west of the Mississippi River, through the years when cotton, fruit trees, and then roses became the local cash crops, to the time when the East Texas oil field was discovered and launched a new economy, Tyler boasts a fascinating past.

The True Story of Notorious Arizona Outlaw Augustine Chacón

9781467147965

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By the time he was hanged in 1903, Augustine Chacón had become the most notorious Mexican outlaw in the Arizona Territory. His alleged crimes had made him a virtual legend, but the facts show that Chacón wasn't the bloodthirsty fiend he was made out to be. Journalists of the era chased sensationalist stories, pandering to a readership that longed for excitement. Each retelling of Chacón's exploits added outlandish details, painting the escaped prisoner as a brutal gunman responsible for as many as fifty-two murders. In reality, Augustine Chacón may not even have killed the man he was hanged for shooting. Join author David Grassé as he uncovers the true story of Arizona's most enduring criminal legend.

Bryan

9780738579573

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Cotton was king during Bryan's early history. Many prominent planters and farmers lived on the high ground between the Brazos and Navasota Rivers in the market town of Bryan, and the cotton crop thrived in the fertile Brazos River Bottom. The railroad's arrival after the Civil War provided a link to textile mills in other parts of the world via the nearby ports of Houston and Galveston. Land availability and economic opportunity attracted settlers not only from the southeastern United States, but also from Italy and Eastern Europe. When cotton's economic dominance began to wane, other agricultural crops, livestock, a strong commitment to education, and oil and gas production diversified the local economy. As the seat of county government, and with its close proximity to Texas A&M University, Bryan today is a vibrant community strategically located in the heart of the Texas Urban Triangle.

Humble

9781467131001

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Humble was originally established as a sawmill town along the Houston East & West Texas Railway in 1886. It was named for Pleasant Smith Humble, the town's first US postmaster. Humble became a boomtown overnight when oil was discovered in 1904. Humble and neighboring Moonshine Hill became places where million-dollar fortunes were made and lost. In 1911, the Humble Oil Company was founded by Ross Sterling and other men from the Humble oil fields. Sterling went on to become governor of Texas in 1931. The Humble Oil Company became one of the dominant oil companies in the world, eventually becoming Exxon in 1972.

Mineral Wells

9780738579856

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The family of James Alvis Lynch headed west from Denison, Texas, to find a dry climate that would alleviate Lynch's symptoms of malaria and his wife Amanda's rheumatism. They traveled as far as the Brazos River, where U.S. 180 crosses today, when one of their oxen drowned, and the other was struck by lightning. To make matters worse, the Lynches learned of hair-raising tales of the struggles between Comanches and settlers. So on Christmas Eve in 1877, the Lynch family decided to settle 4 miles east of the Brazos in the beautiful valley between what are the East and West Mountains in present-day Mineral Wells. There, the Lynch family discovered the mineral-rich water that mended their maladies and brought tourists from far and wide to take the healing cure. The geology of the area also brought oil, gas, and brick plants, while the attacks on local settlers brought a military presence to the region. The history of Mineral Wells is alive today, as many descendants of early pioneers still live and work in the community, full of pride for their families' contributions to the area.

Gunfights & Sites in Texas Ranger History

9781626199712

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Since colonizer Stephen F. Austin proposed hiring ten rangers "for the common defense" in 1823, the Texas Rangers have protected the Lone Star State from its enemies with dedication and fortitude. All across Texas are places where Rangers made history. From the Alamo to nearly forgotten graves and battle sites, important landmarks in the story of these legendary lawmen lie in every corner of the state. Historian and author Mike Cox reveals history hiding in plain sight and true tall tales of the world-famous Texas Rangers.

New Mexico in World War II

9781467106702

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In 1941, New Mexico was an agrarian state with just over half a million people, many of whom lived without electricity, running water, indoor plumbing, or paved roads. However, the state provided more military volunteers per capita--including eight Medal of Honor winners--than any other state and had the highest casualty rate per capita in the country. New Mexico provided essential resources ranging from oil and coal to potash and copper. The state is often remembered for being the location where the first nuclear weapon was designed and tested in 1945, but more important at the time were the development of the proximity fuze and the testing of the top-secret Norden bombsight. The state also housed German and Italian prisoners of war, and, in one of the darkest moments in US history, incarcerated American citizens of Japanese descent in several concentration camps.

Classic Restaurants of Oklahoma City

9781467119214

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Some of Oklahoma City's earliest famous restaurants included a side of gambling, bootlegging and mayhem. Cattlemen's Café changed hands by a roll of the dice one Christmas. In more recent years, establishments like O'Mealey's and Adair's positioned the city's identity as a unique, groundbreaking culinary hub. The city became known as the Cafeteria Capital thanks to the revolutionary approach of a diminutive Kansas woman named Anna Maude Smith. Beverly's Chicken-in-the-Rough became a national fried-chicken franchise two decades before Harland Sanders sold his first drumstick. And world-renowned chef Rick Bayless first learned to cook at his parents' barbecue restaurant in south Oklahoma City. Join author Dave Cathey as he dishes on these delectable stories and more.

Pueblos of New Mexico

9781467129428

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As early as 1851, photographers journeyed along the arduous Santa Fe Trail on horseback and in covered wagons on a quest to capture the magnificent vistas on film. In the ever-changing light of New Mexico's landscape, they photographed the faces of the Pueblo People and helped to document their ancient, unimaginable world. They became witness to millennia of history. New Mexico's first inhabitants are believed to have descended from the Anasazi, the largely nomadic group that settled along the Colorado Plateau around 200 AD. Most likely, drought conditions brought the population centers of the Anasazi villages located in the Four Corners of Colorado, Utah, Arizona, and New Mexico to settle along the Rio Grande Valley of New Mexico and the Mogollon Rim of Arizona in 1300 AD.

Clifton and Morenci Mining District

9781467134316

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Across America, from big cities to small towns and rural hamlets, there are many stories of challenges, historic events, courageous people, tragedy, and success. Some of the best and most exciting tales may not be well known. Such is the case for the towns of Clifton and Morenci, Arizona. They survived labor strikes, rising and falling copper prices, devastating floods, outlaws and lawlessness, gambling houses, and saloons. All this added to the lore that these towns were some of the roughest communities in the West. Today, after 143 years of mining, Freeport-McMoRan's Morenci copper mine is the largest in North America. Expansion has required new homes in Clifton-Morenci, a modern library, and recreational facilities. Residents are proud of their communities.

Richmond

9781467131193

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In 1822, a group of Americans immigrating to Stephen F. Austin's colony stopped at a bend in the Brazos River and built a fort. Originally called "Fort Bend" and "Fort Settlement," Richmond was incorporated in May 1837. A prosperous river port, Richmond became a boomtown with the completion of the first railroad in Texas in 1855. One of the most notorious episodes in Richmond's history was the Jay Bird-Woodpecker War in 1888-1889, which led to a gun battle on the streets between the two political factions. Richmond was home to notable historical figures, including Jane Long, "Mother of Texas;" Mirabeau B. Lamar, second president of the Republic of Texas; "Deaf" Smith, Texas Revolutionary scout; Carry A. Nation, temperance activist with a penchant for smashing up saloons with a hatchet; and Hilmar Moore, longest-serving US mayor.

Hidden History of Southeast New Mexico

9781467137812

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Outlaws, cattlemen and a plethora of quirky pioneers once riddled southeastern New Mexico. In November 1892, E.W. Doll and J.B. Coates ignited rumors of an eight-foot petrified man in McKittrick Cave. A massive fire and subsequent shootout led to the demise of Phenix, one of the Old West's most scandalous towns. And in August 1932, Bonnie and Clyde kidnapped Carlsbad's Deputy Sheriff Joe Johns. Authors Donna Blake Birchell and John LeMay explore these little-known tales and more that have beguiled this region for centuries.

Flagstaff

9780738571157

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On July 4, 1876, immigrants from Boston traveling to California were camped at Antelope Spring in a valley just south of the San Francisco Peaks. To celebrate the nation's centennial, the pioneers stripped the branches off a tall pine tree and ran up Old Glory. This event gave Flagstaff its name. Six years later, in 1882, the Atlantic and Pacific Railway reached Flagstaff, and a small settlement was born. Railroad construction crews used local ponderosa pine trees for rail ties, beginning a timber industry that thrived in the region for the next century. Flagstaff also became a center of tourism as visitors came to see spectacular natural sights in the surrounding territory, including the Grand Canyon, Oak Creek Canyon, and Sunset Crater, and to experience the Native American cultures of the American Southwest. This volume traces the establishment and early development of Flagstaff and depicts many facets of life in Arizona's "Mountain Town."

Texas BBQ Adventure Guide

9781467150897

$23.99 $17.99 Save 25%

From the bayous of the east to the dusty deserts of the west, embark on a journey through the countless smokehouses, roadhouses and barbecue food trucks that line the back roads and main streets of Texas. Dive into a history that dates back to treasure-hungry conquistadors and swashbuckling buccaneers. Learn what divides the state into five main flavor regions and read your plate of BBQ like a roadmap through history. Author Jason Weems journeyed more than 3,500 miles around the highways and byways of Texas to bring you a guide that's dripping with pro tips and sizzling with backstory.

Historic Tales from the Texas Republic

9781609499389

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Though the Republic of Texas existed as a sovereign nation for just nine years, the legacy lives on in the names that distinguish the landscape of the Lone Star State. Austin, Houston, Travis, Lamar, Seguin, Burnet, Bowie, Zavala, Crockett--these historical giants, often at odds, fought through their differences to achieve freedom from Mexico and Santa Anna, establishing a republic fit to be the twenty-eighth state to join the Union. In nineteen historical tales, Jeffery Robenalt chronicles the fight to define and defend the Republic of Texas, from revolutionary beginnings to annexation.

Tyler

9780738571782

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In the early 1900s, the golden age of postcards was just beginning. Millions of cards were mailed across America, and many survive today in archives and private collections. Through these snapshots of history, Tyler's evolution can be traced. While fruit and cotton production was king into the early 20th century, a floral beauty soon brought Tyler new royalty-the Rose Queen. The discovery of oil in the city's backyard supplied a security blanket during the Great Depression's uncertain days, and Tyler benefitted with commercial and population growth. This book contains more than 200 vintage postcards that chronicle Tyler's social, educational, and medical history and its place in the heart of East Texas.

The Galveston-Houston Packet: Steamboats on Buffalo Bayou

9781609495916

$21.99 $16.49 Save 25%

Many imagine the settlement of the American West as signaled by the dust of the wagon train or the whistle of a locomotive. During the middle decades of the nineteenth century, though, the growth of Texas and points west centered on the seventy-mile water route between Galveston and Houston. This single vital link stood between the agricultural riches of the interior and the mercantile enterprises of the coast, with a round of operations that was as sophisticated and efficient as that of any large transport network today. At the same time, the packets on the overnight Houston-Galveston run earned a reputation as colorful as their Mississippi counterparts, complete with impromptu steamboat races, makeshift naval gunboats during the Civil War, professional gamblers and horrific accidents.

Wicked San Antonio

9781467137072

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Delve into San Antonio's wicked past, from the lawless lore of the Spanish settlement through the criminal misdeeds of the modern metropolis.

Residents of the Alamo City tolerated scores of cockfighting pits, gambling joints, opium dens, around-the-clock saloons and other places of ill-repute. Some disturbers of San Antonio's peace, like Judge Roy Bean, left town to achieve greater notoriety elsewhere. Others, like the thief who stole the McFarlin diamond, seemed to vanish into thin air. But all of them left a page-turning story behind. Mike Cox catalogues San Antonio's most infamous incidents and miscreants.

Roman Spectacle on the Rio Grande

9781467155335

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How the gladiatorial games of ancient Rome appeared on the Texas frontier.

From 1895 to 1913, promoters on the Texas-Mexico border imported a variety of large mammals from around the world to pit them against one another in interspecies combat. Lions fought bears, an elephant took on a bull, and one promoter released a tiger, a bull, and a bear into the same cage at the same time. Human combatants occasionally entered the fray, from a rodeo pioneer who squared off against an elk to a bullfighter who took on a buffalo. Vaudeville showmen supplied livestock, sensationalistic newspapers drove ticket sales, and Progressive Era animal rights groups lobbied to shut down the spectacle. Bradley Folsom gives an account of the epic border battles, both in and out of the cage, which tell the story of a time when Texas was a rising economic power and Mexico verged on revolution.

Marfa

9780738558554

$24.99 $18.74 Save 25%

In the rugged High Chihuahua Desert of West Texas, Marfa lies in the northeast corner of Presidio County, 60 miles from the Mexico border. Originally established as a water stop for the Galveston, Harrisburg, and San Antonio Railroad in 1883, it soon became the county seat and heart of a thriving commercial center built around ranching. Marfa's Fort D. A. Russell, first known as Camp Albert and later Camp Marfa, has been home to numerous military units from the early 1900s through the end of World War II. This military presence, combined with the development of the famous Highland Hereford that propelled local cattle ranching to a nationally recognized level, provided the economic and social base for the community well into the 1950s. Marfa's proximity to Mexico contributes tremendously to a remarkable blend of cultures, and today the once remote frontier town has established itself as a sophisticated arts and cultural mecca.

New Mexico Filmmaking

9781467117999

$21.99 $16.49 Save 25%

The moderate climate and majestic western landscapes of New Mexico make it an enchanting locale for the motion picture industry. Thomas A. Edison's crew shot the very first film in the state at the Isleta Indian Pueblo in 1897. Silent-era icons like directors Romaine Fielding and Tom Mix shortly followed to take over the small town of Las Vegas, setting the stage for an explosion of western movies. Today, New Mexico's generous incentive programs and quality facilities make it one of the top filming destinations in the country, attracting big projects like the Academy Award-winning No Country for Old Men and AMC's critically acclaimed television series Breaking Bad. In this comprehensive volume, local author and film historian Jeff Berg explores the history and legacy of New Mexico on the big screen.

Scottsdale

9780738548753

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Just a century ago, the now-tony tourist destination of Scottsdale was a tiny farming village in the pristine desert east of Phoenix. Named for its 1888 homesteaders--U.S. Army chaplain Winfield Scott and his wife, Helen--Scottsdale remained a farming and ranching community through World War II. After the war, businesses and families flocked to Scottsdale for its climate and unlimited opportunities--creating a place they branded "The West's Most Western Town." Throughout the decades, residents and visitors alike have enjoyed adventures in the desert; a thriving arts, crafts, and cultural community; a healthful climate and healthcare industry; and fun-packed events and outdoor sports. Residents have had the additional benefits of living and working in a great hometown, with excelling schools, an international reputation for environmental preservation, and a diverse economy that boasts an eclectic array of businesses.