Digital Archive

The William F. Cody Archive is a scholarly digital archive that offers an unequaled opportunity to see the historic evolution and idealization of the American West through the eyes of William F. “Buffalo Bill” Cody, presenting researchers and visitors an insightful perspective of America and the world spanning the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.

This digital archive documents Cody’s interactions with individuals ranging from statesmen and royalty to noted military and literary figures who sought his opinions on policy questions concerning the American West. His lesser-known roles as a community founder, businessman, rancher, and investor speak to political, economic, and environmental policies affecting western development during his lifetime. These experiences are represented by a variety of archival material: memoirs and autobiographies, correspondence, business records, published and unpublished writings, photographs, video and audio recordings, promotional and Wild West material, newspaper and magazine articles. The Archive aims to identify and make available as much of this material as possible, drawing on the resources of libraries and collections from around the United States and around the world. The William F. Cody Archive is directed by Jeremy M. Johnston (Buffalo Bill Center of the West), Frank Christianson (Brigham Young University), Douglas Seefeldt (Ball State University), and Katherine Walter (University of Nebraska).