Buffalo Bill, Des Moines and the Iowa State Fair

7/2/2025

By the time the shows ended their 33-year run, Buffalo Bill’s Wild West had played to more than 50 million people. It was the spectacle of the era, performed for European royalty to salt-of-the-earth people in America’s Heartland. With its popularity, William Frederick “Buffalo Bill” Cody became the most recognized figure of his time. He headlined his Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Exposition in more than 3,000 locations. One location was Des Moines and, once, the Iowa State Fair, was significant. 

He returned to his Iowa birth state many times, presenting his spectacle show in 36 Iowa communities. His show, including its predecessor, Buffalo Bill’s Combination Acting Troupe, regaled Des Moines throngs 13 times between 1879 and 1916. Specters of those unforgettable times still reverberate in the capitol city’s legacy.

He introduced Buffalo Bill’s Wild West in 1883. Its first touring performance was at the Iowa State Fair, the first “road show” for Buffalo Bill’s Wild West after its premier in Omaha a few days earlier.

 

Bill before becoming a showman

Born in Le Claire in the Iowa Territory on Feb. 26, 1846, William Frederick Cody was the third of five children of Isaac and Mary Cody. Isaac Cody was Canadian, and Mary (Ann Bonsell) Cody hailed from Trenton, New Jersey. They met in Cincinnati, where she was teaching school. In 1847, the family returned to Isaac’s Ontario home. In 1853, Isaac sold his Scott County, Iowa, land for $2,000 and moved his family to Fort Leavenworth, Kansas Territory. A prominent advocate of the antislavery Free Soil cause, Isaac was stabbed at a rally when speaking against slavery, wounds that would eventually cause an early death.

Isaac’s death tumbled the Cody family into financial difficulty, and 11-year-old Will, as his family called him, had to begin working. His first job was as a “boy extra” for a freight company, riding horseback up and down the length of a wagon train delivering messages. He next served in Colonel Albert Sidney Johnston’s army during the 1857-58 Mormon War, hauling supplies for the U.S. Army. 

It was during his service in Utah where he began his life as an “Indian fighter.” The following is an account Cody’s 1879 memoir, “The Life and Adventures of Buffalo Bill”:

“Presently the moon rose, dead ahead of me; and painted boldly across its face was the figure of an Indian. He wore this war-bonnet of the Sioux, at his shoulder was a rifle pointed at someone in the river-bottom 30 feet below; in another second he would drop one of my friends. I raised my old muzzle-loader and fired. The figure collapsed, tumbled down the bank and landed with a splash in the water. ‘What is it?’ called McCarthy, as he hurried back. ‘It’s over there in the water.’ ‘Hi!’ he cried. ‘Little Billy’s killed an Indian all by himself!’ So began my career as an Indian fighter.”

The next 10 years were a blur of diverse work — the Pony Express, Union Scout for campaigns against the Kiowa and Comanche, enlistment in the Union Army in 1863, rushing home to be by his mother’s side until her death in November of that year. He returned to the military as a cavalry teamster and Scout with the Union Army’s 7th Kansas Cavalry from 1864 to 1865. He married Louisa Frederici in March of 1866 in St. Louis, Missouri. From 1867 to 1868, he supplied buffalo meat for railway construction. His shooting prowess harvested more than 4,200 buffalo during that eight-month period, earning him the name, “Buffalo Bill” Cody. That moniker stuck.

The defining publishing of his autobiography was a springboard for Cody. Scholars consider Cody’s book as a blending of historical reality and mythmaking, a book that reads like an adventure combining the tough realities of frontier life and sensational events. It was captivating consumption for a public hungry for a taste of what the Wild West was all about — at least, according to the growing legend of Cody. It helped build the Buffalo Bill brand while delivering a perception of the American West in his time. 

 

The showmanship door opens

Cody’s jump into national prominence happened shortly after a defining army engagement in Colorado Territory in July 1869. The Battle of Summit Springs, with Cody as scout, and the 5th Cavalry attacked a village of Indians who had captured some women while raiding settlers in Kansas. In the battle, Cody is credited with killing the chief, Tall Bull. 

Days later, Cody met Edward Zane Carroll Judson, who would change his life forever. Judson’s pen name was the pulp writer, Ned Buntline, who authored dime novels. He decided to write about the “Life, Times, and Adventures of Buffalo Bill.” Over the years, Buntline and others, occasionally including Buffalo Bill, wrote more than 1,700 dime novels. Buffalo Cody’s fame soared as these publications were sold all over the east coast, giving him rarified national prominence. Some of the novels became stage shows. The public went wild over Buffalo Bill. 

In February of 1872, Cody went back east at the courtesy of some of his buffalo hunt clients. They encouraged him to attend the play “Buffalo Bill, the King of the Border Men.” Cody decided he could play himself better than the actor he had watched. Bolstered with this new found fame through his reputation and Buntline’s hyperbolic dime novels, Cody changed the direction of his life. In November of 1872, he resigned his position with the army. He sent Louisa and his children to St. Louis. 

After selling his home in Cottonwoods Springs, Nebraska, Cody joins Ned Buntline and Texas Jack Omohundro (John Burwell Omohundro) in Chicago, arriving there on Dec. 12, 1872. Their acting careers started on Dec. 16 at the Nixon Amphitheatre in Chicago in the play “The Scouts of the Prairie.” A sellout crowd of 2,200 people attended with the gross sales of $2,800. It was designed as a straight drama, but the audience saw it as a comedy. Critics hated it, but the crowd loved the performance.

Cody continued acting for the next 11 seasons. During this time, he formed his first touring troupe, called the “Buffalo Bill Combination.” The Combination was presented from 1872 to 1886 and featured other well-known figures like “Texas Jack” Omohundro and, briefly, Wild Bill Hickok. Cody was drawing in audiences with his charismatic stage presence, giving the crowds his interpretation of Western themes. Buffalo Bill was building his brand.

During these performing years, he continued scouting for the U.S. Army during the summers. He continued to fold current events into his shows, such as the defeat of George Custer at the Battle of Little Bighorn, and retaliatory stories after that massacre.

During this preliminary period when he would launch Buffalo Bill’s Wild West in 1883, Cody transitioned from a celebrated army scout who was still involved with real-life Western adventures into the most popular stage performer of his time. Everything focused on cultivating his image as the legendary “Buffalo Bill.”

Buffalo Bill’s Wild West debuts at the Iowa State Fair

As the Combination was phasing out and merging into the future Wild West iterations, “Buffalo Bill’s Wild West” made its debut at the 1883 Iowa State Fair. 

“From 1879 to 1886, the Fair was held on Grand Avenue in Des Moines between about 38th and 42nd Streets, and stretching north to about where I-235 is today,” shared Tom Rice, professor emeritus from Iowa State University and a contributor to a pending historical book project about Grand Avenue. 

On May 28, 1883, the Iowa State Register reported, “The crowd that attended the Buffalo Bill show at the Fair grounds was new proof that Des Moines is a great town to patronize shows.”

Buffalo Bill’s Wild West came to the fairgrounds in May for two days of performances. These were the very first “on the road” performances of the Wild West that were performed thousands of times over 30 years all around the globe. The show was first performed at its home base in Omaha for a couple of nights before it was loaded on the Rock Island Railroad and stopped in Des Moines. Thus, Des Moines was the first stop ever for “Buffalo Bill’s Wild West” exhibition. 

This inaugural road performance was not without incident, as reported in the same May 28, 1883, edition of the Iowa State Register:

 

Buffalo Bill Arrested

Annoyed and Disgusted with a Drunken Barber, who Wanted to Race with Him, He Slaps His Mouth and is Arrested

Yesterday afternoon after the close of the Wild West entertainment at the State Fair Grounds, Buffalo Bill was familiarly approached by Brown, an East Side barber, who had been imbibing rather freely, and bantered for a race. Buffalo Bill was busy arranging to pack and load their paraphernalia and noticing too that Brown had been drinking, he paid no attention to his impudence, but told him to go along about his business. Brown hung around and persisted making himself rather obnoxious, and finally Buffalo Bill struck him in the mouth with the back of his hand, and gave him to understand that if he did not clear out he would receive less tender treatment yet. Brown succumbed to his deep chagrin and just chastisement and retired, coming down to the city, where he swore out a warrant against Buffalo Bill for assault and battery before Justice Kline. Constable Chapman hunted up Buffalo Bill, and he was arraigned for his appearance this morning in the sum of $15, which he eventually paid and will, of course, allow him to go by default rather than stay behind and quarrel, legally or otherwise, with the man Brown. Those who witnessed the annoyance and know the character of the company and appendage, will readily sympathize with Buffalo Bill and admit that he took the best method of attending to such cares. It seems, the refute, that the $15 should be refunded to Buffalo Bill, and a medal given him for his good sense and industry.”

These two Des Moines performances were not known to the Buffalo Bill Center of the West in Cody, Wyoming, considered the definitive caretaker of this man’s history. They had records of his first performances in Omaha and performances a few days later in Davenport. The shows make sense to a strategic promoter like Cody, however, as Des Moines was a halfway point along the rail line and a prime market in which to perform. Cody was not about to let an opportunity slip by.

 

Master showman, master promoter

William F. “Buffalo Bill” Cody’s public persona would today be considered a viral sensation. His performances enthralled more than 50 million people. From 1874 to 1916, Cody visited 51 different Iowa towns. The show’s purpose was to entertain and educate audiences about the Wild West, showcasing the skills and traditions of the time. 

From the beginning, Cody had the savvy John Burke to help in marketing. Burke became general manager and was the first employee of the Wild West Company. He was a trendsetter in art of promotion.

Joe Dobrow, author of “Pioneers of Promotion: How Press Agents for Buffalo Bill, P. T. Barnum, and the World’s Columbian Exposition Created Modern Marketing,” wrote about Cody’s final transition into fulltime showmanship. “John Burke continued repeating and enhancing stories of Cody’s legendary career, and not long after that, Cody decides to abandon the stage for the arena.”

Burke employed all the tricks he knew, along with many new ones, to create a frenzy of interest before the Wild West arrived at its host cities. He pioneered the idea of celebrity endorsements. 

“After Mark Twain saw the Wild West twice in one week in Elmira, New York, in 1884, Burke used a seemingly spontaneous thank-you letter from the famous author to publicize the show in hundreds of promotions,” Dobrow said.

“And just to be sure that everyone knew the show was more than a flash-in-the-pan, a handful of posters boasted the dignitaries who had seen the show,” shared Marguerite House of the Buffalo Bill Center of the West. “Yes, William F. ‘Buffalo Bill’ Cody was a name-dropper — Kings and Queens (including Queen Victoria); Prince and Princess of Wales; assorted duchesses, princesses, and countesses; and the U.S. Generals under which Cody had served. Humor and fun were subjects of other posters, too, including a football game played with horses. The idea was that people would see a poster and simply have to shell out their 50 cents for the show; they certainly didn’t want to be the only people in town who hadn’t seen Buffalo Bill’s Wild West.”

Comparisons between Cody and P. T. Barnum are inevitable. Both were master promoters who significantly impacted modern marketing, though their methods differed. Their similarities included Barnum using an elephant to plow his yard, and Cody employing stunt stagecoach rides through town. Both utilized the power of local newspapers. Each were exceptional at creating strong brands around their personalities and performances, becoming synonymous with the “Greatest Show on Earth” and the Wild West show. Both excelled at delivering to their customers memorable and worthwhile experiences.

For Cody, Burke was the action man in setting the stage for each pending appearance. Burke would leverage tickets and other noncash perks to create local teams to “paper” the town with posters, which were created by Cody’s show team in partnership with artists, lithographers and printers. These elements served as powerful visual narratives, shaping public perception of the Wild West. The subject matter of Cody’s posters covered an enticing gamut of historical events, the show’s performers, unique acts (such as “football on horseback”), romanticizing the Wild West experience, and reinforcing the myth of the great American West.

The newspapers of the day reported Buffalo Bill’s shows with a journalistic flourish, as if each writer were caught up in Cody’s hyperbole and trying to out-spin each other. In advance of his 1900 appearance in Des Moines, the Des Moines Leader wrote on Sept. 4:

 

Features of Buffalo Bill’s show

Horsemanship, Military Evolutions, Rough Riding and Thrilling Historic Scenes.

The grand epitome of all exhibitions, the combination of all the best elements of horsemanship, military evolutions, rough riding, thrilling and dashing historical scenes, in fact, the original exhibition of primitive and modern horsemanship with all the added features of variety that go to make it what it is, the most popular interesting and instructive of all exhibitions, Buffalo Bill’s Wild West and Congress of Rough Riders will appear here September 8…The present Wild West retains all the popular features…including the famous charge up San Juan hill, which will be reproduced on even a more elaborate scale than last year. This one great dramatic battle scene could easily draw crowded houses for six months in New York, for nothing so realistic has been seen in any public exhibition…it has the added interest of employing in the representation hundreds of the actual participants in the in the fighting around Santiago – men, who by their courage dash, fearlessness and skill in marksmanship and maneuvers brought so much glory to the American flag.

All these features will be presented on the arrival of this monster company, when Colonel Cody will open his engagement by a great street parade, in which his entire company will take part, forming one of the most gorgeous pagents (sic) in the annals of free spectacular productions for the amusement and instruction of the public.

The newspaper continued its coverage following Cody’s show in its Sept. 9, 1900, edition. 

 

Scenes of years ago recalled to Des Moines residents

Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show Reproduced Frontier Scenes as Well as an Up-to-Date Battle – Armies of All the Nations Represented

The region yesterday reverted to the wild and wooly type, and if there was a son of the effete cast in the city his anticipation of finding cowboys, buffaloes, and Indians were fully realized. The sands of Arabia, the Sahara, the steppes of Siberia, the Cuban jungle and the plains, prairies and mountains of the great west all found lodgment in the few venturesome spirits in the few rods of ground included in Buffalo Bill’s amphitheater. The benches were crowded. At 2 o’clock there were not fifty seats left vacant in the entire enclosure. Excellent as was the transportation service, both the steam trains and the street cars were packed from front platform to rear, with a few venturesome spirits clinging to the outside. Fully 15,000 people witnessed the main performance in the afternoon, while many remained for the concert which followed. The performance last evening was almost equally well attended.

Nor were difficult feats confined to the male sex alone. The remarkably accurate target shooting of Miss Annie Oakley brought forth merited applause in all quarters. Her skill is the product of a lifetime’s practice.

 

Cast of iconic Western celebrities

Buffalo Bill’s Wild West evolved as stars would come into the show, then move on. Reenactments would change, such as after the Spanish-American War’s Battle of San Juan Hill, glorifying historical events. 

The roster of Western celebrities was impressive. It included Sitting Bull (1885); Annie Oakley (1885-1901); Will Rogers (1908-1913); sharpshooter John “The Cowboy Kid” Baker (1885-1917); bronco rider Lillian Smith (1886-1889); the black cowboy Bill Pickett (1908-1913); Buck “King of the Cowboys” Taylor (1883-1890s); and Pawnee Bill (1908-1913), whose own wild west show combined with Cody’s during those years.

Some interesting trivia about Sitting Bull and Karl King. Although feted as a celebrity and romanticized as a warrior, the Hunkpapa Lakota chief Sitting Bull wearied of the travel and the proximity to white society and ended his relationship with the show. He and Cody remained friends until Sitting Bull was assassinated in 1890. Iowan Karl King got his first full-time conducting job with Cody in 1914 through 1915 when the Sells Floto Circus and Buffalo Bill’s Wild West combined shows. King became a bandmaster on the level of John Philip Sousa, and many claim that King did for the circus march what Sousa did for the patriotic march. 

 

Echoes of the Legend remain

The past can tie into the present and future, and William F. “Buffalo Bill” Cody is one such thread that makes that happen. He captured the attention of the world during times when people wanted or needed an escape into the mythical American West that Cody helped define. Let your imagination journey back to a time when Cody likely held reins on the promotional stagecoach thundering through the heart of Des Moines, stirring up irresistible attendance with the dust created. Pure Wild West magic.

John Busbee is a published writer and producer of the weekly arts and culture radio show, The Culture Buzz. He is the recipient of a 2015 Excellence in Iowa History Award for a feature story and the 2014 Iowa Governor’s Award for Partnership and Collaboration in the Arts. Special thanks to Linda Robbins Coleman, who graciously shared the private collection of her late husband, Dr. William S. E. Coleman, with this writer for content in this story.