80 The Wild West Trivia Questions with Answers
80 public questions with answers, drawn from the well. How many can you answer?
Which 1881 event in Arizona Territory became famous as a 30-second gunfight between lawmen and outlaws?
Answer
Gunfight at the O.K. Corral
What was the birth name of the frontier outlaw Jesse James?
Answer
Alexander Franklin James
Which 1867 agreement transferred Alaska from Russia to the United States?
Answer
Alaska Purchase
Who wrote the 1893 essay “The Significance of the Frontier in American History”?
Answer
Frederick Jackson Turner
What was Annie Oakley’s birth name, before she became a famous sharpshooter?
Answer
Phoebe Ann Moses
What was the real name of Wild Bill Hickok, the frontier scout and gunfighter?
Answer
James Butler Hickok
Which 1890 massacre at a South Dakota creek marked the end of major armed Lakota resistance?
Answer
Wounded Knee Massacre
Which 1883 Buffalo Bill production popularized staged frontier battles for audiences?
Answer
Buffalo Bill’s Wild West
Which 1886 uprising at Haymarket Square influenced the creation of International Workers’ Day?
Answer
Haymarket affair
Which 1883 railroad route was famous for linking Chicago, Kansas City, and the American Southwest?
Answer
Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway
Which 1876 battle saw Lakota, Cheyenne, and Arapaho forces defeat the U.S. 7th Cavalry?
Answer
Battle of the Little Bighorn
Which 1869 railroad connected Sacramento with Omaha, completing the first transcontinental U.S. railroad?
Answer
First Transcontinental Railroad
Which 1881 Arizona gunfight lasted about 30 seconds near Tombstone?
Answer
Gunfight at the O.K. Corral
What phrase did the 1890 U.S. Census report use for the disappearance of a continuous American frontier line?
Answer
The closing of the frontier
Which 1902 novel by Owen Wister is often called the first major modern Western?
Answer
The Virginian
What was the real name of the outlaw known as the Sundance Kid?
Answer
Harry Longabaugh
What was the name of the 1851 agreement between the United States and Plains tribes signed at Fort Laramie?
Answer
Treaty of Fort Laramie
Which outlaw used the alias Black Bart while robbing stagecoaches in California and Oregon?
Answer
Charles Earl Boles
What was the name of the 1868 treaty that ended Red Cloud's War?
Answer
Treaty of Fort Laramie
What was the name of the 1858–1859 gold rush centered on present-day Denver and the Colorado Front Range?
Answer
Pike's Peak Gold Rush
Which Wyoming territory became the first U.S. territory to grant women the right to vote in 1869?
Answer
Wyoming Territory
Which 1869 trail carried settlers and freight from the Salt Lake Valley to California?
Answer
California Trail
Which 1877 strike became the first nationwide labor stoppage in U.S. history?
Answer
Great Railroad Strike of 1877
Which 1874 battle in the Texas Panhandle was a major defeat for the Comanche, Kiowa, and allied Plains peoples?
Answer
Battle of Palo Duro Canyon
Which outlaw was known as the “Gentleman Bandit” of the American West?
Answer
Black Bart
What was the name of the 1868 treaty that created a reservation for the Lakota in present-day South Dakota?
Answer
Treaty of Fort Laramie
At which Montana site did Chief Joseph and the Nez Perce surrender in 1877?
Answer
Bear Paw Mountain
Which 1864 Colorado event became one of the most notorious attacks on Cheyenne and Arapaho people?
Answer
Sand Creek massacre
Which 1906 site in Wyoming became America’s first national monument?
Answer
Devils Tower
Which 1869 expedition led by John Wesley Powell first explored the Colorado River through the Grand Canyon?
Answer
Powell Geographic Expedition
What was the name of the 1872 Colorado fraud in which a fake diamond field was promoted?
Answer
The Great Diamond Hoax
Which rifle, introduced in 1873, became known as the “Gun That Won the West”?
Answer
Winchester Model 1873
What was the 1889 Oklahoma event in which settlers raced to claim free land?
Answer
Oklahoma Land Run
Which revolver, introduced by Colt in 1873, became known as the “Peacemaker”?
Answer
Colt Single Action Army
Which U.S. national park was established in 1872 after a major expedition explored its wonders?
Answer
Yellowstone National Park