Mild, Mild West was a banging success

Fort Belknap was the site for the second Mild, Mild West fundraiser Saturday, Sept. 21, 2019 from 6 p.m until 10 p.m.

The event was sponsored by the Fort Belknap Living History Association, and was based in the old Holley Saloon located on the Fort Belknap grounds and set in the 1870s.

Historic Texas characters like Charles Goodnight and rugged Mountain men concentrated on their games of Faro, Blackjack and Poker, while saloon girls, temperance marchers, suffragists and law men circulated through the crowd. Only one gunfight broke out and a few participants were jailed but all-in-all the group behaved like good Young County folk would.

Special appearances by Lillie Longtree, The Streak and Jorge and the Three Amigos added excitement to the evening that concluded with a cake auction and silent auction. All funds raised, according to Saloon Girl #4, will be used to feed the actors during the fort’s living history event, Historic Fort Belknap Days are scheduled for Oct. 25-26.

The group plans to make this an annual event, falling on the third Saturday of September each year.

To join the Fort Belknap Living History Association or to ask a question about an upcoming event, please contact the Fort Belknap curator, Jim Hammond, at 940-846-3222 or Fort Belknap Living History Association president, James Hayes, at 940-250-9301.

Dancehall performer

Susan Smith circa 1847

Mild Mild West