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Part 6-Transcontinental Railroad-Last Mountain, Last Battle: Legends of the Old West
Episode 6 of 6 in a series on The Transcontinental Railroad I wrote for Legends of the Old West. The dream of uniting a nation by rail...

Matthew Kerns
3 days ago2 min read


Part 5-Transcontinental Railroad-Last Mountain, Last Battle: Legends of the Old West
Episode 5 of 6 in a series on The Transcontinental Railroad I wrote for Legends of the Old West. Episode 5, “ Last Mountain, Last Battle...

Matthew Kerns
Jun 182 min read


Part 4-Transcontinental Railroad-Across the Desert: Legends of the Old West
Episode 4 of 6 in a series on The Transcontinental Railroad I wrote for Legends of the Old West. In episode 4, “ Across the Desert ” ...

Matthew Kerns
Jun 112 min read


Part 3-Transcontinental Railroad-Desperadoes of Every Grade: Legends of the Old West
Episode 3 of 6 in a series on The Transcontinental Railroad I wrote for Legends of the Old West. In episode 3, “Desperadoes of Every...

Matthew Kerns
Jun 52 min read


The Night The Curtain Fell For the Final Time
June 3rd, 1876 – Wilmington, Delaware The lights dimmed. The curtain fell. And just like that, one of the most legendary partnerships in...

Matthew Kerns
Jun 42 min read


I'm Your Huckleberry
“I’m Your Huckleberry”—The Truth Behind Doc Holliday’s Famous Line A popular internet myth insists that when Val Kilmer, as Doc Holliday...

Matthew Kerns
May 313 min read


Blasting Through The Summit At Donner Pass
At an elevation of 7,042 feet, just three miles west of Donner Lake, the Central Pacific Railroad faced its most formidable challenge:...

Matthew Kerns
May 302 min read


From Coal Cellar to Center Stage: How Giuseppina Morlacchi Inspired Julia Marlowe
Readers of my work will already be familiar with legendary cowboy Texas Jack Omohundro and his wife, the renowned ballerina Giuseppina...

Matthew Kerns
May 294 min read


Texas Jack's Barbecue
Today, May 28, is National Brisket Day—what better reason to celebrate at Texas Jack's Barbecue in Arlington, Virginia? When you're...

Matthew Kerns
May 282 min read


Part 2-Transcontinental Railroad-Mountains To Conquer: Legends of the Old West
Episode 2 of 6 in a series on The Transcontinental Railroad I wrote for Legends of the Old West. In Episode 2, "Mountains to Conquer,"...

Matthew Kerns
May 282 min read


The Man Who Put The "Wild" In The West
James Butler Hickok was born 188 years ago today, May 27, 1837. Most folks don’t remember him by that name. They know him as Wild...

Matthew Kerns
May 272 min read


When Going Viral Means Getting Robbed
Why So Many Facebook Pages Are Copying My Work Without Credit On the morning of May 15, I published a post about Daniel Webster "80 John"...

Matthew Kerns
May 244 min read


Part 1-Transcontinental Railroad-The Great Race: Legends of the Old West
LEGENDS OF THE OLD WEST | Hell on Wheels Ep1 — “The Great Race” Episode 1 of 6 in a series on the construction of the Transcontinental...

Matthew Kerns
May 222 min read


For The Old Man
I was fifteen years old on Christmas morning, 1994. That year, my dad was forty-four. Among the gifts he gave me were two books:...

Matthew Kerns
May 202 min read


A Drive With Buffalo Bill & Texas Jack
On August 11, 1873, the Daily Local News of West Chester, Pennsylvania published a glowing feature titled "A Drive with Buffalo Bill and...

Matthew Kerns
May 1911 min read


"80 John" Wallace - Born into Slavery - Died A Cowboy Millionaire
Born into slavery, by the time of his death on March 28, 1939, Daniel "80 John" Wallace had amassed a net worth of over one million dollars, a staggering achievement for a man who began life as property.

Matthew Kerns
May 163 min read


National Biographer's Day
I started typing this blog post and was a good paragraph in before it hit me—today is National Biographer’s Day , and somehow I almost...

Matthew Kerns
May 164 min read


Defending Real History in the Age of AI
AI Nonsense This post from the “90’s History” Facebook group might look convincing at first glance, but let’s call it what it is: a...

Matthew Kerns
May 115 min read


Eight Generations
Left to right: Me holding my granddaughter Celene (2025), my grandmother Ruth with my father and me (1979 or 1980), Richard Jeffreys with...

Matthew Kerns
May 103 min read


The Day Will Rogers Became The Cherokee Kid
The Cherokee Kid Will Rogers and Texas Jack Junior in South Africa Will Rogers didn’t leave his home on Cherokee land in the Indian...

Matthew Kerns
May 85 min read
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