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@kendralynne518

Full disclosure, I just joined the group so that I could respond and lend my help, even though I haven’t particularly wrote much in the Old West setting (though I often look to it for inspiration, particularly when I’m in a more sci-fi mood), but I do have an amateurish breadth of historical knowledge in the area. The idea of cowboys versus dinosaurs was just too cool to pass up.

Also thanks for specifying the timeframe of your story down to the year – it’s a lot easier to answer research questions about America in 1889-90 than “The Old West.”

Everything I put here is just off the top of my head, preemptive of any questions you might have; the more specific questions you have, the more thorough I can be with my answer.

First, however, I would go for authenticity over accuracy. Aim to make it feel like the Old West, even if you have to fudge here or there (without giving into baseless stereotypes that is).

<span style=”text-decoration: underline;”>General:</span>

1890 is getting pretty close to what “modern” America looks like; the West still remains, but it’s beginning to fade, and fade fast.

<span style=”text-decoration: underline;”>Timeline Stuff:</span>

Tombstone itself was founded in 1879, so it’s 10-11 years old now. The Gunfight at the O.K. Corral happened in 1881, Morgan Earp died in an ambush in 1882, and Wyatt and Virgil Earp left Tombstone in that same year. Doc Holliday would have died in 1887 in Colorado after leaving Tombstone in 1882.

Not in Tombstone, but the Wounded Knee Massacre in South Dakota occurs in December of 1890, so likely well after your story is set.

The last military confrontation with an Apache band was in 1886 – effectively, from that point on, hostilities with native Americans are confined to minor / municipal incidents without major military deployments.

 

<span style=”text-decoration: underline;”>Technology</span>:

Electric lighting is now known in the Eastern United States (though it’s still going to take a little bit longer for power stations to really make it out west) – especially to little Tombstone. Gas lighting and old style wood and coal stoves are still prevalent, especially out west.

Firearm ammunition still generally uses black powder; smokeless powder has been invented, but would not be patented in any form in the U.S. until 1890 and would not see general military (and therefore universal civilian use) until around 1907. This is a big deal because black powder generates a ridiculous amount of smoke, to the point where if you fired off your revolver in a small room, you might not be able to see across the room anymore; gunfights are loud and noisy, and visibility becomes atrocious quickly with black powder. However, in the outdoors, the cloud of gun-smoke generated can actually serve to give away your position – potentially a good plot device.

<span style=”text-decoration: underline;”>Style / Authenticity:</span>

It goes without saying – read Mark Twain. He’s the archetypical writer and voice for the period, and one of our best resources for how people talked back then.

 

I’m glad to answer questions and help with the research, and I’d like to hear more about the story!