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Investigations
 
Wild West Scrapbook
Web Investigations

WILD WEST SCRAP BOOK
Did an Italian Can Can dancer keep a scrapbook of letters from Wild West characters like Buffalo Bill and other western ephemera?

LATEST POST:
Week 4 UPDATE: Is John Burke the author?

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SEASON 6

History Detectives returned for a brand new season on Monday June 30, 2008.

This season you, the audience, can become a history detective by getting involved with our new exciting feature - Web Investigations. We post a mystery and you help us solve it. Each week, updates and new leads - provided by the audience and our own History Detectives - will be released. The final results will be announced online at the end of the investigation.

For information on all the previous seasons investigations you can browse the Archive.

 

EPISODE 5 - July 28, 2008

Hindenburg Artifact
Was this device snatched from the burning wreckage of the ill-fated zeppelin?  ...More
Bonus Army Stamp
Is this stamp connected to a moment when the U.S. Army advanced with fixed bayonets against fellow soldiers in the nation’s capital? ...More
Dempsey Fight Bell
Is this the bell that sat ringside at the world's first boxing superstar's legendary match? ...More

 

EPISODE 4 - July 21, 2008

China Marine Jacket
Can the symbols on this unusual item of clothing identify a marine who may have witnessed a Chinese paradise tumbling into disaster?  ...More
Airstream Caravan
Was this mobile home part of a modern-day wagon train halfway across the world? ...More
Lincoln Forgery
Could this piece of sheet music have come from Abraham Lincoln's private collection? ...More

 

EPISODE 3 - July 14, 2008

Japanese Balloon Bomb
Is this scrap of fabric evidence of a secret wartime attack on the United States' mainland?  ...More
Society Circus Program
Why are some of New York's wealthiest planning a high society circus at the very depth of the Great Depression? ...More
Camp David Letter
Could a box found in a dumpster hold information about the founding of a top-secret Presidential retreat? ...More

 

EPISODE 2 - July 7, 2008

Red Hand Flag
Is this peculiar flag one that African-American soldiers marched under in the war to end all wars? ...More
Seth Eastman Painting
Is this painting an original depiction of Native American life from one of the premiere painters of the American West? ...More
Isleton Tong
Was this building a safe haven for persecuted immigrants, or a hub for organized crime? ...More

 

EPISODE 1 - JUNE 30, 2008

WWII Diary
Does this diary hold the key to understanding the fate of a missing bomber pilot from World War II?...More
Annie Oakley Coin
Was this coin a target for one of the Wild West's most popular female sharpshooters?...More
1856 Mormon Tale
Is this tattered book a true account of female slavery in the old West? ... More



Don’t forget you can watch a video trailer of Season 6, here.