Wolf Creek Heritage Museum
Buffalo hunters (Texas State Library and Archives)
Men skinning buffaloes. Harpers Weekly, December 1874. (Library of Congress)
Buffalo camp scene with stretched and drying hides (Texas State Library and Archives)
Bison hides pile (Panhandle-Plains Historical Museum)
Bison was an essential commodity for Plains Indians, providing food, clothing, and shelter for tribes from Montana to Texas. In the 1870s, expansion of farming and ranching westward precipitated hunting of bison herds to a near-extinction level. During this time, hunters set up “hide town” camps along Wolf Creek. Learn more about buffalo hunting and the consequences of this short-lived industry in this audio track.
On display at the Wolf Creek Heritage Museum in Lipscomb are tools that leather tanners used in preparing buffalo skins for Eastern markets. They plied their trade in the many “hide towns” that sprang up around the mass slaughter of Southern Plains buffalo.
Wolf Creek Heritage Museum
- Hours: Monday - Friday, 10 a.m. - 4 p.m. Closed all of December.
- Admission: none
- 13310 TX-305, Lipscomb, TX
- 806-852-2131 or 806-653-3321
- Visit Website
