Archives On The Air 180: A Woman Of Wit And Willfulness—Caroline Lockhart Papers

Published March 12, 2020 at 12:56 PM MDT

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Lockhart was a controversial and cantankerous figure in Cody who flaunted prohibition.

American Heritage Center

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Caroline Lockhart bought the Park County Enterprise (later the Cody Enterprise) and ran the newspaper from 1920 to 1925. Box 7, Caroline Lockhart papers.

American Heritage Center

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Caroline Lockhart bought the Park County Enterprise (later the Cody Enterprise) and ran the newspaper from 1920 to 1925. Box 7, Caroline Lockhart papers.

American Heritage Center

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Lockhart was a controversial and cantankerous figure in Cody who flaunted prohibition.

American Heritage Center

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Her love for horses and the Old West led Lockhart to become co-founder of the Cody Stampede in 1919. She used her newspaper to promote the summer rodeo event, which still exists more than 100 years later. Box 5, Caroline Lockhart papers.

American Heritage Center

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American Heritage Center

Caroline Lockhart was a newspaper publisher, writer, journalist, rancher, and rodeo sponsor.

An interview with western showman Buffalo Bill Cody in 1904 inspired her to relocate in Cody, Wyoming, where she remained the rest of her life.

In 1919, Lockhart bought the town's newspaper. The paper's slogan became, "Everybody reads the Enterprise, even if they have to borrow it,"

Lockhart now had an open forum through her column, "As Seen from the Water Wagon." She drew upon her force, humor, and wit to counter prohibition and oppose anyone who sought to reform Cody.

Under Lockhart's guidance, the Enterprise was widely quoted throughout Wyoming and Montana.

Learn more in the Caroline Lockhart's papers at UW's American Heritage Center.