Friends of USU Merrill-Cazier Library to Host Program on Book 'Buffalo Bill and the Mormons'

LOGAN, Utah — The Friends of the Utah State University Merrill-Cazier Library will host a public program exploring the surprising relationship between Buffalo Bill Cody and the early Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on at 6 p.m. March 25 in Room 101 of the Merrill-Cazier Library.

Historian Brent M. Rogers will share insights from his new book, “Buffalo Bill and the Mormons,” tracing the intersections between William F. “Buffalo Bill” Cody and the Latter-day Saints from 1846 through 1917. Cody began his stage career in 1872 and gained early notoriety by performing anti-Mormon dramas. Yet by the early 1900s, he was actively recruiting Latter-day Saints to help build infrastructure and encourage growth in the region surrounding Cody, Wyoming.

Rogers will discuss the trajectory that took America’s most famous celebrity from foe to friend of the Latter-day Saints, while exploring the cultural, political, environmental and economic history of the American West.

The event is free and open to the public.

Correction: An earlier version of this article stated an incorrect start time for this event. The event begins at 6 p.m.