The COWBOY MEMORIAL
and Library

Open 6 days weekly, all seasons.

Hours: 10:00 A.M. till 5:00 P.M., Tuesday through Sunday

(There is no entrance fee, but donations are requested)

Located in Historic Walker Basin -"Cattle Country"

Just two hours by auto via freeway and "high gear" roads from Los Angeles!

The Cowboy Memorial is an educational, tax exempt, non-profit corporation. The by-laws of the corporation ensure its continuing function as a national educational resource for the American people. Life styles and memorabilia of the cowboys (19^th and 20^th centuries) are preserved. As stated by Paul de Fonville, former cowboy and champion rodeo performer (founder and now president of the Memorial): "In a hundred years it may be the only thing left to show people what cowboy life was really like, and who really built the West as we know it today."

WHAT'S AT THE MEMORIAL

There are inside and outside exhibits.

The inside exhibits are housed in several giant tractor-trailer vans. There are thousands of unique branding irons, surely the largest collection of branding irons in the world. These are complete with an example of each finished brand. The infamous running iron is well represented, and you'll learn what happened to those who used running irons. There are scores of leather saddles, many with saddle horns containing grooves caused by thousands of hours of cowboy use on the range. You'll find many varieties of spurs, hobbles, ropes and whips. There's a display of cooking utensils used on the range (a huge coffee pot, dutch oven, oversized cooking kettle, barbecue spit, and many other related items).

Outside you'll find a chuck wagon, a buggy, wagons, a typical western corral, and other tools and trappings of western trail life.

The surroundings themselves lend realism to the Museum. There are more than 200 acres of rugged and magnificent land overlooking the historic Walker Basin. The site presents grand vistas of the sprawling valley and its tributary canyons. Draws and boulder-strewn hills are dotted with pine and pinon, and backed by rising peaks. (The Museum is but a few miles from the south entrance to Sequoia National Park).

A GREAT PLACE FOR FILMING. Not too far from Hollywood, but still picturesque county country with open range. Look out for cattle on the road as you drive out to Cowboy Memorial. If you're producing a film that needs a picturesque outdoor or western background with unique personality, come visit Cowboy Memorial and talk to Paul.

LIBRARY. In addition to the artifacts, the Museum also houses approximately 5,000 books on the American West.

STATE POINT OF HISTORICAL INTEREST.

At the entrance to the Cowboy Memorial is an identifying plaque placed in December of 1987. This plaque states that the Basin was probably named for the celebrated mountain man and early pathfinder Joseph Reddeford Walker, who brought an exploring party through this country in the early 1830's. However, long before Walker's time, the beautiful basin was populated by Piute Indians of Great Basin origin.

MAGNIFICENT OBSESSION. The Museum is the brain child, dream and the magnificent obsession of Paul de Fonville and his wife Virginia. Paul experienced the cowboy's life first hand, being brought up on a working ranch. In his youth he was a rodeo rider, an early participant in what is now the "PRCA" (Professional Rodeo Cowboys' Association). He was a "calf roper". Paul is Gold Card Holder (#480) and among the "Turtles", the Founders of the Rodeo World. Later, he acted in many western movies. He was "Marshal of the Working Western" in the 1980 Pasadena Rose Parade, and also rode in the 1978 and 1979 Rose Parades.. Paul has since received recognition from both Presidents Reagan and Bush for his many achievements related to Cowboy life.

Paul believes that the modern world is fast exterminating the history of a group of brave and strong men who fostered the development of cattle ranches. Life was very difficult for these men. They had a short life span. Yet, they persevered under conditions that most of us today would find unbelievable. Soon it will be too late to preserve the true history of these courageous men.

Plans for the Museum include a working ranch, rodeo grounds, cowboys' home, a non-denominational church, exhibits about the "mountain men", and an Indian Heritage Hall.

PAUL NEEDS YOUR HELP. Up to this time, there have been no large donations to the Museum in the form of Government or Private Grants. Time is slipping away. The artifacts need to be more forcefully displayed and more properly preserved. The many photos and posters are unprotected and aging. The library books need to be suitably displayed with space for researchers to use them. Even the cowboys who rode the ranges and traveled the trails are leaving us. Paul needs help now, lots of help, to make his dream come true.

Corporate, organizational and individual gifts and bequests are solicited. Please send your gift, in any amount, to The Cowboy Memorial and Library, 40371 Cowboy Lane, Caliente, CA 93518. Your gifts are fully tax deductible.

Directions and Map

Exhibits and Photos

A click will take you to the Kern County Chamber of Commerce.
Another click can take you to the Greater Tehachapi Chamber of Commerce
Or, visit the complimentary Tehachapi Heritage Museum .