Civil War Cannon Donated To Pawnee Bill Museum

The Pawnee Bill Ranch and Museum now has a Civil War style cannon that belonged to Pawnee Bill himself on display.

"They were discussing that the cannon was coming back home, and so I told the wife...'We have got to go to this dedication'," said visitor Mike Bender.

The cannon was used in Pawnee Bill's Wild West shows and was even used in the Civil War.

Lieutenant Governor Matt Pinnell said these timeless artifacts are a major boost for Oklahoma tourism.

"This is a big reason that people visit Oklahoma," Pinnell said. "Our Native American history, the history of the buffalo, the wild west shows....you know that is Oklahoma."

After Pawnee Bill died, he passed the cannon on to a friend before it eventually got donated to the Oklahoma Historical Society.

It stayed in Oklahoma City for over 70 years, and officials with the Historical Society say this homecoming was long overdue.

"This was Pawnee Bills home base," said Oklahoma Historical Society Executive Director Trait Thompson. "This cannon was used to start those Wild West shows and were used in them, and so having this back home....it's an original piece of Oklahoma history that's back in its original home."

Bender said he's seen the growth of historical sites across the state, and is glad Pawnee is getting its chance to shine.

"I'm glad that we're finally spending the money to fix everything back up and try to bring it back to the glory days when Pawnee Bill was here," Bender said.

The Oklahoma Historical Society said the next step is to renovate the various historical sites in the state.