There have been many, many entertainers over the Village years, to which the Village Staff extends it's "undying" gratitude. In this Marshals/Outlaws section we wanted to present a few gunfighter stories. Due of the sheer volume of "gunfighter stories" out there (some true; some fictional, we are sure), the RFV Team elected to limit this presentation to entertainer stories from cow hands who held "gunfighter" jobs up to and including that time we call the Transition Period (the days ending with the final full time Marshals, lastly Marshal Westin, Chuck Lowe). We hope you enjoy these tales directly from those cowboys and cowgirls who lived them." 

See the Frontier Village Gunfighter List!

The History of the FV Marshal
By Allen Weitzel

Marshals (and outlaws)

The U.S. Marshals service began in 1789 and was established to support and protect federal courts in each judicial district. In the old West, Marshals became the only federal lawmen in unorganized territories that may not have yet experienced statehood. A Sheriff was the chief administrative officer of the county; a Sheriff's powers were territorialized to a specific locale. A Marshal had federal authority, whose powers (and area of authority) were more wide ranging. Marshals were most often appointed whereas Sheriffs were elected.

In the Spring of 2001, we spoke with Joseph Zukin, Jr., founder and president of Frontier Village. When asked about the origin of the Marshal concept for the Village, Joe admitted that the start up happened more than 40 years ago, so total recall of the exact set up is not crystal clear. Joe believes that he did not research the historical significance of the offices of Sheriff or Marshal. It is his sense that several things went into the choice of having a FV Marshal versus a Sheriff. Joe said the word Marshal sounded better; sounded more regal, and Sheriff was harder to pronounce (for those little buckaroos). He felt that Laurie Hollings, the Park Designer, had some say in the matter. Joe is certain that the choice stemmed from theatrical concepts, not historical ones. Additionally, there were many Sheriffs around the County and Marshals were not a known entity, making a Marshal more rare.