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The Forgotten Winchester is a
The rifle is a
The Forgotten Winchester is a Winchester Model 1873
Winchester rifle is a comprehensive term describing a series of lever action repeating rifles manufactured by the Winchester Repeating Arms Company. Developed from the 1860 Henry rifle, Winchester rifles were among the earliest repeaters. The ...
lever-action centerfire rifle that archaeologists discovered in 2014 leaning against a juniper
Junipers are coniferous trees and shrubs in the genus ''Juniperus'' ( ) of the cypress family Cupressaceae. Depending on the taxonomy, between 50 and 67 species of junipers are widely distributed throughout the Northern Hemisphere as far south ...
tree in Great Basin National Park
Great Basin National Park is a national park of the United States located in White Pine County in east-central Nevada, near the Utah border. Established in 1986, the park is most commonly entered by way of Nevada State Route 488, which is c ...
, Nevada
Nevada ( ; ) is a landlocked state in the Western United States. It borders Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. Nevada is the seventh-most extensive, th ...
.
The gun was manufactured in 1882, but nothing is known of its abandonment. The bottom of its stock was buried in 4–5 inches (10–13 cm) of accumulated soil and vegetation, and a round of ammunition stored in its buttstock
A gunstock or often simply stock, the back portion of which is also known as a shoulder stock, a buttstock, or simply a butt, is a part of a long gun that provides structural support, to which the barrel, action, and firing mechanism are attac ...
dated between 1887 and 1911, indicating that it had been resting there for many years. A post about the rifle on the park's Facebook page went viral, prompting speculation about the rifle's origin. The rifle has become an icon of the American West
The Western United States (also called the American West, the Western States, the Far West, the Western territories, and the West) is census regions United States Census Bureau
As American settlement in the U.S. expanded westward, the mea ...
.
Discovery
Prior to the rifle's discovery, the National Park Service had started a $280,000 fuels reduction project around Strawberry Creek Campground to prevent campfires from sparking wildfires in the surrounding forest. As part of the project, the Park Service sent staff from their cultural resources office to search the project area for artifacts, and archaeologist Eva Jensen found the rifle leaning against a tree above the campground. Less than two years later, the Strawberry Fire swept through the area and consumed the juniper tree the rifle had been leaning against.Conservation and description
The rifle is a Winchester Repeating Arms Company
The Winchester Repeating Arms Company was a prominent American manufacturer of repeating firearms and ammunition. The firm was established in 1866 by Oliver Winchester and was located in New Haven, Connecticut. The firm went into receivership ...
Model 1873, chambered in .44-40 Winchester. This model is sometimes known as "the gun that won the West." The rifle's serial number indicates that it was one of 25,000 manufactured in 1882.
The park service sent the gun to the Firearms Museum at the Buffalo Bill Center of the West
The Buffalo Bill Center of the West, formerly known as the Buffalo Bill Historical Center, is a complex of five museums and a research library featuring art and artifacts of the American West located in Cody, Wyoming. The five museums are the Buf ...
in Cody, Wyoming
Cody is a city in and the county seat of Park County, Wyoming, United States. It is named after Buffalo Bill Cody for his part in the founding of Cody in 1896.
The population was 10,028 at the United States Census, 2020, 2020 census, making Cod ...
, for analysis and conservation. A team of researchers took the firearm to a local hospital to be X-rayed under the patient name "Rifle". While the chamber and tube magazine were not loaded, the X-rays revealed a live .44-Winchester centerfire caliber cartridge in a compartment inside the buttstock
A gunstock or often simply stock, the back portion of which is also known as a shoulder stock, a buttstock, or simply a butt, is a part of a long gun that provides structural support, to which the barrel, action, and firing mechanism are attac ...
. This cartridge was manufactured by the Union Metallic Cartridge Company
The Union Metallic Cartridge Company (UMC) was an early manufacturer of cartridge ammunition for small arms. The company was founded in 1867 during the most rapid evolution of cartridge design to date. Following merger with Remington Arms in 1912 ...
sometime between 1887 and 1911. The X-ray also showed that a crack in the stock had been repaired with metal pins. The Buffalo Bill Center conservators used hydroxypropyl cellulose
Hydroxypropyl cellulose (HPC) is a derivative of cellulose with both water solubility and organic solubility. It is used as an excipient; a topical ophthalmic protectant and lubricant; a thickener, emulsifier, and stabilizer in cosmetic formulat ...
to preserve the wooden gunstock and prevent it from further deterioration.
The rifle is on permanent display in the Baker Visitor Center of Great Basin National Park
Great Basin National Park is a national park of the United States located in White Pine County in east-central Nevada, near the Utah border. Established in 1986, the park is most commonly entered by way of Nevada State Route 488, which is c ...
, along with the cartridge found in it.
References
{{reflist Great Basin National Park Winchester Repeating Arms Company firearms Individual firearms 2014 archaeological discoveries 2014 in Nevada