PAWNEEE, Okla. — The Pawnee Bill Ranch and Museum held a special dedication ceremony on Friday to celebrate the return of one of the cannons used in the original Pawnee Bill Wild West Shows.

After more than 70 years in Oklahoma City, the cannon was unveiled on the front lawn at the historic site in Pawnee.

The Model 1861, three-inch ordnance “rifle” was cast in 1863 at the Phoenix Iron Company in Phoenixville, Penn.

The gun reportedly saw service in several Civil War battles, including Missionary Ridge, before Pawnee Bill acquired it for use in the Wild West Show. After the Wild West Show, the gun found a home on the front lawn of Pawnee Bill and May Lillie’s mansion.

Shortly before Pawnee Bill died in 1942, he gifted the gun to his longtime friend and publicist, Frank Stuart. The carriage was in bad shape and continued to deteriorate as the gun sat in Stuart’s backyard in Oklahoma City for many years. Stuart died in 1950, and under his will the cannon was left to the Oklahoma Historical Society in 1951.

The Oklahoma Historical Society had a new carriage built for the cannon and has displayed it in Oklahoma City ever since.

The Pawnee Bill Ranch was once the showplace of the world-renowned Wild West Show entertainer Gordon W. “Pawnee Bill” Lillie. Pawnee Bill and May Lillie’s 14-room mansion, completed in 1910, is filled with Lillie family memorabilia, photographs, and original artwork. The 500-acre ranch property is home to a herd of bison, Longhorn and several draft horses.

The Pawnee Bill Ranch and Museum is located at 1141 Pawnee Bill Road in Pawnee.

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