Western Settings Trivia Quiz

Answer: Dodge City, Kansas

"Gunsmoke" began as a radio show in 1952 and ran in that format until 1961. The TV series debuted in 1955 and ran for twenty years, making it one of the longest running series in American television history. It was set in the frontier town of Dodge City, Kansas, which was located on the railroad and also on a major cattle trail.

In many ways "Gunsmoke" was the classic Western epic and Dodge City the ideal frontier setting. It starred James Arness as Marshall Matt Dillon.

Answer: North Fork, New Mexico

This show ran from 1958 to 1963 and starred Chuck Connors as Lucas McCain, a Union lieutenant in the Civil War, and Johnny Crawford as his young son, Mark. North Fork is a fictional town in the New Mexico Territory and Lucas McCain acts as a sort of peacemaker and confidant of Marshall Micah Torrance. The rifle in question was a 12-shot Winchester which featured in the opening credits.

Answer: Laramie, Wyoming

"Lawman" ran from 1958 to 1962 and was set in the railroad and mill town of Laramie in the Wyoming Territory. In real life its early history was that of a lawless community. The main character, Dan Troop, played by John Russell, arrives in Laramie after its marshall has been killed and takes over the job.

He is assisted by a youthful deputy named Johnny McKay (Peter Brown). Much of story line involves the older man mentoring the young deputy to become a valued defender of the law.

Answer: Fort Apache

"The Adventures of Rin Tin Tin" was a children's Western show which ran from 1954 to 1959 and was set at the fictional Fort Apache in the Arizona Territory. The main characters were a boy named "Rusty" (Lee Aaker) and a German Shepherd dog, "Rin Tin Tin", the only survivors of an Apache raid on a wagon train. Taken by the rescuing cavalry to Fort Apache, Rusty is made a Corporal so that he may remain at the fort with Rin Tin Tin.

Many of the earlier episodes have the title "Rin Tin Tin and ...".

Answer: Virginia City, Nevada

"Bonanza" was one of the mainstays of the NBC Sunday evening schedule, running from 1959 to 1973. It starred Canadian actor, Lorne Greene, as the rancher and family patriarch Ben Cartwright, who ran the Ponderosa ranch with his three sons: Adam, "Hoss", and Little Joe.

The last was played by Michael Landon who went on to a distinguished career in "Little House on the Prairie" and "Highway to Heaven". Most of the action is set on the ranch, but it is clear that the nearest town is Virginia City, whose sheriff, Ray Coffee, had a major recurring role in the show.

Answer: San Francisco

This show was a very popular Western and ran from 1957 through 1963. Richard Boone played "Paladin", a gunfighter for hire, who undertook quests to aid those in distress, sometimes working for free, sometimes for a substantial fee from those who could afford it.

While his adventures took him all over the West, they always began in the Carlton Hotel in San Francisco. His business card read: "Have Gun Will Travel / Wire Paladin / San Francisco, set against the background of a chess knight.

Answer: Walnut Grove, Minnesota

Walnut Grove is a real community in central Minnesota, founded in 1874 and named after a local grove of black walnuts. Today it contains the Laura Ingalls Wilder Museum, dedicated to the author of the "Little House" books. The principal characters were the Ingalls Family, who lived near enough to the town that the children can walk easily to school.

The best-known actors are Michael Landon (as Charles Ingalls) and Melissa Gilbert (as Laura Ingalls), along with a strong supporting cast. The show ran from 1974 to 1983, well after the heyday of the American TV Western.

It was more about life of a family on the prairie than about the taming of the West.

Answer: Medicine Bow, Wyoming

"The Virginian" ran from 1962 to 1971, the third-longest Western after "Gunsmoke" and "Bonanza", and had an unusual running time of 90 minutes. James Drury played the title role, the foreman of the Shiloh Ranch near Medicine Bow, Wyoming. There is a real Medicine Bow in Wyoming, a small town on the railroad and now US 80. We are never told the Virginian's real name or his history.

The show was set in the late 1890s, well after the classic Western age of the 1870s and 1880s.

Answer: Colorado Springs, Colorado

"Dr Quinn, Medicine Woman" ran from 1993 to 1998, well after the era of the classic Western, and featured the career of Dr Michaela Quinn, a doctor from Boston, played by Jane Seymour, who came west to make her career. She settled in Fort Colorado and much of the show has to do with her struggle in convincing people that a woman can practice medicine.

Answer: Fort Courage

This was the best-known attempt to make a Western show with humour. Set just after the Civil War, the main character is Captain Wilton Parmenter (Ken Berry), an incompetent commander and accidental hero, who is sent west to the fictional Fort Courage.

The goings-on there and the scheming soldiers are quite reminiscent of Fort Baxter under Sgt. Bilko and of "McHale's Navy". The series ran for two years, 1965-1967.