Modern History

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. --   A disagreement over a gambling debt and a pocket watch led to what some call the first true Wild West showdown.  It was on July 21,1865, when Wild Bill Hickok shot Davis Tutt dead in Springfield's town square.

The feud became the stuff of legend -- retold and embellished in magazines and dime store novels, and re-enacted throughout the years.  Now the city is bringing this 147-year old tale back to life.

The recordings, which are voiced by Springfield employees, are linked to a series of YouTube videos.

The videos are linked to nine QR codes located around the square where it all happened nearly a century and a half ago.  Using any Smartphone with a QR code scanner -- there is one on the KY3 app -- place it over the code, click on it, and learn about the dispute between Hickok and Tutt.

Springfield's square has actually seen a remarkable amount of history, most of it sad.  However, this has been local legend for years, with rural schools even doing an occasional field trip to the area to see where Hickok made us famous.

What is extra exciting is the QR code approach and the video connection that can use downtown's free WiFi to show the videos.  This is big news for a city that a few years ago was determined to remain in the dark ages.  I can't wait to check out the videos.  Of course it has to be dramatized, but it would seem attention was paid to as much history as can be verified.  There are enough local historians to keep them honest, I would imagine.

I had to share this, my sweet city is making me proud!