The Center of Southwest Studies at Fort Lewis College invites the public to the first lecture in its summer lecture series based around the theme, “A Year in the Life of the West.” The presentation, “1873: The Guns That Won the West” will feature guest speaker Jeffery Richardson on Wednesday, June 8th at 1:30 p.m. in the Center’s Lyceum Room #120.

Richardson is the Curator of Exhibits for the Farmington Museum in New Mexico. He has appeared as an expert commentator of numerous shows, including Pawn Stars, Mysteries at the Museum, and History Detectives, and he is the author of Colt: The Revolver of the American West. Rizzoli, 2013. Richardson will focus on 1873, the year that the two guns that "won the west" were introduced, the Colt Single Action Army and Winchester Model 1873. As depicted in fact and fiction, firearm manufacturing and expertise came of age when Western expansion was at its peak, transforming the United States from an isolated agricultural nation into the world’s leading industrial and military power.

This lecture is free to the public. Parking on campus is free during summer months.