Black Pioneers of the West

The Role of Exodusters, Buffalo Soldiers, and Cowboys

Updated April 13, 2026 • April 7, 2026

Frame House near Nicodemus, Kansas, ca. Late 19th-Century

Early homestead near Nicodemus, Kansas, ca. late 19th-century

The story of African Americans in the American West is varied, complex, and both inspiring and painful at times. Individuals and families traveled to the frontier for a multitude of reasons. Some saw the end of slavery as a new opportunity to exercise their rights and freedoms as Americans. Others sought sanctuary and fled the horrific trauma of the Jim Crow south after the conclusion of Reconstruction. The Civil Rights Act of 1866 and the 14^th Amendment supported the right for African Americans to utilize the Homestead Acts, a major tool in acquiring property.

Benjamin “Pap” Singleton, a civil rights activist and businessman from Tennessee, led the first mass exodus of black migrants. The earliest settlers arrived in Kansas around 1874, though the movement peaked by 1879 when racial violence and disenfranchisement in the south surged. “Pap”, who fled slavery in 1846, believed that Black people would never find prosperity under the oppressive southern rule. Instead, he argued they must find new opportunities in the West and began recruiting settlers into Kansas. This period of mass migration is known as the Great Exodus of 1879 with the colonists earning the nickname of "Exodusters." By early 1879 roughly 6,000 African Americans arrived in the state to permanently settle.

Ho for Kansas! Handbill ca. 1878 — Benjamin "Pap" Singleton's broadside advertising land for sale in Kansas, 1878

The booming migration was an initial success for Singleton; however, it also provided logistical challenges for the budding communities. Owing to the popularity of the movement, the rapid influx of people strained these towns, which struggled to develop quickly enough to sustain such growth. Recognizing the situation, John St. John, Governor of Kansas, backed the Kansas Freedmen’s Relief Association which aided in securing land for African American migrants. The Freedmen’s Association also assisted in constructing shelters for incoming settlers.

The primary success of these communities, however, can be attributed to the pioneers themselves. The entrepreneurial spirit emerged in these settlements with farms, stores, banks, churches, and saloons opening. Black men and women farmed, traded, built, and taught despite facing constant economic, racial, and ecological danger. They found sanctuary in the church, carrying religion from the south to their new homes. The most prominent denominations were Baptist and Methodist.

Throughout the 1870s roughly 40,000 to 60,000 African Americans left the south seeking new possibilities. By the early 20^th century communities like Nicodemus, Kansas; Blackdom, New Mexico; Dearfield, Colorado; and DeWitty, Nebraska became noteworthy black settlements in the western frontier. Despite these efforts, many Black western communities remained small and economically vulnerable, limiting their long-term sustainability.

While many African Americans established permanent communities, others saw prospects in the mobility of the cattle trails. Texas, a state synonymous with cowboys, provided thousands of cattle jobs for black men upon emancipation. Although integrated crews sparsely saw black men as foremen, many experienced comparatively greater autonomy and less rigid racial hierarchy on cattle drives than in other parts of American society. By the turn of the century, it is estimated that 5,000-9,000 of the nearly 35,000 cowboys in the West were African Americans.

One notable Black frontiersman was Bass Reeves, a deputy US Marshal operating around the Indian Territory, now known as Oklahoma. Reeves was born into slavery in Arkansas but managed to escape to the Indian Territory where he became a farmer and rancher. Though illiterate, he was fluent in Cherokee, Choctaw, Chickasaw, and Muscogee. Since Reeves could communicate with the local tribes and had earned a positive reputation, he was appointed as deputy in 1875. By the end of his 35-year career patrolling one of the toughest regions of the frontier, Bass had made over 3,000 arrests, including his own son.

Bass Reeves with US Marshals — Bass Reeves (Left) photographed with fellow US Marshals near the end of his career, ca. 1907

1866 was a significant year not only for the passage of the Civil Rights Act, but also for the expansion of the United States military. Black service in the American Civil War proved to the United States the value of African American soldiers. Following the war Congress authorized the formation of six new “colored” regiments, two cavalry and four infantry. Out of this authorization came the Ninth and 10th Cavalry, as well as the 38^th, 39^th, 40^th, and 41^st Infantry Regiments. By 1869 the Army consolidated the four infantry regiments into just two: the 24^th and 25^th.

Black soldiers, known as “Buffalo Soldiers”, operated primarily along the Great Plains and Southwest during the Indian Wars, making up roughly 11% of the American infantry and cavalry force. Historians often disagree on who ascribed the Buffalo Soldier name, with either the Cheyenne, Comanche, Apache, or other Plains Indians being credited. In any case, the nickname became widespread as the frontier units gained celebrity. The African American units quickly gained a reputation for their discipline and bravery, even while facing continuous discrimination within their ranks.

Buffalo soldiers of the 25th Infantry at Ft. Keogh, Montana ca. 1890 — Buffalo soldiers of the 25th Infantry at Fort Keogh, Montana, 1890

At the same time, it is important to note that these men upheld federal policies of westward expansion. These policies both saw the protection of settlers and establishment of infrastructure and the displacement, violence, and loss for indigenous communities. African Americans still had to navigate complex choices every day in a society that had yet to offer them full rights.

Black frontier soldiers were also instrumental in maintaining peace amongst settlers on the range. The 9^th Cavalry participated in both the Colfax County War in New Mexico and the Johnson County War in Wyoming where authorities deployed them to quell land disputes. In 1870 the United States also began recruiting Seminole African Americans who had escaped slavery and were living in Mexico. The “Seminole-Negro Indian Scouts” saw extensive combat along the Mexican American border where four soldiers earned the Medal of Honor. From 1866 to the end of the Spanish American War in 1898, a total of 19 African American soldiers were awarded the Medal of Honor.

For all the successes that Black pioneers found in the frontier, they still endured hardships and failures. Communities like Nicodemus, Kansas saw a steep decline in migration by the 1890s and suffered from drought and crop failures during that period. With a lack of capital and investment, the businesses both figuratively and literally dried up. By the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the rise of ‘sundown towns,’ communities which barred African Americans, made it increasingly difficult for Black people to find homes outside of already existing safe spaces.

Though the period after the Civil War saw brief glimpses of opportunity for Black pioneers, mass migration on a comparable scale would not occur again until the Great Migration from the 1910s-1970s. The story of African Americans in the American West reveals both the possibilities and limits of freedom in post–Civil War America. While Black pioneers built communities, pursued economic independence, and carved out space in the frontier, their experiences were continually shaped by exclusion and inequality. Their persistence in the face of these challenges remains central to understanding the broader history of the American West.