History of "End of the Trail"



Posted: Monday, September 20, 2004

by lorien1973
Online Discount Mart Home & Garden Decor

The End of the Trail is a familiar symbol of the American West. The lone Native American, looking sadly defeated on his weary horse, is a popular figurine. Some regard it as a tribute to the tenacity of the wild west. Others see it as a symbol of the defeat of a proud and valiant people. The sculptor of The End of the Trail, James Fraser, never gave an interpretation of his work.

In 1915, James Fraser was commissioned to create a sculpture for the Pan-American Exposition in San Francisco, California. He created The End of the Trail, an 18-foot plaster sculpture. The exposition featured 1,500 sculptures, and The End of the Trail won the gold medal as an outstanding work. It also caught the public’s fancy, and even then miniature reproductions were made and sold.

James Fraser hoped The End of the Trail would be cast in bronze and placed on a cliff overlooking the Pacific Ocean. It certainly would have been a beautiful sight, but the country was on the verge of World War I, and the funds needed to cast the sculpture in bronze and purchase the land by the sea were not available.

When the Pan-American Exposition ended, The End of the Trail was placed in a dump along with most of the other statues from the exposition. Eventually, the town of Visalia, California, learned of the sculpture’s fate, and after much effort, successfully purchased and transported it to their Mooney Grove Park. By that time however, The End of the Trail was in such poor condition that it needed extensive restoration which the city could not afford. The End of the Trail stood forgotten and crumbling in a corner of Mooney Park for 48 years.

In 1966, the National Cowboy Hall of Fame in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, made an agreement to purchase The End of the Trail and provide Visalia with a bronze casting. The End of the Trail was transported to the hall of fame, and restored to its original beauty. Plaster molds were made and sent to Italy, where a bronze casting of the statue was made.

Fifty-one years after he created The End of the Trail, Fraser’s dream of seeing the sculpture cast in bronze was finally fulfilled.

Today, Fraser’s original The End of the Trail plaster sculpture is beautifully displayed at the entrance of the National Cowboy Hall of Fame, and the bronze cast sits center stage at Mooney Grove Park in Visalia, California.
Lorien1973 writes articles about home decor and garden decor for such sites as Online Discount Mart.
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Top-level comments on this article: (2 total)
» left by Anonymous 4 years 247 days ago.
article was helpful, how many existing bronze originals were there?? thanks donna luzzi
» left by rv from visalia, CA 3 years 131 days ago.
According to the "the end of the trail" book by krakel, there was only ONE bronze from the orginial 18 foot plaster statue. The mold was cast by Cesare Concini in Ok, the bronze was made in Italy by Bernhard Zuckerman, then shipped to Mooney Grove, Visalia, California and dedicted December, 1971. However, there are numberous bronze in all sizes and a large varitey of items. 
» left by Harry Atkins from Rock hill , S.C. 2 years 330 days ago.
I have one that is very large..26" X about 22"...appears to be quite old with a nice patina, unlike modern recasts..Any info when this may have been cast..It is signed and dated 1913..please email me if you have information :...thanks
» left by Wm. Cross
from Visalia, CA 3 years 126 days ago.
The "End of the Trail" never was in a corner of the park. It was just to the right of the entrance of the park until it was to go to The cowboy Museum, in Ok.
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