How Black cowboys shaped the cuisine of the American West
In the late 1800s, Black cowboys brought their culinary knowledge from Africa to the American West—influencing everything from antelope ribs to bread pudding recipes.
Though the idea of the early American West evokes images of white cowboys in scuffed boots, that’s an incomplete picture of history. As America expanded westward, so did populations of Black peoples. Black peoples were forcibly marched westward on the Trail of Tears, some alongside their Indigenous enslavers. Black migrants (both free and enslaved) also moved to California and Colorado during the gold rush as homesteaders made their way into the region. Additionally, Black railroad workers helped expand the nation’s newest transportation system, and Black soldiers joined the Buffalo Soldiers Black cavalry regiment, which was charged with protecting new western settlements and pioneers, as well as building roads and infrastructure. The history of the early American West includes many famed Black figures, including cowboys Bill Pickett and George Hooker, as well as Bass Reeves, a formerly enslaved deputy U.S. marshal who captured more than 3,000 people during his tenure in Oklahoma.
Along with the nation’s land expansion, the livestock industry grew rapidly. In Arizona, California, Colorado, Montana, Nebraska, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Texas, Wyoming, and even in Canada, Black peoples made their mark on the livestock industry. It’s estimated that Black peoples made up one-quarter of the cowboys working on cattle drives and ranches. Enslaved peoples from Senegambia, the historical name for the West African region between the Senegal and Gambia Rivers, were particularly prized for their experience raising cattle in Africa. Many were enslaved as livestock farmers in North America and, following emancipation, put those skills to use on cattle operations in the American West. Primarily Black men but also some women worked wrangling horses or as cooks and cattlemen—some even became ranch owners.
Though racism and discrimination were still present—Black cowboys were often assigned the toughest and most dangerous jobs—some overcame those barriers to become trusted confidants and even full partners on cattle operations. Black cowboys also created their own rodeo circuits, as even rodeos were segregated. The Soul Circuit, a Black rodeo in Texas, still operates to this day—a living, breathing demonstration of how a significant Black cowboy population created a social and cultural activity for their community. Black rodeos typically continue to operate on the weekends to accommodate people who cannot take time off during the workweek, and they serve foods associated with Black culture like fried fish and barbecue.
Black cowboys also made their presence felt in the cook pots of trail drives and ranch fires, fueling laborers in one of America’s most important new industries. “What is certain is that from the molasses that seasoned the bread puddings, to the barbecuing of antelope ribs, to the ineffable spicing of the dishes, black cowboy cooks brought an African culinary hand to the pots of the West,” writes Jessica B. Harris in High on the Hog: A Culinary Journey From Africa to America.
Matthew Hooks was one such cowboy. Born in 1867 to formerly enslaved parents, he spent most of his career in the Texas Panhandle breaking horses and working on trail drives. He eventually used his influence and finances to help found two Black communities in Texas: Clarendon and the North Heights area of Amarillo. Hooks was also known for his skills as a range cook. That his reputation lives on is significant, as so little is known about the lives of Black cowboys. Most accounts and records simply mention names, where they were from, and where they worked. For historical records to mention Hooks’s cooking means that his food made a significant impact on those around him, as did his philanthropy and skill breaking horses.
Beyond the ranching industry, Black residents had limited job prospects in the towns and cities that sprang up during western expansion. Being a cook, one of the service positions open to Black residents, was a common job. Though Black women are often left out of historical narratives of the American West, they were vital to western expansion, laboring alongside men as cooks, gardeners, and physical laborers, and tending children.
Mary Fields was a former slave, convent groundskeeper, and sharpshooter who also worked as a café owner and cook in the early American West. She also became the first Black woman “star route” mail carrier in the United States (these were private-contract mail delivery service routes, called “highway contract routes” today). Her life in Montana after emancipation is the stuff of legend, and illustrative of the varied roles women filled in the American West. Lucretia “Aunt Lou” Marshbanks was another legendary figure: Born in slavery in Tennessee and trained as a cook and housekeeper, she traveled West after emancipation and ended up working as kitchen manager at the Grand Central Hotel in Deadwood, South Dakota. She eventually purchased her own property, the Rustic Hotel, in Sawpit Gulch, which included a popular restaurant under her direction. Eventually, Marshbanks sold the hotel and retired to Wyoming, where she purchased a ranch and raised horses and cattle. Other Black women caterers and professional cooks made their mark on the region, too, among them Abby Fisher, who published What Mrs. Fisher Knows About Old Southern Cooking in 1881 after migrating to California, and Mary Ellen Pleasant, an extremely successful cook, business owner, and abolitionist in California during the gold rush.
Just as they were in the American South, Black peoples were part of a long process of culinary transformation through which numerous cultures and identities negotiated the boundaries of local cuisine.
