The people and places of the Old West (Montana, Wyoming, Kansas, Colorado) are found within the pages of four books published between 1994 and 2000. A whole host of settlers, doctors, dentists, butchers, bakers, barbers, and boot makers traveled west during the 1800s to turn an open prairie into a promised land. Short sketches of groups of people and places contributing to the growth or significance of the west's developing urban areas are featured. The paper introduces a series of topics about U.S. history to the students and teachers and suggests the Internet as a useful resource for maps, pictures, photographs, and general information about the Old West. The paper profiles the following: feminists; townspeople; entertainers; and the "queen city" (Denver). (BT)