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Cody Firearms Museum — Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow

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The Cody Firearms Museum, in its current state, is only 24 years old! But our roots go much deeper.

The original firearms collection for the Buffalo Bill Center of the West — the predecessor to our Cody Firearms Museum — was located in the basement of the Buffalo Bill Museum.

We were originally known as the Winchester Museum because in 1975, the Olin Corporation loaned the Winchester Arms Collection. This collection included more than 4,000 firearms, representing 30 major manufacturers, in addition to archival records. In 1988, they gifted the collection and a new wing was built to accommodate more firearms.

The Cody Firearms Museum was dedicated in 1991 and has grown to almost 7,000 firearms and nearly 30,000 firearms-related artifacts!

Old Winchester Museum in 1976, the predecessor to the Cody Firearms Museum.
Old Winchester Museum, 1980

The Future of the Cody Firearms Museum

In the next five years, the firearms museum will undergo a full-scale reinstallation. When the new museum opens, we will have more firearms on display, a research facility, and innovative digital interactives in the gallery to better tell the global story of firearms history.

About Ashley Hlebinsky

Ashley Hlebinsky was formerly the Robert W. Woodruff Curator of the Cody Firearms Museum. She worked between the Smithsonian’s National Firearms Collection and the Center in various capacities. She then joined the Center as a full-time staff member in July 2013, eventually serving as the Robert W. Woodruff Curator of the Cody Firearms Museum. She earned her Bachelor and Master of Arts in American History and Museum Studies from the University of Delaware. While earning her degrees, Ashley was a competitive ballroom dancer in New York City and has recently begun teaching dance in Cody when she’s not locked away in the gun vaults. She is now a private consultant.

BUFFALO BILL CENTER OF THE WEST ◦ 720 Sheridan Avenue ◦ Cody, WY 82414 ◦ 307-587-4771Contact Us
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