Last week marked the 100th anniversary of Buffalo Bill Cody's death.
It's a name Coloradans know well, but there are facts behind his legendary past that may come as a surprise.
Betsy Martinson has spent 20 years getting to know Buffalo Bill through her work as the program administrator at the Buffalo Bill Museum and Grave on Lookout Mountain. That's where the legendary showman is buried.
He inspired dime novels -- comic books of the late 19th century -- and was the first American comic book superhero.
"He's gotten kind of a bad wrap in these past few decades," Martinson said.
He was known for fighting Native Americans and hunting, which Martinson says overshadowed how he changed over time, when he started to advocate for Native American and women's rights.
His legend still lives in Denver, underneath the dinner rush at Lola in the Highlands, which once housed Olinger's Mortuary.
"I was very much surprised when we found out," Lola landlord Paul Tamburello said. "We were under contract with the building and doing our due diligence and finding out all these stories about Buffalo Bill."
Buffalo Bill's remains were kept in the building for 6 months after he died in 1917. That's how long it took for fans to say goodbye after he'd traveled to 1,400 cities across the world.
His body was protected by an armed guard out of fear someone would steal it.
Buffalo Bill had one will that said he would be buried in Wyoming where he helped create the town of Cody, then a second will allowing his wife to decide.
After globetrotting, Buffalo Bill told his wife he wanted to be buried on Lookout Mountain because of the view, making sure even a hundred years later his legend is still intertwined with Colorado.
"He could see his whole life from this one point," Martinson said about the view from Lookout Mountain.
Buffalo Bill is so well known, people as far as Antarctica have come to Golden to visit the museum.
