The Bill Williams Mountain Men organization was started by a group of Williams, Arizona professionals/businessmen who wanted to recapture the spirit of the early American Southwest fur trade industry. The namesake of the organization, and the man that Williams, Arizona, as well as a nearby volcanic cone and river were named after, was a fur trapper named William Sherley Williams. Bill Williams was born January 3, 1787 in Rutherford County, North Carolina. He moved to St. Louis, Missouri as a young man where he worked in the fur trade industry and was an interpreter for army in its dealings with the Osage Indians. As the fur trade industry moved west, Williams trapped in the area north of Taos, New Mexico. He died March 14, 1849, killed by Ute Indians while camping north of Taos New Mexico. The modern day Bill Williams Mountain Men reenact the lifestyle of the original fur trappers by dressing in period clothing, taking horseback trips, and participating in modern day rendezvous held throughout the country.
From the guide to the Bill Williams Mountain Men/Thomas Way, 1953-1985, (Arizona Historical Society/Flagstaff Archives)
