The Arnold Historical Society’s museum is slated to reopen with a celebration in honor of the late Louisa Frederici Cody, who was born in the area now known as Arnold and later married Buffalo Bill Cody.
The museum, which is at 1723 Jeffco Blvd., has been closed since April 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic. It will reopen at noon Saturday and will remain open that day until 4 p.m. Visitors are required to wear masks.
“We are reopening slow,” treasurer Bernie Wilde said. “Every item in the building has been handwashed.”
At 1 p.m. Saturday, the Historical Society will pay tribute to Louisa Frederici Cody by unveiling a 4-by-8-foot banner recognizing her connections to Arnold. A rainout date is set for Saturday, May 8.
“There are two large pictures on (the banner) – one of (Buffalo Bill Cody) and one of (Louisa),” Wilde said. “As you are driving by, you will be able to read and see the banner easily. The banner will be hung on the south side of the museum.”
The museum also will have four 12-foot-high shelves filled with Buffalo Bill Cody memorabilia, including T-shirts, pictures, posters, a bison head and other mementos collected by Bob Flamm, a Buffalo Bill lookalike.
“(Flamm) is really into Buffalo Bill,” Wilde said.
The Buffalo Bill memorabilia will be displayed at the museum throughout May.
Wilde said the Historical Society expects at least 20 people related to Louisa to attend the event on Saturday. The public also is invited to take part in the festivities.
Wilde said the group held a similar gathering in 2019 to celebrate the city’s connection to Buffalo Bill Cody. She said the Historical Society had planned another gathering last year but canceled it because of the pandemic.
Wilde said the organization intends to hold annual gatherings in May going forward to celebrate Louisa, who was born May 27, 1844, in a home on Frederitzi Lane, which is off Jeffco Boulevard just south of Church Road and near the museum.
When her ancestors immigrated to America from France, their name was spelled Frederitzi.
The Frederici family were founding members of Immaculate Conception Church in Arnold, where Louisa was baptized.
Her grandfather, Christopher Frederitzi, built a log cabin on what is now Frederitzi Lane, and Buffalo Bill is said to have stayed at that cabin during visits to the area.
The Frederici family farm extended to the area along Church Road where I-55 crosses it, and at some point the family also owned the old two-story stone house on Old Lemay Ferry Road near Ferd B. Lang City Park.
When Louisa was a child, her parents, John Francis and Margaret (Smith) Frederici, moved their family to St. Louis, where she met Buffalo Bill. At the time, he was stationed with the Army at Jefferson Barracks.
They married March 6, 1866, in St. Louis and moved to Leavenworth, Kan., before relocating to and settling in North Platte, Neb., but Buffalo Bill often was on the road, either working as a scout or traveling in his show.
Buffalo Bill Cody, who was born in 1846 and died in 1917, got his nickname for his buffalo-hunting skills. He worked as a Pony Express rider, an Army scout and performed in his famous Wild West show. He also became the hero of many dime novels.
He and Louisa had four children, but two died at a young age.
The couple had some tumultuous times, with Buffalo Bill Cody twice filing for divorce from Louisa. The first was withdrawn on the death of their daughter, Orra, in 1883.
The second divorce went to trial in 1905, and Louisa won the case and the divorce was denied, according to the William Cody Archive.
They reconciled in 1910, and Louisa was said to have accompanied Buffalo Bill on his travels until his death.
Louisa died in 1921, and she and Buffalo Bill are buried at Lookout Mountain between Denver and Golden, Colo. A museum is nearby.
Many of Louisa’s relatives are buried in the Richardson Cemetery, which is about a half mile west of Vogel Road on Richardson Road. The Arnold Historical Society maintains the cemetery.
Visitors to the Arnold Historical Society Museum are asked to wear masks.