There are many illuminating, uplifting stories of the many individuals whose pioneering experiences are woven into the history and development of the 19th Century American West. The story of 80 John Wallace, as he was known, and his wife, Laura Wallace, is a beautiful thread in the tapestry of those dramatic times. It reflects and informs the West’s history of struggle, sacrifice and achievement. Daniel Wallace followed his simple vision of becoming a cowboy, and his experiences fostered and fed a newfound vision of becoming a successful, land-owning Texas Cattleman, and moreover, a successful public citizen and family man

His story illuminates the little-known fact that according to the Smithsonian’s count, one in four cowboys during the pioneer era were African-American. His resolve to leave post-War plantation life led him from birth in enslavement and illiteracy in cotton fields of South Texas to the high adventure of 1880’s trail-riding cowboy life and eventually to the wide pastures of his own successful West Texas cattle ranch, illuminating the power of dreams and commitment