A Wooden Injun!

This little statue in Frontierland has always been a favorite of mine. Here are a few recently acquired shots of the sentinel that watches over the entrance of Disneyland's not-so-wild west. First one is from November 1960, with a zoom in shot of the map posted outside the Assay Office. What's an Assay Office you ask? Here's the Wikipedia definition:

Assay offices are institutions set up to assay (test the purity of) precious metals, in order to protect consumers. Upon successful completion of an assay, (i.e. if the metallurgical content is found to be equal or better than that claimed by the maker and it otherwise conforms to the prevailing law) the assay offices typically stamp a hallmark, punze, or poinçon on the item to certify its metallurgical content. Hallmarking first appeared in France, with the Goldsmiths' Statute of 1260 promulgated under Etienne Boileau, Provost of Paris, for King Louis IX.



A 1970's black and white vision of the Indian with the Frontierland Shooting Gallery in the background:



And a final shot of how he looks today, after dark, when the park is empty...his job is never done.



See more vintage & current Disneyland Frontierland photos on my Frontierland web page.