Vignettes weaving together the stories of six individuals in the old West at the end of the Civil War. Following the tales of a sharp-shooting songster, a wannabe bank robber, two weary traveling performers, a lone gold prospector, a woman traveling the West to an uncertain future, and a motley crew of strangers undertaking a carriage ride.
Four unwitting heroes cross paths on their journey to the sleepy town of Silverado. Little do they know the town where their family and friends reside has been taken over by a corrupt sheriff and a murderous posse. It's up to the sharp-shooting foursome to save the day, but first they have to break each other out of jail, and learn who their real friends are.
Nineteen year old pioneer woman Marty has recently married. She goes west with her husband Clem, hoping to start a new life. But Clem unexpectedly dies, and Marty finds herself alone, two months pregnant. Widower Clark offers her a marriage of convenience: she needs food and money, and he needs someone to take care of his daughter Missie. She accepts his proposal as a temporary solution.
Two young horse traders guide a Mormon wagon train to the San Juan Valley and encounter rugged terrain, the cutthroat Clegg gang, hospitable Navajo, and moral challenges on the journey.
Two men with questionable pasts, Glyn McLyntock and his friend Cole, lead a wagon-train load of homesteaders from Missouri to the Oregon territory...
Cattle baron John Chisum joins forces with Billy the Kid and Pat Garrett to fight the Lincoln County Land War in the New Mexico Territory of 1878.
A wagon train heads for Denver with a cargo of whisky for the miners. Chaos ensues as the Temperance League, the US cavalry, the miners and the local Indians all try to take control of the valuable cargo.
"Wicked" Lily Bishop joins a wagon train to California, led by Michael Fabian and Johnny Trumbo, but news of the Gold Rush scatters the train. When Johnny and Michael finally arrive, Lily is rich from her saloon and storekeeper (former slaver) Pharaoh Coffin is bleeding the miners dry. But worse troubles are ahead: California is inching toward statehood, and certain people want to make it their private empire.
Young scout Breck Coleman leads a wagon train along the dangerous trail to Oregon as he tries to get the affection of the beautiful pioneer Ruth Cameron and plans his revenge on the harsh scoundrels who murdered a friend of his in the past.
When a handful of settlers survive an Apache attack on their wagon train they must put their lives into the hands of Comanche Todd, a white man who has lived with the Comanches most of his life and is wanted for the murder of three men.
A scout leading a wagon train through hostile Indian country gets involved with a Sioux chief's daughter.
Jubal Troop is a cowboy who is found in a weakened condition, without a horse. He is given shelter at Shep Horgan's large ranch, where he quickly makes an enemy in foreman Pinky, a cattleman who accuses Jubal of carrying the smell of sheep.
Seven women are the only survivors of an Apache attack on a wagon train. They must cross the desert on foot to escape the Indians who are hunting them.
Jim Harvey is hired to guard a small wagon train as it makes its way west. The train is attacked by Indians and Harvey, hoping to persuade Aguila, the chief, to call off the attack due to Harvey's having saved his son's life, leaves the train to negotiate. He is captured and the rest of the train is wiped out except for two sisters. Escaping and showing up in town later, Harvey is nearly hanged as a deserter, but gets away. Eventually caught by the sheriff and his posse, they are attacked by Indians. This time the Indians are defeated and Aguila, captured and dying, reveals the identity of the white man who engineered the initial attack on the wagon train, just as the perpetrator rides up behind them.
Federal Agents Tipton and Bridger have been sent to Wyoming where the vote on statehood is imminent. Plummer and his gang are out to make sure the vote fails. When Plummer's men kill Bridger, Tipton fights on. He sends fake telegrams that trap some of Plummer's men. Then he organizes the ranchers and on election day they descend on the town barricaded by Plummer's gang.
A portrayal of the early Latter-day Saints' joys, sacrifices, hopes, and trials; their epic journey to the Salt Lake Valley; and their legacy of faith in Jesus Christ.
Story concerns the efforts of Buffalo Bill to protect the Indian's land from a gang who want to get the gold buried there. The outlaws disguise themselves as Indians and raid and plunder the settlers in order to blame the tribe.
Buck Roberts is leading a wagon train of railroad supplies and Jim Corkle and his henchman Loder are out to stop them by using white men dressed as Indians for the attacks.
After being fired from his bull breeding job without proper compensation, Franco steals a world-class bull from his former employer and smuggles it to Hungary, planning to sell it for a large sum of money.
To save an old friend's ranch, the Beaudine brothers round up a gang of misfits to drive a huge herd to market.
The series initially starred veteran movie supporting actor Ward Bond as the wagon master, later replaced upon his death by John McIntire, and Robert Horton as the scout, subsequently replaced by lookalike Robert Fuller a year after Horton had decided to leave the series. The series was inspired by the 1950 film Wagon Master directed by John Ford and starring Ben Johnson, Harry Carey Jr. and Ward Bond, and harkens back to the early widescreen wagon train epic The Big Trail starring John Wayne and featuring Bond in his first major screen appearance playing a supporting role. Horton's buckskin outfit as the scout in the first season of the television series resembles Wayne's, who also played the wagon train's scout in the earlier film.
