Retired N.S. man replicates the old west by building “Cowboy Town”

AMHERST, N.S. – A retired Nova Scotian has been spending his time replicating parts of the past.

“Cowboy Town” is a miniature old western town designed and built by retired milk delivery man Ralph Gallant.

Gallant says he built the town because he’s just a cowboy at heart, with a whole lot of time on his hands.

“I am the sheriff, the bar tender and the mayor,” he said.

He says he got the idea for very authentic looking buildings in the town by doing research online.

“I just found it on the computer and found some old cowboy towns and my friend is a carpenter and we just went from there and that’s the way we done it,” he said.

It’s been two years now and Gallant says he’s had thousands of visitors.

“People just keep coming and coming and coming, this week alone we had more than 200 people here.”

Gallant doesn’t charge for people to visit his town.

There’s a school house where kids can learn about the old west. There’s also a saloon, a community church, a general store and a jail.

That’s where visitors just might have a run in with the meanest in town, 91-year-old “Dirty Doe Rhindress.”

“She straightened out her life and now she’s running the general store,” said Gallant.

Where she says she just wants to help out Gallant entertain the hundreds of people who visit here every year.

“Till I am about 95 or 100, yeah might as well.”

“We have plans on building a bank here in another month or so,” said Gallant.