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Gordon William Lillie (February 14, 1860 – February 3, 1942), known professionally as Pawnee Bill, was an American showman and performer who specialized in Wild West shows and was known for his short partnership with Buffalo Bill.

In 1888, the Lillies launched their own Wild West show, which they called "Pawnee Bill’s Historic Wild West". May starred in the show as the "Champion Girl Horseback Shot of the West." Their first season was a financial disaster.

They re-organized as a smaller operation called "Pawnee Bill’s Historical Wild West Indian Museum and Encampment Show." That show was popular and financially successful. Lillie added Jose Barrera to the cast; he was widely popular performing as "Mexican Joe".

 In 1907, Lillie hired performers from a variety of backgrounds. The show included Mexican cowboys, Pawnee, Japanese performers, and Arab jugglers.

Pawnee Bill invested in banking, real estate, and oil. He operated various business interests and dabbled in film making at his ranch. In 1930, May and Pawnee Bill opened Pawnee Bill’s Old Town near the ranch. They sold Indian and Mexican crafts, and featured annual rodeos. That enterprise burned to the ground in the 1940s and was never rebuilt.

In 1936, the couple celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary in Taos, New Mexico. In September of that year they attended a local celebration in Tulsa, Oklahoma. While driving back to their ranch that night, Pawnee Bill lost control of their vehicle. May died as a result of her injuries, and Pawnee Bill never fully recovered. He died in his sleep on February 3, 1942, at the age of 81 in his home outside of Pawnee, Oklahoma.
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Pawnee Bill believed strongly in the importance of the bison to the history of the American West and to the Plains Indian culture. He desired to perpetuate and develop the bison and lobbied congress to pass legislation to protect the animal.[3] This was the beginning of the ranch's time as a bison preservation. The ranch is an active member of the Oklahoma Bison Association today.

In December 1910, Lillie and his wife May's dream of a home on top of a hill overlooking a bend in the Black Bear River was realized.[4] The building of their Tudor-style Arts and Crafts home was completed after nearly a year of construction. James Hamilton, an architect from Chester, Pennsylvania, designed the home with input from Lillie and his wife. The home was a beautiful crafted residence, both comfortable and modern. Area laborers worked to construct the nearly 5,300 square feet (490 m2) home from native stone quarried from the Ranch grounds.[2]

Between the years of 1910 and 1926, many other buildings were added to the ranch site. Between 1910 and 1913 the carriage house, log cabin, blacksmith shop, and observation tower were added to the site by the Lillies to accommodate their growing businesses.[1] In 1926, to meet the need for larger livestock accommodations, the Lillies built an impressive three story barn. The barn housed Pawnee Bill's herd of Scottish Shorthorn cattle. Its basement level sheltered the ranch horses while the second floor provided housing for the cattle. The top was used as storage for alfalfa and other feed crops harvested from the ranch property.

On October 10, 1975, the site was included on the National Register of Historic Places under the original title of Blue Hawk Peak Ranch.[2