1. Mark Twain: Known for his humorous and satirical writing, Mark Twain wrote extensively about the American West in works such as "The Adventures of Tom Sawyer" (1876), "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" (1884), and "Roughing It" (1872).
2. Bret Harte: Harte gained popularity for his short stories set in California during the Gold Rush era. His works, including "The Luck of Roaring Camp" (1868) and "The Outcasts of Poker Flat" (1869), portrayed the rough-and-tumble life of miners and frontier communities.
3. Ambrose Bierce: Bierce's local color writing often had a dark and macabre tone. He wrote about the American West in stories such as "An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge" (1890) and "Chickamauga" (1889), which explored the horrors of war and the psychological tolls of violence.
4. Willa Cather: Cather's works centered around the lives of pioneers and settlers in the Great Plains. Her notable novels include "O Pioneers!" (1913), "My Ántonia" (1918), and "The Song of the Lark" (1915).
5. Owen Wister: Wister's most famous work is the Western novel "The Virginian" (1902), which portrayed the life of a cowboy on a Wyoming cattle ranch. It influenced the popular perception of the American cowboy and contributed to the Western genre.
6. Mary Hallock Foote: Foote's stories often depicted the experiences of women living on the frontier during the late 1800s. Her works include "The Led-Horse Claim" (1883) and "John Bodewin's Testimony" (1885).
7. Hamlin Garland: Garland's writing explored the hardships of settlers and farmers in the Midwest and West. His notable works include "Main-Travelled Roads" (1891) and "Rose of Dutcher's Coolly" (1895).
These local color writers captured the diverse cultures, landscapes, and characters of the American West, preserving its unique stories for future generations.