Most of the filming took place in 1946, but the film was not released until early in 1949; Harry Carey had been dead for more than a year by the time the film was eventually released.
Disney animator Ward Kimball was given the train depot set for his backyard "Grizzly Flats" railroad in San Gabriel, CA, after filming in Porterville, CA, was complete. A few years later, Walt Disney asked for it back for use in Disneyland. Kimball refused, and a replica was built to serve as the Frontierland train station. The depot is still there, but it has been moved to the far side of the tracks as a background set.
The first Disney film with live actors ever to be shown on television, in 1954.
This was the first full-length film to be shown on The Disney Channel when it went on the air on April 18, 1983.