Colorado Forts: Historic Outposts on the Wild Frontier

by Jolie Anderson Gallagher

Throughout the 1800s, explorers braved brutal weather and hostile enemies, trekking through the towering mountains and fertile valleys on the ragged edge of civilization. These early pioneers built stockades, trading posts, military camps and miniature citadels that would shape the state of Colorado for generations to come. As the settlers struggled to survive desperate times, economic depressions and bloody wars, some of these historic outposts would become Colorado's cities, schools, hospitals and museums, while others would sink back into the mud from which they came. Join author Jolie Anderson Gallagher as she chronicles the stories of the forts and the early explorers, fur trappers, soldiers and wives who constructed and occupied them.

Genres: History, Nonfiction

160 pages, Paperback

First published April 2, 2013

Reviews

[Dolores]

From Pike's Stockade to Fort Logan, this well-written and well-documented book was a very enjoyable read. It not only describes the 55 or so frontier forts built in Colorado, but also the people who built, defended, and in some cases, attacked them. There was enough information about certain people like Zebulon Pike, the Bent family, Louis Vasquez, Marcellin St. Vrain, Kit Carson, John Fremont, Chief Ouray and his sister, Susan, to make me want to find out more about each of them.

The book contains many photographs and drawings, as well as at least one map per chapter to show present-day locations of the old forts and trails. The book includes a chapter with directions to many museums around the state commemorating the old forts, as well as an extensive bibliography.

If you enjoy learning about Colorado history, this is a definite must-read.

[Stan Pedzick]

A nice round up of the forts built by the whites as they travelled through Colorado.