Colorado Forts: Historic Outposts on the Wild Frontier

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.

Jolie Anderson Gallagher was raised on a farm in the Montezuma Hills of California. After earning an English/Creative Writing degree from UC Davis, she worked as a newspaper reporter and technical writer. Gallagher has lived in Colorado for 25 years. She is a member of the Colorado Historical Society, Wild West History Association, and True West Historical Society.