Forts of the Missouri River Valley with Jeff Barnes

FORTS OF THE MISSOURI RIVER VALLEY is a prequel to Jeff's Forts of Nebraska program, covering the early military fortifications built on the lands which became the territory and then the state of Nebraska. These were the among the first of the permanent inroads to Nebraska, where the Native and Euro-American made connections leading to trade, exploration, war and eventual settlement.

 Like all of Jeff's presentations, he draws on the historical imagery and maps of the times to help tell the stories. Jeff has always taken pride in being able to track down the seldom-seen photos and paintings to share at his talks, but it’s a little tricky to find those from 1790 to 1860 in our state. Because so many of these posts were built and removed without sketches or paintings, he has used artificial intelligence to “re-imagine” how these forts appeared. This new technology allows us to visualize “old Nebraska” and other scenes from our history. At the conclusion of the program, Jeff will give a brief demonstration on how attendees can use AI for their own illustration needs.

Jeff's new program is presented in conjunction with his latest book, FORTS OF THE NORTHERN PLAINS from the University of Nebraska Press/Bison Books. This full-color guide to more than 150 fort sites in seven states features directions and GPS coordinates for even the most remote locations and a ranking of sites by amenities for family travel. The book will be available for sale at the presentation.