Fort Morgan

A plainspoken farming town about 20 miles east of Greeley, Fort Morgan is far less colorful than it was in the old days - just after the Civil War, the U.S. government built the fort and set Confederate rebels free from prison as long as they agreed to join the Union Army and fight Indians in the West. The fort's original purpose was to protect local immigrants and the mail service from Cheyennes and Arapahos who had revenge on their minds after massive white settlements and the Sand Creek Massacre. The uprisings eventually disappeared, and railroads, irrigation, ranches, and a canal popped up in the late 1800s. Teddy Roosevelt showed up in ...

A plainspoken farming town about 20 miles east of Greeley, Fort Morgan is far less colorful than it was in the old days - just after the Civil War, the U.S. government built the fort and set Confederate rebels free from prison as long as they agreed to join the Union Army and fight Indians in the West. The fort's original purpose was to protect local immigrants and the mail service from Cheyennes and Arapahos who had revenge on their minds after massive white settlements and the Sand Creek Massacre. The uprisings eventually disappeared, and railroads, irrigation, ranches, and a canal popped up in the late 1800s. Teddy Roosevelt showed up in 1905, on a short train stop, and inspired 1,000 locals with a short speech about how great it was that hard work turned the Great Plains into a rich farming industry. Oh, and the great big-band trombonist Glenn Miller was a high school football player here in the 1920s.

About the Expert

Steve Knopper is the Denver-based author of Moon Handbooks Colorado as well as a contributor to numerous Fodor's city guides.