Bent’s Fort Chapter of Santa Fe Trail hosting event November 8th featuring historian Kent Brooks

The Bent’s Fort Chapter of the Santa Fe Trail is hosting an event at the John W. Rawlings Heritage Center and Museum in Las Animas, Co., Nov. 8th to feature Mr. Kent Brooks. It will begin at 1pm. Be sure to join us and listen to a lot of history and stories.

Kent Brooks is a writer, researcher, historian, and technologist dedicated to recovering and sharing the layered history of the High Plains. Born and raised in Springfield, Colorado, he was shaped by stories of broomcorn harvests, Dust Bowl endurance, and the big cattle outfits that once rode Southeast Colorado. He now owns the Plainsman Herald and uses its newsroom and archives to reconnect community memory with the historical record.

Brooks leads several preservation efforts centered on SE Colorado, including the reprint—and expansion—of the 1983 Baca County History Book (with a new Volume II), and the Cowboys, Dirt, and Brooms museum initiative highlighting broomcorn culture, ranch life, and Dust Bowl resilience. His publications include Old Boston: As Wild As They Come; Guthrie to Gotham: The Extraordinary Rides of the Abernathy Boys; and a volume on the Santa Fe Trail and Bent’s Fort that explores trail commerce, the trading empire on the Arkansas, and the vast buffalo herds whose decline reshaped the Plains. Current projects track the Prairie Cattle Company’s JJ brand, the regulator Bill Thompson (“the man with two reputations”), and other moments where press coverage, power, and place collide.

For nearly 30 years, Brooks has also led IT and distance learning work across the West—experience that informs his interest in how technology, archives, and local journalism can sustain small towns. He lives and works in Casper, Wyoming

Please come and join us for this awesome annual event. We always have loads of fun and try to add new things and surprises every year. We will have a people’s choice on the wreaths and trees and prizes for both. So, bring out your creative side and join us. Thank you for always supporting the John W. Rawlings Heritage Center and Museum by donating, volunteering and participating with us. :}