The Atchison County Library is excited to announce the first speaker in its new “Speaker Series.” The series, which will begin in November with historian Jeff Barnes, has authors and speakers lined up through March, 2025.

Jeff Barnes says, “Although the greatest peacetime emigration in the history of the world took place across the Great Plains, an astounding number of the emigrants met their end suddenly, unexpectedly, and sometimes violently there.”

How those emigrants died is the topic of “To Live and Die on the Plains,” historian Jeff Barnes’ presentation on Tuesday, November 12, at 6:00 p.m. at the Tarkio Library/Resource Center of the Atchison County Library. The 45-minute talk presents an astonishing tale of life and death on the Great Plains.

In fact, says Barnes, by driving on Nebraska’s Interstate 80 one could say they are driving through the state’s largest and longest cemetery – the Platte River valley. “There are thousands of unmarked graves throughout the valley, covered by roads, highways, fields, and quite possibly people’s homes,” said Barnes. “An estimated 20,000 people died on the Oregon Trail, about one in every 17. It was even worse for the Mormons, as one in 10 died on their trail. Today, driving I-80 in Nebraska, you’re passing on average more than 20 unmarked graves in every mile.”

Barnes is the author of “The Great Plains Guide to Custer,” “The Great Plains Guide to Buffalo Bill,” “Extra Innings: The Story of Modisett Ball Park,” “150 at 150: Nebraska’s Landmark Buildings at the State’s Sesquicentennial,” and “Cut in Stone, Cast in Bronze: Nebraska’s Historical Markers and Monuments.” He recently updated his first book, “Forts of the Northern Plains,” a comprehensive guide to more than 150 sites, for the University of Nebraska Press.

A former newspaper reporter and editor, Barnes writes and lives in Omaha. He is a fifth-generation Nebraskan, past trustee of the Nebraska State Historical Society, former chairman of the Nebraska Hall of Fame Commission, past marketing director of the Durham Museum and present trustee of the Nebraska State Historical Society Foundation.

You can RSVP in the event on Facebook or by calling 660-744-5404.