Jeff Barnes

A native of Omaha, Jeff Barnes is a fifth-generation Nebraskan whose great-great-grandfathers included a hunter for wagon trains west and a pioneer editor of a Sand Hills newspaper. After years as a newspaper reporter and editor himself and public relations writer, Barnes wrote his first historical travel guide, FORTS OF THE NORTHERN PLAINS in 2008. Covering the history of more than fifty military posts in seven states, the book was a top-ten best seller in three categories on Amazon. In 2024, he published a new edition of FORTS OF THE NORTHERN PLAINS with Bison Books, now including more than 150 sites in a full-color guide.

He is also the author of THE GREAT PLAINS GUIDE TO CUSTER and THE GREAT PLAINS GUIDE TO BUFFALO BILL, both historical travel guides to the sites visited by the western legends. Barnes wrote and photographed 150@150: NEBRASKA'S LANDMARK BUILDINGS for the Architectural Foundation of Nebraska, and CUT IN STONE, CAST IN BRONZE: NEBRASKA'S HISTORICAL MARKERS AND MONUMENTS for the Nebraska State Historical Society Foundation. He also wrote EXTRA INNINGS: THE STORY OF MODISETT BALL PARK and A CENTURY OF TRIUMPH: KANSAS CITY UNIVERSITY OF MEDICINE AND BIOSCIENCES.

Barnes is a trustee of the Nebraska State Historical Society Foundation, past trustee of the Nebraska State Historical Society, past chairman of the Nebraska Hall of Fame Commission, and a frequently requested speaker with Humanities Nebraska. He presents throughout the Great Plains at national and state park sites, museums and libraries on the history of the region.