author
David L. Hieb
A National Park Service historian and superintendent, he wrote with the kind of firsthand knowledge that comes from years spent preserving the place he described. His work on Fort Laramie blends clear storytelling with practical historical insight.
1 Audiobook
Fort Laramie National Monument, Wyoming
by David L. Hieb
About the author
David L. Hieb is best known as the author of Fort Laramie National Monument, Wyoming, published in 1954 as part of the National Park Service Historical Handbook Series and later reprinted in 1961.
Sources from the National Park Service and Fort Laramie park history identify him as a longtime National Park Service employee who served at Fort Laramie from May 1, 1947, to May 31, 1958. Before that he had been a park ranger at Scotts Bluff National Monument, and later he served in other National Park Service leadership roles, including positions connected with George Washington Carver, Wilson's Creek Battlefield, and Herbert Hoover Birthplace.
What makes Hieb especially interesting as an author is that he was not only writing about Fort Laramie from a desk. Park history describes him as deeply involved in the site's restoration, research, and day-to-day management, which helps explain why his handbook feels both informed and grounded in the real work of preserving the American West.