author
Merrill J. Mattes
1910–1996
A longtime National Park Service historian, he helped shape how the American overland trails and frontier sites were researched, preserved, and understood. He is especially remembered for influential books on the Platte River Road and the western trails.
2 Audiobooks
Colter's Hell and Jackson's Hole The Fur Trappers' Exploration of the Yellowstone and Grand Teton Park Region
by Merrill J. Mattes
Scotts Bluff National Monument, Nebraska
by Merrill J. Mattes
About the author
Born in Congress Park, Illinois, in 1910, he later lived in Kansas City and studied at the University of Missouri and the University of Kansas. He joined the National Park Service in 1935 and began work at Scotts Bluff National Monument, where he also carried out important research on the history of westward migration and related trail sites.
Over a career that stretched for roughly four decades, he served in roles including superintendent, acting historian at Fort Laramie, and regional historian for the National Park Service. His work focused on preservation as well as scholarship, and he became widely respected for documenting the Oregon, California, Mormon, and Pony Express trails.
He is best known for books such as The Great Platte River Road, along with many articles and research collections on western history. He also helped found the Oregon-California Trails Association, and his name lives on through the Merrill J. Mattes Research Library in Independence, Missouri. He died in 1996.