About the Author
Elizabeth has always been interested in the world around her: the culture, the geography, and the history, especially historical geography. She received her B.S. from San Diego State University with an emphasis in Statistics. After doing some graduate work at the University of Colorado, Boulder, and the School of Music at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, she departed for a year of self-reflection, (or was that mid-life crisis?) and travel to Europe and Asia. After visiting her family homestead in Iceland, she taught school in Kodaikanal, Tamil, India. Along the way, she stopped in Israel, Egypt, and then on to Pakistan, Nepal, Bangladesh, China,(including the Great Wall) Mongolia, the USSR,via the Trans-Siberian RR, Sweden, and finally to Northern California, where she taught school on an Indian Reservation.
Traveling around the world, visiting ancient cultures made her realize that the history of the United States must be preserved, documented and saved for future generations before it is lost. When Elizabeth moved back to Colorado, she chose an area to live that was very close to Virginia Dale, an old stage station on the Overland Trail. Becoming interested in its history, and finding that few people, even those living in the area, knew little about it, she took on the project of making the world aware of this little bit of Western history.
Elizabeth has several times traveled the route of the Overland Trail from Julesburg to Fort Bridger. This travel has been by foot, auto, and air taking numerous photos which she uses in slide presentations to historical and civic groups. Of particular interest is photographing the sites that are quickly being obliterated by urban sprawl and mining or industrial development, particularily in Northern Colorado.
Researching the Overland Trail has been personally rewarding in many aspects. She has been the recipient of many awards, including the Fred E. Rosenstock award bestowed by the Denver Posse of Westerners for "Outstanding Contributions to Rocky Mountain History." She was also instrumental in writing the grant to obtain funding from the Colorado State Historical Society to preserve and stablize the Virginia Dale Stage Station. Elizabeth is available for talks and slide presentations throughout the West.
Ongoing projects include another publication on the Overland Trail. With the announcement of the Overland Trail being designated an official "Millennium Trail," a booklet entitled "People and Places on the Overland Trail" was hurriedly put together and offered for sale at the Dedication Ceremony. In addition, she has been investigating other abandonded historical sites in the West. If you would like to help in any of these projects, provide additional information, or sponsor it in any way, please use e-mail.
Elizabeth is continually adding information to this web site. If you have any information at all related to the Westward Movement that would be appropriate, please e-mail.
Thanks!
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[OVERLAND TRAIL]
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Created and maintained by Elizabeth Larson
Elizabeth Larson began her venture in the world of paperless publishing in January, 1996. Up until then, there were no phones to the remote, wind swept high plains of Northeastern Colorado where she lives in a solar powered house built by her son Magnus.
Liz
1996-2000
