Fort Morgan is both the county seat of Morgan County, as well as the most populous city in the county. The town was one of the very first non-native encampments in the state of Colorado and part of the Overland Trail, an alternative trail to the Mormon and Oregon Trails that helped ferry settlers to the West Coast from out east. The trail was in use until the arrival of the First Transcontinental Railroad, making the stagecoach trail obsolete. Since the stagecoach trail no longer needed a military fort to ensure the safety of travelers and transported goods, the fort was abandoned and, in its place, a town was born. The town of Fort Morgan was officially incorporated in 1887.