The
Oregon Trail is a historic east-west
wagon route that connected various towns on the
Missouri River to valleys in
Oregon and locations in between. It was the oldest of the northern commercial and
emigrant trails and was originally discovered and used by
fur trappers and traders in the
fur trade from about 1811 to 1840. In its earliest days much of the future Oregon trail was not passable to wagons but was passable everywhere only to men walking or riding
horses and leading
mule trains. Early parties of
fur traders and settlers gradually made improvements over or through barriers on the trail that converted the original mule paths into a rough but contiguous wagon road. By
1836 when the first Oregon wagon trains were organized at
Independence, Missouri, the trail had been improved so much that it was possible to take wagons to
Fort Hall Idaho. By
1843 a rough wagon trail had been cleared to
The Dalles, Oregon and by 1846 all the way around
Mount Hood to the
Willamette Valley in
Oregon. What became called the Oregon Trail was complete even as improved roads, "cutouts", ferries and bridges made the trip faster and safer almost every year.
After the American Revolutionary War various trails were found and used that connected the states of the east via the passes across the mountains (in Pennsylvania, and Virginia) into the sparsely settled Northwest Territories and as time went on further west into the territories of Iowa and Missouri. The newly developed riverboats and steamboats traversing up and down the Ohio, Mississippi and Missouri Rivers helped speed settlement and development in the American mid-west--Ohio, Illinois, Indiana, Missouri, Iowa et al. These riverboats allowed passengers and supplies to be delivered to "jumping off points" for the Oregon Trail on the Missouri River cheaply, quickly and easily. West of the Missouri River the next lands initially available for settlement with reportedly lush and fertile lands, forests, rivers and other possible sources of development were along the far western Pacific coastal maritime lands in the Oregon Territory. During the early migration waves until the mid-1850s, much of the territories through which the Oregon trail passed were still open and unsettled lands.
The Oregon Trail, starting from various locations on the Missouri River, led to the vast (and boundary disputed) Oregon Country. This territory in the early 19th century was subject to competing claims by the United States and Britain, who had come to an arrangement by 1818 that is usually described as "joint occupancy". Britain's name for the region was the Columbia District and the sparsely settled territory was governed by the local regional department of the British Hudson's Bay Company.
In about 1840 a change in men's fashion that avoided using the felt from beaver pelts to make men's hats essentially ruined nearly all the fur trade in North America. After 1843 when 700-1000 U.S.settlers went to Oregon, Britain became much more amenable to a boundary compromise. The Oregon Treaty of 1846 settled the major boundary disputes with Britain and the U.S. opening the territory to undisputed settlement.
The eastern part of the Oregon Trail spanned part of the future state of Kansas and nearly all of what are now the states of Nebraska and Wyoming. The western half of the trail spanned most of the future states of Idaho and Oregon. Different travelers started on the trail from several diverse (and changing) "jumping off points" in Missouri and later from locations in the Iowa and Nebraska Territorys. The various branches of the eastern Oregon trail(s) merged somewhere along the lower Platte River Valley, near Fort Kearny, Nebraska Territory. Initially the Missouri river ports of Kansas City, Kansas/Independence and St. Joseph, Missouri were the main Oregon trail heads. Small steamboats carrying fur traders navigated the Missouri River up to the Yellowstone River as early as 1832. Larger steamboats traveling much above St. Joseph were blocked until dredging opened a bigger channel in 1852. After 1846 many Oregon travelers started nearer the confluence of the Platte and Missouri River from Kanesville, Iowa (est. 1846 and renamed Council Bluffs, Iowa in 1852) and Omaha, Nebraska (est. 1852). By 1847 the Mormons, who had temporarily settled in large numbers in Iowa and Nebraska Territorys on the Missouri River after being driven out of Nauvoo, Illinois, had established three ferries across the Missouri River near Kanesville and others built even more ferries.
Oregon Trail travelers with problems could usually get repairs, new supplies, fresh teams and help from fort-trading posts such as the U.S. Army run Fort Kearny and Fort Laramie, Jim Bridger's Fort Bridger and Hudson Bay Company owned: Fort Hall and Fort Boise in Idaho; Fort Nez Perces (Fort Walla Walla) in Oregon and Fort Vancouver in Washington. Other supplies, fresh teams and repairs could often be obtained from temporary trading posts and ferries set up by entrepreneurs along the trail during the traveling season. From the early to mid 1830s, but especially after the organization of the first large wagon trains in Independence, Missouri in 1841 and through the epoch years 1846–1869 the Oregon Trail and its many off shoots was used by about 400,000 settlers, ranchers, farmers, miners, and businessmen and their families. The eastern half of the trail was also used by travelers on the California Trail (from 1843), Bozeman Trail (from 1863), and Mormon Trail (from 1847) which used many of the same eastern trails before turning off to their separate destinations.
Once the first transcontinental railroad by the Union Pacific and the Central Pacific was completed in 1869, the use of this trail by long distance travelers rapidly diminished as the railroad was able to fulfill most travel needs, provided transcontinental travelers could afford the tickets (about $69.00, and seven days travel in economy class). Travelers going to Oregon could take the train to California and catch a coastal steamer to Oregon. By 1883 the Northern Pacific Railroad had reached Portland, Oregon, and thereafter there were less and less wagon trains each year along the western trail. The emigrant trails legacy persisted well into the middle of the twentieth-century however for many local railroads and automobile roads were built over or near most of the trails as local travelers continued to travel to cities originally established along the Oregon Trail and its network of connected routes.
To complete the journey in one traveling season most travelers left in April to May—as soon as there was enough grass for forage for the animals and the trails dried out. To meet the constant need for water, grass, and fuel for campfires the trail followed various rivers and streams across the continent. The network of trails required little initial preparation to be made passable for wagons. People using the trail traveled in wagons, pack trains, on horseback, on foot, and sometimes by raft or boat to establish new farms, lives, and businesses in the Oregon Country.
The four- to six-month journey spanned over half the continent as the wagon trail or one its variants led about west through territories and land that later became seven states: Iowa, Missouri, Kansas, Nebraska, Wyoming, Idaho, and Oregon. Extensions of the Oregon Trail were the main arteries that fed settlers into six more states: Colorado, Utah, Nevada, California, Washington, and Montana.
See Also: National Trail Map
National Park Service Oregon Trail Map
National Park Service California Trail Map
History
Lewis and Clark Expedition
In 1803, President
Thomas Jefferson issued the following instructions to
Meriwether Lewis "The object of your mission is to explore the Missouri river, & such principal stream of it, as, by its course & communication with the waters of the Pacific Ocean, whether the Columbia, Oregon, Colorado and/or other river may offer the most direct & practicable water communication across this continent, for the purposes of commerce." Although Lewis and
William Clark found a path to the
Pacific Ocean, it was not until 1859 that a direct and practicable route, the
Mullan Road, connected the
Missouri River to the
Columbia River.
The first land route across what is now the United States was partially mapped by the Lewis and Clark Expedition between 1804 and 1806. Lewis and Clark initially believed they had found a practical overland route to the west coast; however, the two passes they found going through the Rocky Mountains, Lemhi Pass and Lolo Pass, turned out to be much too difficult for wagons to pass through without considerable road work. On the return trip in 1806 they traveled from the Columbia River to the Snake River and the Clearwater River over Lolo pass again. They then traveled overland up the Blackfoot River and crossed the Continental Divide at Lewis and Clark Pass and on to the head of the Missouri River. This was ultimately a shorter and faster route than the one they followed west. This route had the disadvantages of being much too rough for wagons and controlled by the Blackfoot Indians. Even though Lewis and Clark had only traveled a narrow portion of the upper Missouri River drainage and part of the Columbia River drainage, these were considered the two major rivers draining most of the Rocky Mountains, and the expedition confirmed that there was no "easy" route through the northern Rocky Mountains as Jefferson had hoped. Nonetheless, this famous expedition had mapped both the eastern and western river valleys (Platte and Snake Rivers) that bookend the route of the Oregon Trail (and other emigrant trails) across the continental divide{{
mdash
}}they just hadn't located the South Pass or some of the interconnecting valleys later used in the high country. They did show the way for the mountain men, who within a decade would find a better way across, even if it was not to be an easy way.
Astorians
In 1810, fur trader, entrepreneur, and one of the wealthiest men in the U.S., John Jacob Astor of the American Fur Company, outfitted an expedition (known as the Astor Expedition or Astorians) under Wilson Price Hunt to find a possible overland supply route and trapping territory for fur trading posts. Fearing attack by the Blackfoot Indians, the overland expedition veered south of Lewis and Clark's route into what is now Wyoming and in the process passed across Union Pass and into Jackson Hole, Wyoming. From there they went over the Teton Range via Teton Pass and then down to the Snake River in Idaho. They abandoned their horses at the Snake River, made dugout canoes, and attempted to use the river for transport. After a few days' travel they soon discovered that steep canyons, waterfalls and impassable rapids made travel by river impossible. Too far from their horses to retrieve them, they had to cache most of their goods and walk the rest of the way to the Columbia River where they made new boats and traveled to the newly established Fort Astoria. The expedition demonstrated that much of the route along the Snake River plain and across to the Columbia was passable by pack train or with minimal improvements, even wagons. This knowledge would be incorporated into the concatenated trail segments as the Oregon Trail took its early shape.
In early 1811, the supply ship Tonquin left supplies and men to establish Fort Astoria (Oregon) at the mouth of the Columbia River and Fort Okanogan (Washington) at the confluence of the Okanogan and Columbia Rivers. The Tonquin then went up the coast to Puget Sound for a trading expedition. There it was attacked and overwhelmed by Indians before being blown up, killing all the crew and many Indians.
American Fur Company partner Robert Stuart led a small group of men back east to report to Astor. The group planned to retrace the path followed by the overland expedition back up to the east following the Columbia and Snake rivers.
Fear of Indian attack near Union Pass in Wyoming forced the group further south where they luckily discovered South Pass, a wide and easy pass over the Continental Divide. The party continued east via the Sweetwater River, North Platte River (where they spent the winter of 1812–1813) and Platte River to the Missouri River, finally arriving in St. Louis in the spring of 1813. The route they had used appeared to potentially be a practical wagon route, requiring minimal improvements, and Stuart's journals provided a meticulous account of most of the route. Because of the War of 1812 and the lack of U.S. fur trading posts in the Oregon Country, most of the route was unused for more than 10 years.
The North West Company and Hudson's Bay Company
In August 1811, three months after Fort Astor was established,
David Thompson and his team of British North West Company explorers came floating down the Columbia to Fort Astoria. He had just completed an epic journey through much of western
Canada and most of the Columbia River drainage system. He was mapping the country for possible fur trading posts. Along the way he camped at the confluence of the Columbia and Snake rivers and posted a notice claiming the land for Britain and stating the intention of the North West Company to build a fort on the site (
Fort Nez Perces was later established there). Astor, pressured by potential confiscation by the British navy of their forts and supplies in the
War of 1812, sold to the North West Company in 1812 their forts, supplies and furs on the Columbia and Snake River. The North West Company started establishing more forts and trading posts of their own.
By 1821, when armed hostilities broke out with their Hudson Bay Company rivals, the North West Company was pressured by the British government to merge with the Hudson's Bay Company. The Hudson's Bay Company had nearly a complete monopoly on trading (and most governing issues) in the Columbia District, or Oregon Country as it was referred to by the Americans, and also in Rupert's Land (western Canada). That year the British parliament passed a statute applying the laws of Upper Canada to the district and giving the Hudson's Bay Company power to enforce those laws.
From 1812 to 1840 the British through the Hudson Bay Company had nearly complete control of the Pacific Northwest and the western half of the Oregon Trail. In theory, the Treaty of Ghent ending the War of 1812 restored the U.S. back to its possessions in Oregon territory. "Joint occupation" of the region was formally established by the Anglo-American Convention of 1818. The British through the Hudson Bay Company tried to discourage any U.S. trappers, traders and settlers from doing any significant trapping, trading or settling in the Pacific Northwest. American fur trappers, traders, missionaries, and later settlers all worked to break this monopoly. They were eventually successful.
The York Factory Express, establishing another route to the Oregon territory, evolved from an earlier express brigade used by the North West Company between Fort Astoria and Fort William, Ontario on Lake Superior. By 1825 the Hudson's Bay Company started using two brigades, each setting out from opposite ends of the express route—one from Fort Vancouver on the Columbia River and the other from York Factory on Hudson Bay—in spring and passing each other in the middle of the continent. This established a 'quick' (about 100 days for ) one way to resupply their forts and fur trading centers as well as collecting the furs the posts had bought and transmitting messages between Fort Vancouver and York Factory on Hudson Bay.
The Hudson's Bay Company built a new much larger Fort Vancouver in 1824 slightly upstream of Fort Astoria on the Washington side of the Columbia River (they were hoping the Columbia would be the future Canada – U.S. border). The fort quickly became the center of activity in the Pacific Northwest. Every year ships would come from London to the Pacific (via Cape Horn) to drop off supplies and trade goods in their trading posts in the Pacific Northwest and pick up the accumulated furs used to pay for these supplies. It was the nexus for the fur trade on the Pacific Coast; its influence reached from the Rocky Mountains to the Hawaiian Islands, and from Russian Alaska into Mexican-controlled California. At its pinnacle in about 1840, Fort Vancouver and its Factor (manager) watched over 34 outposts, 24 ports, 6 ships, and about 600 employees.
When emigration over the Oregon Trail began in earnest in about 1836, for many settlers the fort became the last stop on the Oregon Trail where they could get supplies, aid and help before starting their homestead. Fort Vancouver was the main re-supply point for nearly all Oregon trail travelers until U.S. towns could be established. Fort Colville was established in 1825 on the Columbia river near Kettle Falls as a good site to collect furs and control the upper Columbia River fur trade. Fort Nisqually was built near the present town of DuPont, Washington and was the first Hudson's Bay Company fort on Puget Sound. Fort Victoria was erected in 1843 and became the headquarters of operations in British Columbia, eventually growing into modern-day Victoria, the capital city of British Columbia.
By 1840 the Hudson's Bay Company had three forts: Fort Hall (purchased from Nathaniel Jarvis Wyeth in 1837), Fort Boise and Fort Nez Perce on the western end of the Oregon Trail route as well as Fort Vancouver near its terminus in the Willamette Valley. With minor exceptions they all gave substantial and often desperately needed aid to the early Oregon Trail pioneers.
When the fur trade slowed in 1840 because of fashion changes in men's hats, the value of the Pacific Northwest to the British was seriously diminished. Canada had very few potential settlers who were willing to move over 2,500 miles to the Pacific Northwest, although several hundred ex-trappers, British and American, and their families did start settling in Oregon, Washington and California. They used most of the York Express route through northern Canada. In 1841 James Sinclair, on orders from Sir George Simpson, guided nearly 200 settlers from the Red River Settlement (located at the junction of the Assiniboine River and Red River near present Winnipeg, Canada) into the Oregon territory. This attempt at settlement failed when most of the families joined the settlers in the Willamette Valley, with their promise of free land and HBC-free government.
In 1846 the Oregon Treaty ending the Oregon boundary dispute was signed with Britain. The British lost the land north of the Columbia River they had so long controlled. The new Canada – United States border was established much further north at the 49th parallel. The treaty granted the Hudson's Bay Company navigation rights on the Columbia River for supplying their fur posts, clear titles to their trading post properties allowing them to be sold later if they wanted, and left the British with good anchorages at Vancouver and Victoria, British Columbia. It gave the United States what it mostly wanted, a 'reasonable' boundary and a good anchorage on the West Coast in Puget Sound. While there were almost no United States settlers in the future state of Washington in 1846, the United States had already demonstrated it could induce thousands of settlers to go to the Oregon Territory, and it would be only a short time before they would vastly outnumber the few hundred Hudson's Bay Company employees and retirees living in Washington.
By overland travel, American missionaries and early settlers (initially mostly ex-trappers) started showing up in Oregon around 1824. Although officially the Hudson's Bay Company discouraged settlement because it interfered with their lucrative fur trade, their Chief Factor at Fort Vancouver, Dr. John McLoughlin, gave substantial help including employment until they could get established. By 1843, when 700–1,000 settlers arrived, the American settlers greatly outnumbered the nominally British settlers in Oregon. McLoughlin, despite working for the British-based Hudson's Bay Company, gave help in the form of loans, medical care, shelter, clothing, food, supplies and seed to United States emigrants. These new emigrants often arrived in Oregon tired, worn out, nearly penniless, with insufficient food or supplies just as winter was coming on. McLoughlin would later be hailed as the Father of Oregon.
Great American Desert
near Guernsey, Wyoming]]
wildlife refuge.]]
Reports from expeditions in 1806 by Lieutenant
Zebulon Pike and in 1819 by Major
Stephen Long described the
Great Plains as "unfit for human habitation" and as "The
Great American Desert". These descriptions were mainly based on the relative lack of timber and surface water. The images of sandy wastelands conjured up by terms like "desert" were tempered by the many reports of vast herds of millions of
Plains Bison that somehow managed to live in this "desert". In the 1840s, the Great Plains appeared to be unattractive for settlement and were illegal for homesteading until well after 1846—initially it was set aside by the U.S. government for Indian settlements. The next available land for general settlement, Oregon, appeared to be free for the taking and had fertile lands, disease free climate (
yellow fever and
malaria were prevalent in much of the Missouri and
Mississippi River drainage then), extensive uncut, unclaimed forests, big rivers, potential seaports, and only a few nominally British settlers.
Fur Traders, Trappers and Explorers
Fur trappers, often working for fur traders, followed nearly all possible streams looking for beaver in the years (1812–1840) the fur trade was active. Fur traders included
Manuel Lisa,
Robert Stuart,
William Henry Ashley,
Jedediah Smith,
William Sublette,
Andrew Henry,
Thomas Fitzpatrick,
Kit Carson,
Jim Bridger,
Peter Skene Ogden,
David Thompson,
James Douglas,
Donald Mackenzie,
Alexander Ross,
James Sinclair and other
mountain men. Besides discovering and naming many of the rivers and mountains in the
Intermountain West and Pacific Northwest they often kept diaries of their travels and were available as guides and consultants when the trail started to become open for general travel. The fur trade business wound down to a very low level just as the Oregon trail traffic seriously began around 1840.
In fall of 1823, Jedediah Smith and Thomas Fitzpatrick led their trapping crew south from the Yellowstone River to the Sweetwater River. They were looking for a safe location to spend the winter. Smith reasoned since the Sweetwater flowed east it must eventually run into the Missouri River. Trying to transport their extensive fur collection down the Sweetwater and North Platte River, they found after a near disastrous canoe crash that the rivers were too swift and rough for water passage. On July 4, 1824, they cached their furs under a dome of rock they named Independence Rock and started their long trek on foot to the Missouri River. Upon arriving back in a settled area they bought pack horses (on credit) and retrieved their furs. They had re-discovered the route that Robert Stuart had taken in 1813—eleven years before. Thomas Fitzpatrick was often hired as a guide when the fur trade dwindled in 1840. Jedediah Smith was killed by Indians about 1831.
Up to 3,000 Mountain men were trappers and explorers, employed by various British and United States fur companies or working as free trappers, who roamed the North American Rocky Mountains from about 1810 to the early 1840s. They usually traveled in small groups for mutual support and protection. trapping took place in the fall when the fur became prime. Mountain men primarily trapped beaver and sold the skins. A good beaver skin could bring up to $4.00 at a time when a man’s wage was often $1.00/day. Some were more interested in exploring the West. In 1825, the first significant American Rendezvous occurred on the Henry's Fork of the Green River. The trading supplies were brought in by a large party using pack trains originating on the Missouri River. These pack trains were then used to haul out the fur bales. They normally used the north side of the Platte River—the same route used 20 years later by the Mormon Trail. For the next 15 years the American rendezvous was an annual event moving to different locations, usually somewhere on the Green River in the future state of Wyoming. Each rendezvous, occurring during the slack summer period, allowed the fur traders to trade for and collect the furs from the trappers and their Indian allies without having the expense of building or maintaining a fort or wintering over in the cold Rockies. In only a few weeks at a rendezvous a year's worth of trading and celebrating would take place as the traders took their furs and remaining supplies back east for the winter and the trappers faced another fall and winter with new supplies. Jim Beckwourth describes: "Mirth, songs, dancing, shouting, trading, running, jumping, singing, racing, target-shooting, yarns, frolic, with all sorts of extravagances that white men or Indians could invent." In 1830, William Sublette brought the first wagons carrying his trading goods up the Platte, North Platte, and Sweetwater River (Wyoming) before crossing over South Pass to a fur trade rendezvous on the Green River near the future town of Big Piney, Wyoming. He had a crew that dug out the gullies and river crossings and cleared the brush where needed. This established that the eastern part of most of the Oregon Trail was passable by wagons. In the late 1830s the Hudson's Bay Company instituted a policy intended to destroy or weaken the American fur trade companies. The Hudson's Bay Company's annual collection and re-supply Snake River Expedition was transformed to a trading enterprise. Beginning in 1834, it visited the American Rendezvous to undersell the American traders—losing money but undercutting the American fur traders. By 1840 the fashion in Europe and Britain shifted away from the formerly very popular beaver felt hats and prices for furs rapidly declined and the trapping almost ceased.
Fur traders tried to use the Platte River, the main route of the eastern Oregon Trail, for transport but soon gave up in frustration as its many channels and islands combined with its muddy waters were too shallow, crooked and unpredictable to use for water transport. The Platte proved to be unnavigable. The Platte River and North Platte River valley, however became an easy roadway for wagons, with its nearly flat plain sloping easily up and heading almost due west.
There were several U.S. government sponsored explorers who explored part of the Oregon Trail and wrote extensively about their explorations. Captain Benjamin Bonneville on his expedition of 1832 to 1834 explored much of the Oregon trail and brought wagons up the Platte, North Platte, Sweetwater route across South Pass to the Green River in Wyoming. He explored most of Idaho and the Oregon Trail to the Columbia. The account of his explorations in the west was published by Washington Irving in 1838.). John C. Frémont of the U. S. Army's Corps of Topographical Engineers and his guide Kit Carson led three expeditions from 1842 to 1846 over parts of California and Oregon. His explorations were written up by him and his wife Jessie Benton Frémont and were widely published. The first "decent" map of California and Oregon were drawn by Frémont and his topographers and cartogaphers in about 1848.
Missionaries
In 1834, The Dalles
Methodist Mission was founded by Reverend
Jason Lee just east of
Mount Hood on the Columbia River. In 1836,
Henry H. Spalding and
Marcus Whitman traveled west to establish the
Whitman Mission near modern day
Walla Walla, Washington. The party included the wives of the two men,
Narcissa Whitman and
Eliza Hart Spalding, who became the first European-American women to cross the Rocky Mountains. En route, the party accompanied American fur traders going to the 1836 rendezvous on the Green River in Wyoming and then joined Hudson's Bay Company fur traders traveling west to
Fort Nez Perce (also called
Fort Walla Walla). The group was the first to travel in wagons all the way to
Fort Hall, Idaho, where the wagons were abandoned at the urging of their guides. They used pack animals for the rest of the trip to Fort Walla Walla and then floated by boat to
Fort Vancouver to get supplies before returning to start their missions. Other missionaries, mostly husband and wife teams using wagon and pack trains, established missions in the
Willamette Valley, as well as various locations in the future states of Washington, Oregon, and Idaho.
Oregon Country
In 1843, settlers of the
Willamette Valley drafted the
Organic Laws of Oregon organizing land claims within the Oregon Country. Married couples were granted at no cost (except for the requirement to work and improve the land) up to , and unmarried settlers could claim . As the group was a provisional government with no authority, these claims were not valid under United States or British law, but they were eventually honored by the United States in the
Donation Land Act of 1850. The Donation Land Act provided for married settlers to be granted and unmarried settlers . Following the expiration of the act in 1854 the land was no longer free but cost $1.25 per acre ($3.09/hectare) with a limit of —the same as most other unimproved government land.
Early emigrants
On May 1, 1839, a group of eighteen men from
Peoria, Illinois, set out with the intention of colonizing the Oregon country on behalf of the United States of America and drive out the Hudson's Bay Company operating there. The men of the
Peoria Party were among the first pioneers to traverse most of the Oregon Trail. The men were initially led by
Thomas J. Farnham and called themselves the
Oregon Dragoons. They carried a large flag emblazoned with their motto "
Oregon Or The Grave". Although the group split up near
Bent's Fort on the
South Platte and Farnham was deposed as leader, nine of their members eventually did reach Oregon.
In September 1840, Robert Newell, Joseph L. Meek, and their families reached Fort Walla Walla with three wagons that they had driven from Fort Hall. Their wagons were the first to reach the Columbia River over land, and they opened the final leg of Oregon Trail to wagon traffic.
In 1841 the Bartleson-Bidwell Party was the first emigrant group credited with using the Oregon Trail to emigrate west. The group set out for California, but about half the party left the original group at Soda Springs, Idaho, and proceeded to the Willamette Valley in Oregon, leaving their wagons at Fort Hall.
On May 16, 1842, the second organized wagon train set out from Elm Grove, Missouri, with more than 100 pioneers. The party was led by Elijah White. The group broke up after passing Fort Hall with most of the single men hurrying ahead and the families following later.
Great Migration of 1843
In what was dubbed "The Great Migration of 1843" or the "Wagon Train of 1843", an estimated 700 to 1,000 emigrants left for Oregon. They were led initially by John Gantt, a former U.S. Army Captain and fur trader who was contracted to guide the train to Fort Hall for $1 per person. The winter before, Marcus Whitman had made a brutal mid-winter trip from Oregon to St. Louis to appeal a decision by his Mission backers to abandon several of the Oregon missions. He joined the wagon train at the Platte River for the return trip. When the pioneers were told at Fort Hall by agents from the Hudson's Bay Company that they should abandon their wagons there and use pack animals the rest of the way, Whitman disagreed and volunteered to lead the wagons to Oregon. He believed the wagon trains were large enough that they could build whatever road improvements they needed to make the trip with their wagons. The biggest obstacle they faced was in the
Blue Mountains of Oregon where they had to cut and clear a trail through heavy timber. The wagons were stopped at
The Dalles, Oregon by the lack of a road around
Mount Hood. The wagons had to be disassembled and floated down the treacherous
Columbia River and the animals herded over the rough
Lolo trail to get by Mt. Hood. Nearly all of the settlers in the 1843 wagon trains arrived in the Willamette Valley by early October. A passable wagon trail now existed from the Missouri River to The Dalles. In 1846, the
Barlow Road was completed around Mount Hood, providing a rough but completely passable wagon trail from the Missouri river to the Willamette Valley—about 2,000 miles.
Mormon emigration
Following persecution and mob action in
Missouri,
Illinois, and other states, and the martyrdom of their prophet
Joseph Smith in 1844,
Mormon leader
Brigham Young was chosen by the leaders of the
Latter Day Saints (LDS) church to lead the LDS settlers west. He chose to lead his people to the
Salt Lake Valley in present day Utah. In 1847 Young led a small, especially picked fast-moving group of men and women from their
Winter Quarters encampments near
Omaha, Nebraska, and their approximately 50 temporary settlements on the
Missouri River in
Iowa including
Council Bluffs, Iowa. About 2,200 LDS pioneers went that first year as they filtered in from
Mississippi, Colorado, California, and several other states. The initial pioneers were charged with establishing farms, growing crops, building fences and herds, and establishing preliminary settlements to feed and support the many thousands of immigrants expected in the coming years. After ferrying across the Missouri River and establishing wagon trains near what became Omaha, Nebraska, the Mormons followed the northern bank of the Platte River in
Nebraska to
Fort Laramie in present day Wyoming. They initially started out in 1848 with trains of several thousand emigrants, which were rapidly split into smaller groups to be more easily accommodated at the limited springs and acceptable camping places on the trail. Organized as a complete evacuation from their previous homes, farms, and cities in Illinois, Missouri, and Iowa, this group consisted of entire families with no one left behind. The much larger presence of women and children meant these wagon trains did not try to cover as much ground in a single day as Oregon and California bound emigrants did — typically taking about 100 days to cover the trip to Salt Lake City. (The Oregon and California emigrants typically averaged about per day.) In Wyoming the Mormon emigrants followed the main Oregon/California/Mormon Trail through Wyoming to
Fort Bridger, where they split from the main trail and followed (and improved) the crude path established by the ill-fated
Donner Party of 1846 into Utah and the Salt Lake Valley.
Between 1847 and 1860 over 43,000 Mormon settlers and tens of thousands of travelers on the California Trail and Oregon Trail followed Young to Utah. After 1848, the travelers headed to California or Oregon resupplied at the Salt Lake Valley, and then went back over the Salt Lake Cutoff, rejoining the trail near the future Idaho-Utah border at the City of Rocks in Idaho.
Starting in 1855, many of the poorer Mormon travelers made the trek with hand built handcarts and fewer wagons. Guided by experienced guides, handcarts—pulled and pushed by two to four people—were as fast as oxen-pulled wagons and allowed them to bring of possessions plus some food, bedding, and tents to Utah. Accompanying wagons carried more food and supplies. Upon arrival in Utah, the handcart pioneers were given or found jobs and accommodations by individual Mormon families for the winter until they could become established. About 3,000 out of over 60,000 Mormon pioneers came across with handcarts.
Along the Mormon Trail, the Mormon pioneers established a number of ferries and made trail improvements to help later travelers and earn much needed money. One of the better known ferries was the Mormon Ferry across the North Platte near the future site of Fort Caspar in Wyoming which operated between 1848 and 1852 and the Green River ferry near Fort Bridger which operated from 1847 to 1856. The ferries were free for Mormon settlers while all others were charged a toll of from $3.00 to $8.00.
California Gold Rush
In January 1848, James Marshall discovered a small nugget of gold in the
American River, sparking the
California Gold Rush. It is estimated that about two-thirds of the male population in Oregon went to California in 1848 to cash in on the early gold discoveries. To get there, they helped build the Lassen Branch of the
Applegate-Lassen Trail by cutting a wagon road through extensive forests. Many returned with significant gold which helped jump-start the Oregon economy. Over the next decade, gold seekers from the
Midwestern United States and
East Coast of the United States started rushing overland and dramatically increased traffic on the Oregon and California Trails. The "forty-niners" often chose speed over safety and opted to use shortcuts such as the
Sublette-Greenwood Cutoff in Wyoming which reduced travel time by almost seven days but spanned nearly of desert without water, grass, or fuel for fires. 1849 was the first year of large scale
cholera epidemics in the United States, and thousands are thought to have died along the trail on their way to California—most buried in unmarked graves in Kansas and Nebraska. The 1850 census showed this rush was overwhelmingly male: the ratio of women to men in California over 16 years was about 1:18. After 1849 the rush continued for several years as the California miners continued to find about $50,000,000 worth of gold per year at $21 per ounce.
Later emigration and uses of the trail
Overall it is estimated that over 400,000 pioneers used the Oregon Trail and its three primary off-shoots, the
California,
Bozeman, and
Mormon Trails. The trail was still in use during the
Civil War, but traffic declined after 1855 when the
Panama Railroad across the
Isthmus of Panama was completed. Paddle wheel steamships and sailing ships, often heavily subsidized to carry the mail, provided rapid transport to and from the east coast and
New Orleans, Louisiana, to and from
Panama to ports in California and Oregon.
Over the years many ferries were established to help get across the many rivers on the path of the Oregon Trail. Multiple ferries were established on the Missouri River, Kansas River, Little Blue River, Elkhorn River, Loup River, Platte River, South Platte River, North Platte River, Laramie River, Green River, Bear River, two crossings of the Snake River, John Day River, Deschutes River, Columbia River, as well as many other smaller streams. During peak immigration periods several ferries on any given river often competed for pioneer dollars. These ferries significantly increased speed and safety for Oregon Trail travelers. They increased the cost of traveling the trail by roughly $30.00 per wagon but increased the speed of the transit from about 160–170 days in 1843 to 120–140 days in 1860. Ferries also helped prevent death by drowning at river crossings.
In April 1859, an expedition of U. S. Corp of Topographical Engineers led by Captain James H. Simpson left Camp Floyd (Utah) to establish an army supply route across the Great Basin to the eastern slope of the Sierras. Upon return in early August, Simpson reported that he had surveyed the Central Overland Route from Camp Floyd (Utah) to Genoa, Nevada. This route went through central Nevada (roughly where U.S. Route 50 goes today) and was about 280 miles shorter than the 'standard' Humboldt River California trail route.
.
The Army improved the trail for use by wagons and stagecoaches in 1859 and 1860. Starting in 1860, the American Civil War closed the heavily subsidized Butterfield Overland Mail stage Southern Route through the deserts of the American Southwest.
In 1860–1861 the Pony Express, employing riders traveling on horseback day and night with relay stations about every ten miles to supply fresh horses, was established from St. Joseph, Missouri, to Sacramento, California. The Pony Express built many of their eastern stations along the Oregon/California/Mormon/Bozeman trails and many of their western stations along the very sparsely settled Central Route across Utah and Nevada. The Pony Express delivered mail summer and winter in roughly ten days from the midwest to California.
In 1861 John Butterfield, who since 1858 had been using the Butterfield Overland Mail, also switched to the Central Route to avoid traveling through hostile territories during the American Civil War. George Chorpenning immediately realized the value of this more direct route, and shifted his existing mail and passenger line along with their stations from the "Northern Route" along the Humboldt River. In 1861 the Transcontinental Telegraph also laid its lines alongside the Central Overland Route. Several stage lines were set up carrying mail and passengers that traversed much of the route of the original Oregon Trail to Fort Bridger and from there over the Central Overland Route to California. By traveling day and night with many stations and changes of teams (and extensive mail subsidies) these stages could get passengers and mail from the midwest to California in about 25–28 days. These combined stage and Pony Express stations along the Oregon Trail and Central Route across Utah and Nevada were joined by the First Transcontinental Telegraph stations and telegraph line which followed much the same route in 1861 from Carson City, Nevada to Salt Lake City, Utah. The Pony Express folded in 1861 as they failed to receive an expected mail contract from the U.S. government and the telegraph filled the need for rapid east-west communication. This combination wagon/stagecoach/pony express/telegraph line route is labeled the Pony Express National Historic Trail on the National Trail Map. In 1852 there was even records of a 1,500 turkey drive from Illinois to California. The main reason for this livestock traffic was the large cost discrepancy between livestock in the midwest and at the end of the trail in California, Oregon, or Montana. They could often be bought in the midwest for about 1/3 to 1/10th what they would fetch at the end of the trail. Large losses could occur and the drovers would still make significant profit. As the emigrant travel on the trail declined in later years and after livestock ranches were established at many places along the trail large herds of animals often were driven along part of the trail to get to and from markets.
Trail decline
The first transcontinental railroad was completed in 1869, providing faster, safer, and usually cheaper travel east and west (the journey took seven days and cost as little as $65). Some emigrants continued to use the trail well into the 1890s, and modern highways and railroads eventually paralleled large portions of the trail, including
U.S. Highway 26,
Interstate 84 in Oregon and Idaho and
Interstate 80 in Nebraska. Contemporary interest in the overland trek has prompted the states and federal government to preserve landmarks on the trail including wagon ruts, buildings, and "registers" where emigrants carved their names. Throughout the 20th and 21st centuries there have been a number of re-enactments of the trek with participants wearing period garments and traveling by wagon.
Routes
erected this boulder near
Pacific Springs on Wyoming's
South Pass in 1906.]]
As the trail developed it became marked by numerous cutoffs and shortcuts from Missouri to Oregon. The basic route follows river valleys as grass and water were absolutely necessary.
While the first few parties organized and departed from Elm Grove, the Oregon Trail's primary starting point was Independence, Missouri, or Westport, Kansas City (Missouri), on the Missouri River. Later, several feeder trails led across Kansas, and some towns became starting points, including Weston, Missouri, Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, Atchison, Kansas, St. Joseph, Missouri, and Omaha, Nebraska.
The Oregon Trail's nominal termination point was Oregon City, at the time the proposed capital of the Oregon Territory. However, many settlers branched off or stopped short of this goal and settled at convenient or promising locations along the trail. Commerce with pioneers going further west helped establish these early settlements and launched local economies critical to their prosperity.
At dangerous or difficult river crossings, ferrys or toll bridges were set up and bad places on the trail were either repaired or bypassed. Several toll roads were constructed. Gradually the trail became easier with the average trip (as recorded in numerous diaries) dropping from about 160 days in 1849 to 140 days 10 years later.
Numerous other trails followed the Oregon Trail for much of its length, including the Mormon Trail from Illinois to Utah; the California Trail to the gold fields of California; and the Bozeman Trail to Montana. Because it was more a network of trails more than a single trail there were numerous variations with other trails eventually established on both sides of the Platte, North Platte, Snake, and Columbia rivers. With literally thousands of people and thousands of livestock traveling in a fairly small time slot the travelers had to spread out to find clean water, wood, good campsites, and grass. The dust kicked up by the many travelers was a constant complaint, and where the terrain would allow it there may be between 20 to 50 wagons traveling abreast.
Remnants of the trail in Kansas, Nebraska, Wyoming, Idaho, and Oregon have been listed on the National Register of Historic Places, and the entire trail is a designated National Historic Trail (listed as the Oregon National Historic Trail).
Missouri
Initially, the main "jumping off point" was the common head of the
Santa Fe Trail and Oregon trail --
Independence, Missouri/
Kansas City, Kansas. Travelers starting in Independence had to ferry across the
Missouri River. After following the Santa Fe trail to near present day
Topeka, Kansas they ferried across the
Kansas River to start the trek across
Kansas and points west. Another busy "jumping off point" was
St. Joseph, Missouri--established in 1843. In its early days, St. Joseph was a bustling outpost and rough frontier town, serving as one of the last supply points before heading over the Missouri River to the frontier. St. Joseph had good steamboat connections to
St. Louis, Missouri and other ports on the combined
Ohio,
Missouri and
Mississippi River systems. During the busy season there were several ferry boats and steamboats available to transport travelers to the
Kansas shore where they started their travels westward. Before the
Union Pacific Railroad was started in 1865, St. Joseph was the westernmost point in the United States accessible by rail. Other towns used as supply points in Missouri included Old Franklin,
Arrow Rock, and
Fort Osage.
Iowa
In 1803 President
Thomas Jefferson purchased from
France the
Louisiana Purchase for fifteen million dollars (equivalent to about $230 million today) which included all the land drained by the
Missouri River and roughly doubled the size of U.S. territory. The future states of
Iowa and
Missouri, located west of the
Mississippi River and east of
Missouri River, were part of this purchase. The
Lewis and Clark Expedition stopped several times in the future state of Iowa on their 1805-1806 expedition to the west coast. A disputed 1804 treaty between
Quashquame and
William Henry Harrison (future ninth President of the U.S.) that surrendered much of the future state of
Illinois to the U.S. enraged many
Sauk (Sac) Indians and led to the 1832
Black Hawk War. As punishment for the uprising, and as part of a larger settlement strategy, treaties were subsequently designed to remove all Indians from Iowa Territory. Some settlers started drifting into Iowa in 1833. President
Martin Van Buren on July 4, 1838, signed the U.S. Congress laws establishing the Territory of Iowa. Iowa was located opposite the junction of the
Platte and
Missouri Rivers and was used by some of the
Fur trapper rendezvous traders as a starting point for their supply expeditions. In 1846 the
Mormons, expelled from
Nauvoo, Illinois, traversed Iowa (on part of the
Mormon Trail) and settled temporarily in significant numbers on the Missouri River in Iowa and the future state of
Nebraska at their
Winter Quarters near the future city of
Omaha, Nebraska. (See: Missouri River settlements (1846–1854)
) The Mormons established about 50 temporary towns including the town of Kernsville Iowa (renamed
Council Bluffs, Iowa in 1852) on the east bank of the Missouri River opposite the mouth of the
Platte River. For those travelers to Oregon, California, and Utah who were bringing their teams to the Platte River junction Kernsville and other towns become major "jumping off places" and supply points. In 1847 the Mormons established three ferries across the Missouri River and others established even more ferries for the spring start on the trail. In the 1850 census there were about 8,000 mostly Mormons tabulated in the large
Pottawattamie County, Iowa District 21. (The original Pottawattamie County was subsequently made into five counties and parts of several more.) By 1854 most of the Mormon towns, farms and villages were largely taken over by non-Mormons as they abandoned them or sold them for not much and continued their migration to Utah. After 1846 the towns of Council Bluffs, Iowa,
Omaha, Nebraska (est. 1852) and other Missouri River towns became major supply points and "jumping off Places" for travelers on the
Mormon,
California, Oregon and other trails west.
Kansas
Starting initially in Independence or Kansas City in Missouri, the initial trail follows the Santa Fe Trail into Kansas south of the Wakarusa River. After crossing Mount Oread at Lawrence, the trail crosses the Kansas River by ferry or boats near Topeka, and crossed the Wakarusa and Vermillion River rivers by ferries. After the Vermillion River the trail angles north west to Nebraska paralleling the Little Blue River until reaching the south side of the Platte River. Travel by wagon over the gently rolling Kansas countryside was usually unimpeded except where streams had cut steep banks. There a passage could be made with a lot of shovel work to cut down the banks or the travelers could find an already established crossing.
Nebraska
Those emigrants on the eastern side of the
Missouri River in
Missouri or
Iowa used ferries and steamboats (fitted out for ferry duty) to cross into towns in
Nebraska. Several towns in Nebraska were used as
jumping off places with
Omaha eventually becoming a favorite after about 1855.
Fort Kearny (est. 1848) is about from the Missouri River, and the trail and its many offshoots nearly all converged close to Fort Kearny as they followed the
Platte River west. The army maintained fort was the first chance on the trail to buy emergency supplies, do repairs, get medical aid, or mail a letter. Those on the north side of the Platte could usually wade the shallow river if they needed to visit the fort.
The Platte River and the North Platte River in the future states of Nebraska and Wyoming typically had many channels and islands and were too shallow, crooked, muddy and unpredictable for travel even by canoe. The Platte as it pursued its braided paths to the Missouri River was "too thin to plow and too thick to drink". While unusable for transport, the Platte River and North Platte River valleys provided an easily passable wagon corridor going almost due west with access to water, grass, buffalo, and buffalo chips for fuel. The trails gradually got rougher as it progressed up the North Platte. There were trails on both sides of the muddy rivers. The Platte was about wide and to deep. The water was silty and bad tasting but it could be used if no other water was available. Letting it sit in a bucket for an hour or so or stirring in a 1/4 cup of cornmeal allowed most of the silt to settle out. Those traveling south of the Platte crossed the South Platte River with its muddy and treacherous crossings using one of about three ferries (in dry years it could sometimes be forded without a ferry) before continuing up the North Platte River valley to Fort Laramie in present-day Wyoming. After crossing over the South Platte the travelers encountered Ash Hollow with its steep descent down Windlass Hill.
In the spring in Nebraska and Wyoming the travelers often encountered fierce wind, rain and lightning storms. Until about 1870 travelers encountered hundreds of thousands of bison migrating through Nebraska on both sides of the Platte River, and most travelers killed several for fresh meat and to build up their supplies of dried jerky for the rest of the journey. The prairie grass in many places was several feet high with only the hat of a traveler on horseback showing as they passed through the prairie grass. In many years the Indians fired much of the dry grass on the prairie every fall so the only trees or bushes available for firewood were on islands in the Platte river. Travelers gathered and ignited dried buffalo chips to cook their meals. These burned fast in a breeze, and it could take two or more bushels of chips to get one meal prepared. Those traveling south of the Platte crossed the South Platte fork at one of about three ferries (in dry years it could be forded without a ferry) before continuing up the North Platte River valley into present-day Wyoming heading to Fort Laramie. Before 1852 those on the north side of the Platte crossed the North Platte to the south side at Fort Laramie. After 1852 they used Child's Cutoff to stay on the north side to about the present day town of Casper, Wyoming, where they crossed over to the south side.
Notable landmarks in Nebraska include Courthouse and Jail Rocks, Chimney Rock, Scotts Bluff, and Ash Hollow State Historical Park.
Today much of the Oregon Trail follows roughly along Interstate 80 from Wyoming to Grand Island, Nebraska. From there U.S. Highway 30 which follows the Platte River is a better approximate path for those traveling the north side of the Platte. The National Park Service (NPS) gives traveling advice for those who want to follow other branches of the trail.
Cholera on the Platte River
Because of the Platte's brackish water, the preferred camping spots were along one of the many fresh water streams draining into the Platte or the occasional fresh water spring found along the way. These preferred camping spots became sources of
cholera in the epidemic years (1849–1855) as many thousands of people used the same camping spots with essentially no sewage facilities or adequate sewage treatment. One of the side effects of cholera is massive diarrhea which helps contaminate even more water unless it is isolated and/or treated. The cause of cholera, ingesting the
Vibrio cholerae bacterium from contaminated water, and the best treatment for cholera infections were unknown in this era. Literally thousands of travelers on the combined
California Oregon and
Mormon Trail succumbed to cholera in the 1849-1855 time period. Most were buried in unmarked graves in Kansas, Nebraska and Wyoming. There are many cases cited where a person would be alive and apparently healthy in the morning and dead by nightfall.
Large cholera death rates worldwide lead to increased efforts to institute good water and sewage treatment in nearly all cities. Despite the enormous costs and increase in city powers (opposed by many) nearly all cities in the developed world instituted good water and sewage treatment facilities. The last significant cholera outbreak in the U. S. occurred in 1911.
Colorado
A branch of the Oregon trail crossed the very northeast corner of
Colorado if they followed the
South Platte River to one of its last crossings. This branch of the trail passed through present day
Julesburg, Colorado before entering Wyoming. Later settlers to much of the what became the state of Colorado followed the Platte and South Platte Rivers into their settlements there.
Wyoming
After crossing the South Platte River the Oregon Trail follows the North Platte River out of Nebraska into Wyoming. Fort Laramie, at the junction of the Laramie River and the North Platte River, was a major stopping point. Fort Laramie was a former fur trading outpost originally named Fort John that was purchased in 1848 by the U.S. Army to protect travelers on the trails. It was the last army outpost till travelers reached the coast.
Fort Laramie was the end of most cholera outbreaks which killed thousands along the lower Platte and North Platte from 1849 to 1855. Spread by cholera bacteria in fecal contaminated water, cholera caused massive diarrhea, leading to dehydration and death. In those days its cause and treatment were unknown, and it was often fatal—up to 30% of infected people died. It is believed that the swifter flowing rivers in Wyoming helped prevent the germs from spreading.
After crossing the South Platte the trail continues up the North Platte River, crossing many small swift flowing creeks. As the North Platte veers to the south the trail crosses the North Platte to the Sweetwater River valley which heads almost due west. Independence Rock (Wyoming) is located on the Sweetwater River. The Sweetwater would have to be crossed up to nine times before the trail crosses over the Continental Divide at South Pass, Wyoming. From South Pass the trail continues southwest crossing Big Sandy Creek (about wide and one foot (30 cm) deep) before hitting the Green River. Three to five ferries were in use on the Green during peak travel periods. The swift and treacherous Green River, which eventually empties into the Colorado River, was usually at high water in July and August, and it was a dangerous crossing. After crossing the Green the main trail continues on in an approximate southwest direction until it encounters the Blacks Fork of the Green River and Fort Bridger Wyoming. From Fort Bridger the Mormon Trail continued southwest following the upgraded Hastings Cutoff through the Wasatch Mountains. From Fort Bridger, the main trail, comprising several variants, veered northwest over the Bear River Divide and descended to the Bear River Valley. The trail turned north following the Bear River past the terminus of the Sublette-Greenwood Cutoff at Smiths Fork and on to the Thomas Fork Valley at the present Wyoming-Idaho border.
Over time, two major heavily used cutoffs were established in Wyoming. The Sublette-Greenwood Cutoff was established in 1844 and cut about off the main route. It leaves the main trail about west of South Pass and heads almost due west crossing Big Sandy Creek and then about of waterless of very dusty desert before reaching the Green River near the present town of La Barge. Ferries here transferred them across the Green River. From there the Sublette-Greenwood Cutoff trail had to cross a mountain range to connect with the main trail near Cokeville, Wyoming in the Bear River valley.
The Lander Road, formally the Fort Kearney, South Pass, and Honey Lake Wagon Road, was established and built by U.S. government contractors in 1858-59. It was about shorter than the main trail through Fort Bridger with good grass, water, firewood and fishing but it was a much steeper and rougher route, crossing three mountain ranges. In 1859, 13,000 of the 19,000 emigrants traveling to California and Oregon utilized the Lander Road. The traffic in later years is undocumented.
The Lander Road departs the main trail at Burnt Ranch near South Pass, crosses the Continental Divide north of South Pass and reaches the Green River near the present town of Big Piney, Wyoming. From there the trail followed Big Piney Creek west before passing over the Thompson Pass in the Wyoming Range. It then crosses over the Smith Fork of the Bear River before ascending and crossing another pass on the Salt River Range of mountains and then descending into Star Valley Wyoming. It exited the mountains near the present Smith Fork road about south of the town of Smoot, Wyoming. The road continued almost due north along the present day Wyoming-Idaho western border through Star Valley. To avoid crossing the Salt River (which drains into the Snake River) which runs down Star Valley the Lander Road crossed the river when it was small and stayed west of the Salt River. After traveling down the Salt River valley (Star Valley) about north the road turned almost due west near the present town of Auburn, Wyoming, and entered into the present state of Idaho along Stump Creek. In Idaho it followed the Stump Creek valley northwest till it crossed the Caribou Mountains and proceeded past the south end of Grays Lake. The trail then proceeded almost due west to meet the main trail at Fort Hall; alternately, a branch trail headed almost due south to meet the main trail near the present town of Soda Springs, Idaho.
Numerous landmarks are located along the trail in Wyoming including Independence Rock, Ayres Natural Bridge and Register Cliff.
Utah
In 1847, Brigham Young and the
Mormon pioneers departed from the Oregon Trail at
Fort Bridger in Wyoming and followed (and much improved) the rough trail originally recommended by
Lansford Hastings to the
Donner Party in 1846 through the
Wasatch Mountains into
Utah. After getting into Utah they immediately started setting up irrigated farms and cities—including
Salt Lake City, Utah. In 1848, the
Salt Lake Cutoff was established by Sam Hensley, and returning members of the
Mormon Battalion providing a path north of the
Great Salt Lake from Salt Lake City back to the
California and Oregon Trails. This cutoff rejoined the Oregon and California Trails near the
City of Rocks near the Utah-Idaho border and could be used by both California and Oregon bound travelers. Located about half way on both the
California and Oregon Trails many thousands of later travelers used Salt Lake City and other Utah cities as an intermediate stop for selling or trading excess goods or tired livestock for fresh livestock, repairs, supplies or fresh vegetables. The Mormons looked on these travelers as a welcome bonanza as setting up new communities from scratch required nearly everything the travelers could afford to part with. The overall distance to California or Oregon was very close to the same whether one "detoured" to Salt Lake City or not. For their own use and to encourage California and Oregon bound travelers the Mormons improved the Mormon Trail from Fort Bridger and the Salt Lake Cutoff trail. To raise much needed money and facilitate travel on the Salt Lake Cutoff they set up several ferries across the
Weber,
Bear and
Malad Rivers which were used mostly by Oregon or California bound travelers.
Idaho
The main Oregon and California Trail went almost due north from Fort Bridger to the Little Muddy Creek where it passed over the Bear River Mountains to the
Bear River valley which it followed northwest into the Thomas Fork area, where the trail crossed over the present day Wyoming line into Idaho. In the Eastern Sheep Creek Hills in the Thomas Fork valley the emigrants encountered Big Hill. Big Hill was a detour caused by an impassable (then) cut the Bear River made through the mountains and had a tough ascent often requiring doubling up of teams and a very steep and dangerous descent. (Much later,
U.S. Highway 30, using modern explosives and equipment, was built through this cut). In 1852 Eliza Ann McAuley found and with help developed the McAuley Cutoff which bypassed much of the difficult climb and descent of Big Hill. About on they passed present day
Montpelier, Idaho which is now the site of The National Oregon-California Trail Center. The trail follows the Bear River northwest to present day
Soda Springs, Idaho. The soda springs here were a favorite attraction of the pioneers who marveled at the hot carbonated water and chugging "steamboat" springs. Many stopped and did their laundry in the hot water as there was usually plenty of good grass and fresh water available. Just west of Soda Springs the Bear River turns southwest as it heads for
The Great Salt Lake and the main trail turns northwest to follow the
Portneuf River valley to
Fort Hall Idaho. Fort Hall was an old fur trading post located on the
Snake River. It was established in 1832 by
Nathaniel Jarvis Wyeth and company and later sold in 1837 to the the British
Hudson Bay Company. At Fort Hall nearly all travelers were given some aid and supplies if they were available and needed. Mosquitoes were constant pests and travelers often mention that their animals were covered with blood from the bites. The route from Fort Bridger to Fort Hall is about , taking nine to twelve days.
At Soda Springs was one branch of Lander Road (established and built with government contractors in 1858) which had gone west from near South Pass, over the Salt River Mountains and down Star Valley before turning west near present day Auburn, Wyoming and entering Idaho. From there it proceeded northwest into Idaho up Stump Creek canyon for about ten miles (16 km). One branch turned almost 90 degrees and proceeded southwest to Soda Springs. Another branch headed almost due west past Gray’s Lake to rejoin the main trail about west of Fort Hall.
On the main trail about west of Soda Springs Hudspeth's Cutoff (established 1849 and used mostly by California trail users) took off from the main trail heading almost due west, bypassing Fort Hall. It rejoined the California Trail at Cassia Creek near the City of Rocks. Hudspeth's Cutoff had five mountain ranges to cross and took about the same amount of time as the main route to Fort Hall but many took it thinking it was shorter. Its main advantage was that it helped spread out the traffic during peak periods, making more grass available.
West of Fort Hall the main trail traveled about on the south side of the Snake River southwest past American Falls, Massacre Rocks, Register Rock and Coldwater Hill near present day Pocatello, Idaho. Near the junction of the Raft River and Snake River the California Trail diverged from the Oregon Trail at another Parting of the Ways junction. Travellers left the Snake River and followed Raft River about southwest past present day Almo, Idaho. This trail then passed through the City of Rocks and over Granite Pass where it went southwest along Goose Creek, Little Goose Creek, and Rock Spring Creek. It went about through Thousand Springs Valley, West Brush Creek, and Willow Creek, before arriving at the Humboldt River in northeastern Nevada near present day Wells. The California Trail proceeded west down the Humboldt before reaching and crossing the Sierra Nevadas.
There were only a few places where the Snake River has not buried itself deep in a canyon. There were few spots where the river slowed down enough to make a crossing possible. Two of these fords were near Fort Hall, where travelers on the Oregon Trail North Side Alternate (established about 1852) and Goodale’s Cutoff (established 1862) crossed the Snake to travel on the north side. Nathaniel Wyeth, the original founder of Fort Hall in 1834, writes in his diary that they found a ford across the Snake River southwest of where he founded Fort Hall. Another possible crossing was a few miles upstream of Salmon Falls where some intrepid travelers floated their wagons and swam their stock across to join the north side trail. Some lost their wagons and teams over the falls. The trails on the north side joined the trail from Three Island Crossing about west of Glenns Ferry on the north side of the Snake River. (For map of North Side Alternate see:)
Goodale's Cutoff, established in 1862 on the north side of the Snake River, formed a spur of the Oregon Trail. This cutoff had been used as a pack trail by Indians and fur traders, and emigrant wagons traversed parts of the eastern section as early as 1852. After crossing the Snake River the cutoff headed north from Fort Hall toward Big Southern Butte following the Lost River part of the way. It passed near the present-day town of Arco, Idaho and wound through the northern part of Craters of the Moon National Monument. From there it went southwest to Camas Prairie and ended at Old Fort Boise on the Boise River. This journey typically took two to three weeks and was noted for its very rough, lava restricted roads and extremely dry climate, which tended to dry the wooden wheels on the wagons, which caused the iron rims to fall off the wheels. Loss of wheels caused many wagons to be abandoned along the route. It rejoined the main trail east of Boise. Goodale's Cutoff is visible at many points along Idaho Highway 20, Idaho Highway 26 and Idaho Highway 93 between Craters of the Moon National Monument and Carey, Idaho.
, 1874)]]
From the present site of Pocatello the trail proceeded almost due west on the south side of the Snake River for about . On this route they passed Cauldron Linn rapids, Shoshone Falls, two falls near the present city of Twin Falls, Idaho, and Upper Salmon Falls on the Snake River. At Salmon Falls there were often a hundred or more Indians fishing who would trade for their salmon—a welcome treat. The trail continued west to Three Island Crossing (near present day Glenns Ferry, Idaho). Here most emigrants used the divisions of the river caused by three islands to cross the difficult and swift Snake River by ferry or by driving or sometimes floating their wagons and swimming their teams across. The crossings were doubly treacherous because there were often hidden holes in the river bottom which could overturn the wagon or ensnarl the team, sometimes with fatal consequences. Before ferries were established there were several drownings here nearly every year.
The north side of the Snake had better water and grass than the south. The trail from Three Island Crossing to Old Fort Boise was about 130 miles long. The usually lush Boise River valley was a welcome relief. The next crossing of the Snake River was near Old Fort Boise. This last crossing of the Snake could be done on bull boats while swimming the stock across. Others would chain a large string of wagons and teams together. The theory was that the front teams, usually oxen, would get out of water first and with good footing help pull the whole string of wagons and teams across. How well this worked in practice is not stated. Often young Indian boys were hired to drive and ride the stock across the river—they knew how to swim, unlike many pioneers. Today's Idaho Interstate 84 roughly follows the Oregon Trail till it leaves the Snake River near Burley, Idaho. From there Interstate 86 to Pocatello roughly approximates the trail. Highway 30 roughly follows the path of the Oregon Trail from there to Montpelier, Idaho.
Starting in about 1848 the South Alternate of Oregon Trail (also called the Snake River Cutoff) was developed as a spur off the main trail. It bypassed the Three Island Crossing and continued traveling down the south side of the Snake River. It rejoined the trail near present day Ontario, Oregon. It hugged the southern edge of the Snake River canyon and was a much rougher trail with poorer water and grass, requiring occasional steep descents and ascents with the animals down into the Snake River canyon to get water. Travellers on this route avoided two dangerous crossings of the Snake River. Today's Idaho State Route 78 roughly follows the path of the South Alternate route of the Oregon Trail.
In 1869 the Central Pacific established Kelton, Utah as a railhead and the terminus of the western mail was moved from Salt Lake City. The Kelton Road became important as a communication and transportation road to the Boise Basin.
Oregon
Once across the
Snake River ford near
Old Fort Boise the weary travelers traveled across what would become the state of
Oregon. The trail then went to the
Malheur River and then past
Farewell Bend on the Snake River, up the
Burnt River canyon and northwest to the
La Grande valley before coming to the
Blue Mountains. In 1843 settlers cut a wagon road over these mountains making them passable for the first time to wagons. The trail went to the
Whitman Mission near
Fort Nez Perce in
Washington until 1847 when the Whitmans were killed by Native Americans. At Fort Nez Perce some built rafts or hired boats and started down the Columbia; others continued west in their wagons until they reached
The Dalles. After 1847 the trail bypassed the closed mission and headed almost due west to present day
Pendleton, Oregon, crossing the
Umatilla River,
John Day River, and
Deschutes River before arriving at The Dalles.
Interstate 84 in Oregon roughly follows the original Oregon Trail from Idaho to The Dalles.
Arriving at the Columbia at The Dalles and stopped by the Cascade Mountains and Mount Hood, some gave up their wagons or disassembled them and put them on boats or rafts for a trip down the Columbia River. Once they transited the Cascade's Columbia River Gorge with its multiple rapids and treacherous winds they would have to make the portage around the Cascade Rapids before coming out near the Willamette River where Oregon City, Oregon was located. The pioneer's livestock could be driven around Mount Hood on the narrow, crooked and rough Lolo Pass.
Several Oregon Trail branches and route variations led to the Willamette Valley. The most popular was the Barlow Road, which was carved though the forest around Mount Hood from The Dalles in 1846 as a toll road at $5.00 per wagon and 10 cents per head of livestock. It was rough and steep with poor grass but still cheaper and safer than floating goods, wagons and family down the dangerous Columbia River.
In Central Oregon there was the Santiam Wagon Road (established 1861), which roughly parallels Oregon Highway 20 to the Willamette Valley. The Applegate Trail (established 1846) cutting off the California Trail from the Humboldt River in Nevada crossed part of California before cutting north to the south end of the Willamette Valley. U.S. Route 99 and Interstate 5 through Oregon roughly follow the original Applegate Trail.
Travel equipment
Wagons
The Oregon Trail was too long and arduous for the standard
Conestoga wagons commonly used at that time in the
Eastern United States and on the
Santa Fe Trail. Their freight capacity was larger than needed, and the large teams (8 to 10 animals) these wagons required could not navigate the tight corners often found on the Oregon Trail.
This led to the rapid development of prairie schooners. This wagon was approximately half the size of the larger Conestoga, weighed about empty with about of capacity and about of storage space in an -long, -wide, by -high box. These wagons could be easily pulled by 4 to 6 oxen or 6 to 10 mules. Extra animals were often recommended because animals could stray or become injured or die on the trip. Often late in the trip mixed teams that included dairy cows and riding ponies were sometimes hitched up to make a usable team. The wagons were manufactured in quantity by companies like Studebaker, with new wagons costing between $85 and $170. The cotton canvas covers of the wagons were doubled and treated with linseed oil to help keep out the rain, dust and wind, though the covers tended to leak rain and dust eventually. The typical wagon with diameter wheels could easily move over rough ground and rocks without high centering and even over most tree stumps if required. The wooden wheels were protected with an iron rim typically about wide. These iron tires were installed hot so they would shrink tightly onto the wood wheel when they cooled. Nevertheless it was advisable to soak the wheel in water periodically as the desert air could dry the wheel so much that the iron tire would fall off. In practice it was found that the standard farm wagon built by a company or wagon maker (wainwright) of good reputation usually worked almost as well as prairie schooners and had only to be fitted with wooden bows and a canvas cover to be ready. Wagons were generally reliable if maintained, but they sometimes broke down and had to be repaired or abandoned along the way. Broken axles and broken wagon tongues were two of the most common problems, and replacements were created out of whatever wood was available. Abandoned wagons were typically scavenged for needed parts. One wagon could carry enough food for six months' travel for four or five travelers as well as a short list of household and luxury items.
It is estimated that about seventy percent (or more) of the wagons traveling west were pulled by oxen; mule teams were a strong second choice at 20–30%, and initially there were almost no horse-pulled wagons. This was true for many reasons. An ox team was about 10% slower than a mule or horse-pulled wagon (about 2–3 miles/hour). However, they were cheaper to buy ($25 to $85 per yoke versus up to $600 or more for six horses), easier to train, could pull more, survived better on the sparse grass often found along the trail, did not require oats or grain, and were often tamer and easier to handle after they were trained. Novices could usually learn to handle a trained ox team in about a week. Oxen could usually be turned loose at night and easily rounded up in the mornings. Mules and horses typically required herding day and night and often had to be staked out on a rope or hobbled. Oxen were usually easier to find and catch, and the Indians were usually less interested in stealing them. Mules were the second choice. They were about as fast as a horse and could survive well on the grazing found along the way, and worked well when trained. Trained mules were hard to find, and mules were difficult to handle until trained by an experienced mule skinner, which could take two months. In later years, horses were chosen more often because they were about 10% faster and the oats and grain required to keep them fit for months of continuous work could by then be bought along the way.
The ox drivers walked alongside the left side of their oxen team and used the voice commands "gee" (right) and "haw" (left) and a whip to guide them. Mules were often guided by riding one that was hooked to the wagon (typically the left hand wheel mule) and handling the reins from there. Whips were seldom used to actually whip the animals but were used to get the animal's attention by snapping them in the air.
Food
The recommended amount of food to take for per adult was of flour, of
corn meal, of bacon, of sugar, of coffee, of dried fruit, of salt, half a pound (0.25 kg) of saleratus (
baking soda, baking powder leavening mix), of tea, of rice, and of beans. These provisions were usually kept in water-tight containers or barrels to minimize spoilage. The usual meal for breakfast, lunch and dinner along the trail was bacon, beans, and coffee, with biscuits or bread. The typical cost of food for four people for six months was about $150.
The amount of food required was lessened if beef cattle, calves or sheep were taken for a walking food supply. Prior to the 1870s there were vast herds of buffalo in Nebraska which provided fresh meat and jerky for the trip. In general, wild game could not be depended on for a regular source of food, but when found it was relished as a welcome change in a monotonous diet. Travelers could hunt antelope, buffalo, sage hens, trout, and occasionally elk, bear, duck, geese, salmon and deer along the trail. Most travelers carried a rifle or shotgun and ammunition for hunting game and for protection against snakes and Indian attacks. When they got to the Snake River and Columbia River areas they would often trade with the Indians for salmon. The Indians in Oregon traded potatoes and other vegetables they had learned to grow from the missionaries. Some families took along milk cows, goats, and chickens (penned in crates tied to the wagons). Additional food like pickles, canned butter, cheese or pickled eggs were occasionally carried, but canned goods were expensive and food preservation was primitive, so few items could be safely kept for the four to six month duration of the trip.
Cooking along the trail was done over a campfire. Fuels used were wood, buffalo chips, willow or sagebrush. Flint and steel were used to start fires. Some carried matches in water-tight containers. Fire was borrowed from a neighbor for ease of starting. Cooking required simple cooking utensils such as butcher knives, large spoons, spatulas, ladles, Dutch ovens, pots and pans, grills, spits, coffee pots and an iron tripod to suspend the pans and pots over the fire. Some brought small stoves, but these were often jettisoned along the way as being too heavy and unnecessary. Wooden or canvas buckets were brought for carrying water, and most travelers carried canteens or water bags for daily use. A ten gallon water barrel was needed, but it was usually kept nearly empty to minimize weight (some water had to be kept in it to prevent it from drying out and losing its water tightness). It was only filled for long waterless stretches. Some brought a new invention—an India Rubber combination mattress and water carrier.
Clothing and equipment
Tobacco was popular, both for personal use and for trading with Indians and other pioneers. Each person brought at least two changes of clothes and multiple pairs of boots (two to three pairs often wore out on the trip). About 25 pounds of soap was recommended for a party of four for bathing and washing clothes. A washboard and tub was usually brought for washing clothes. Wash days typically occurred once or twice a month or less, depending on availability of good grass, water and fuel. Most wagons carried tents for sleeping, though in good weather most would sleep outside. A thin fold-up mattress, blankets, pillows, canvas or rubber
gutta percha ground covers were used for sleeping. Sometimes an unfolded feather bed mattress was brought for the wagon if there were pregnant women or very young children along. The wagons had no springs, and the ride along the trail was very rough. Despite modern depictions, almost nobody actually rode in the wagons; it was too dusty, too rough, and hard on the livestock.
Travelers brought books, Bibles, trail guides, and writing quills, ink and paper for letters (about one in 200 kept a diary).
Belts and folding knives were carried by nearly all men and boys. Awls, scissors, pins, needles and thread for mending were required. Spare leather was used for repairs to shoes, harnesses, and other equipment. Some used goggles to keep dust out of the eyes. Storage boxes were ideally the same height so they could be arranged to give a flat surface inside the wagon for a sleeping platform.
Saddles, bridles, hobbles, and ropes were needed if the party had a horse or riding mule, and many men did. Extra harnesses and spare wagon parts were often carried. Most carried steel shoes for oxen, mules or horses. Tar was carried to help repair an injured ox's hoof.
Goods, supplies and equipment were often shared by fellow travelers. Items that were forgotten, broken or worn out could be bought from a fellow traveler, post or fort along the way. New iron shoes for horses, mules and oxen were put on by blacksmiths found along the way. Equipment repairs and other goods could be procured from blacksmith shops established at some forts and some ferries. Emergency supplies, repairs and livestock were often provided by local residents in Oregon, California, and Utah for late travelers on the trail who were hurrying to beat the snow.
Non-essential items were often abandoned to lighten the load, or in case of emergency. Many travelers would salvage discarded items, picking up essentials or leaving their behind their lower quality item when a better one was found abandoned along the road. Some profited by collecting discarded items and hauling them back to jumping off places and reselling them. In the early years Mormons sent scavenging parties back along the trail to salvage as much iron and other supplies as possible and haul it to Salt Lake City, where supplies of all kinds were needed. Others would use discarded wagons, wheels and furniture as firewood. During the 1849 gold rush, Fort Laramie was known as "Camp Sacrifice" because of the large amounts merchandise discarded nearby. Travelers had pushed along the relatively easy path to Fort Laramie with their luxury items but discarded them before the difficult mountain crossing ahead and after discovering that many items could be purchased at the forts or located for free along the way. Some travelers carried their excess goods to Salt Lake City to be sold.
Professional tools used by blacksmith, carpenter, and farmer were carried by nearly all. Shovels, crow bars, picks, hoes, mattocks, saws, hammers, axes and hatchets were used to clear or make a road through trees or brush, cut down the banks to cross a wash or steep banked stream, build a raft or bridge, or repair the wagon. In general as little road work as possible was done. Travel was often along the top of ridges to avoid the brush and washes common in many valleys.
Statistics
Emigrants
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|+ Estimated California Oregon Mormon Trail Emigrants
|-
!width="100"|Year
!width="100"|Oregon
!width="100"|California
!width="100"|Utah
!width="100"|Total
|-
|
1834–39||20|| — || — ||20
|-
|
1840||13|| — || — ||13
|-
|
1841||24||34|| — ||58
|-
|
1842|| 125 || — || — ||125
|-
|
1843|| 875 || 38 || — ||913
|-
|
1844|| 1,475 || 53 || — ||1,528
|-
|
1845|| 2,500 || 260 || — ||2,760
|-
|
1846|| 1,200 || 1,500 || — ||2,700
|-
|
1847|| 4,000 || 450 || 2,200 || 6,650
|-
|
1848|| 1,300 || 400 || 2,400 || 4,100
|-
|
Total||
11,512||
2,735||
4,600 ||
18,847
|-
|
1849|| 450 || 25,000 || 1,500 || 26,950
|-
|
1850|| 6,000 || 44,000 || 2,500 || 52,500
|-
|
1851|| 3,600 || 1,100 || 1,500 || 6,200
|-
|
1852|| 10,000 || 50,000 || 10,000 || 70,000
|-
|
1853|| 7,500 || 20,000 || 8,000 || 35,500
|-
|
1854|| 6,000 || 12,000 || 3,200 || 21,200
|-
|
1855|| 500 || 1,500 || 4,700 || 6,700
|-
|
1856|| 1,000 || 8,000 || 2,400 || 11,400
|-
|
1857|| 1,500 || 4,000 || 1,300 || 6,800
|-
|
1858|| 1,500 || 6,000 || 150 || 7,650
|-
|
1859|| 2,000 || 17,000 || 1,400 || 20,400
|-
|
1860|| 1,500 || 9,000 || 1,600 || 12,100
|-
|
Total||
53,000||
200,300 ||
43,000||
296,300
|-
|
1834–60||
Oregon||
California ||
Utah||
Total
|-
|
1861|| — || — ||3,148 || 5,000
|-
|
1862|| — || — || 5,244 || 5,000
|-
|
1863|| — || — ||4,760 || 10,000
|-
|
1864|| — || — ||2,626 || 10,000
|-
|
1865|| — || — ||690 || 20,000
|-
|
1866|| — || — || 3,299|| 25,000
|-
|
1867|| — || — ||700 || 25,000
|-
|
1868|| — || — ||4,285|| 25,000
|-
|
Total||
80,000||
250,000 ||
70,000||
400,000
|-
|
1834–67||
Oregon||
California ||
Utah||
Total
|-
|}
Some of the trail statistics for the early years were recorded by the U.S. Army at Fort Laramie, Wyoming, from about 1849 to 1855. None of these original statistical records have been found—the Army lost them or destroyed them. There are only some partial written copies of the Army records and notes recorded in several diaries. Emigration to California spiked considerably with the 1849 gold rush. Following the discovery of gold, California remained the destination of choice for most emigrants on the trail up to 1860, with almost 200,000 people traveling there between 1849 and 1860.
Travel diminished after 1860 as the Civil War caused considerable disruptions on the trail. Many of the people on the trail in 1861–1863 were fleeing the war and its attendant drafts in both the south and the north. Trail historian Merrill J. Mattes has estimated the number of emigrants for 1861–1867 given in the total column of the above table. But these estimates may well be low since they only amount to an extra 125,000 people, and the 1870 census shows that over 200,000 additional people (ignoring most of California's population increase which had an excellent sea and rail connections across Panama by then) showed up in all the states served by the California/Oregon/Mormon/Bozeman Trail(s) and its offshoots. Mormon emigration records after 1860 are reasonably accurate as newspaper and other accounts in Salt Lake City give most of the names of emigrants arriving each year from 1847 to 1868.
Western census data
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center" align="right"
|+ Census Population of western States
|-
!width="100"|State
!width="100"|1870
!width="100"|1860
!width="100"|Difference
|-
|
California|| 560,247 || 379,994 || 180,253
|-
|
Nevada|| 42,491 || 6,857 || 35,634
|-
|
Oregon|| 90,923 || 52,465 || 38,458
|-
|
Colorado*|| 39,684 || 34,277 || 5,407
|-
|
Idaho*|| 14,990 || — || 14,990
|-
|
Montana*|| 20,595 || — || 20,595
|-
|
Utah*|| 86,789 || 40,273 || 46,516
|-
|
Washington*|| 23,955 || 11,594 || 12,361
|-
|
Wyoming*|| 9,118 || — || 9,118
|-
|
Totals||
888,792 ||
525,460 ||
363,332
|-
|*Territories||||||
|-
|}
These census numbers show a 363,000 population increase in the western states and territories between 1860 and 1870. Some of this increase is because of a high birth rate in the western states and territories but most is from emigrants moving from the east to the west and new immigration from Europe. Much of the increase in California and Oregon is from emigration by ship as there were fast and reasonably low cost transportation via east and west coast steamships and the Panama Railroad after 1855. The census numbers imply at least 200,000 emigrants (or more) used some variation of the California/Oregon/Mormon/Bozeman trails to get to their new homes between 1860 and 1870.
Costs
The cost of traveling over the Oregon Trail and its extensions varied from nothing to a few hundred dollars per person. Women seldom went alone. The cheapest way was to hire on to help drive the wagons or herds, allowing one to make the trip for nearly nothing or even make a small profit. Those with capital could often buy livestock in the midwest and drive the stock to California or Oregon for profit. About 60–80% of the travelers were farmers and as such already owned a wagon, livestock team, and many of the necessary supplies. This lowered the cost of the trip to about $50 per person for food and other items. Families planned the trip months in advance and made many of the extra clothing and other items needed. Individuals buying most of the needed items would end up spending between $150–$200 per person. As the trail matured, additional costs for ferries and toll roads were thought to have been about $30 per wagon.
Deaths
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center" align="right"
|+ Oregon-California-Mormon Trail Deaths
|-
! width="100"|Cause !! width="100"|Estimated deaths
|-
|Disease
||6,000–12,500
|-
|Indian attack||3000-4500
|-
|Freezing||300–500
|-
|Run overs||200–500
|-
|Drownings||200–500
|-
|Shootings||200–500
|-
|Miscellaneous||200–500
|-
|Scurvy||300–500
|-
|
Totals||
9,400–21000
|}
The route west was arduous and filled with many dangers, but the number of deaths on the trail is not known with any precision; there are only wildly varying estimates. Estimating is difficult because of the common practice of burying people in unmarked graves that were intentionally disguised to avoid them being dug up by animals or Indians. Graves were often put in the middle of a trail and then run over by the livestock to make them difficult to find. Disease was the main killer of trail travelers; cholera killed up to 3% of all travelers in the epidemic years from 1849 to 1855.
Indian attacks increased significantly after 1860 when most of the army troops were withdrawn and miners and ranchers began fanning out all over the country, often encroaching on Indian territory. Increased attacks along the Humboldt led to most travelers taking the Central Nevada Route. The Goodall cutoff was developed in Idaho in 1862 which kept Oregon bound travelers away from much of the Indian trouble nearer the Snake River. Other trails were developed that traveled further along the South Platte to avoid local Indian hot spots.
Other common causes of death included hypothermia, drowning in river crossings, getting run over by wagons, and accidental gun deaths. Drownings probably peaked in 1849 and 1850 when young impatient and pushy men were the predominant population on the trail. Later more family groups started traveling as well as many more ferries and bridges were being put in, and fording a dangerous river became much less common and dangerous. Surprisingly few people were taught to swim in this era. Being run over was a major cause of death, despite the wagons only averaging 2–3 miles per hour. The wagons could not easily be stopped, and people, particularly children, were often trying to get on and off the wagons while they were moving—not always successfully. Another hazard was a dress getting caught in the wheels and pulling the person under. Accidental shootings declined significantly after Fort Laramie as people became more familiar with their weapons and often just left them in their wagons. Carrying around a ten pound rifle all day soon became tedious and usually unnecessary as the perceived Indian threat faded and hunting opportunities receded.
A significant number of travelers were suffering from scurvy by the end of their trips. Their typical flour and salted pork/bacon diet had very little vitamin C in it. The diet in the mining camps was also typically low in fresh vegetables and fruit, which indirectly led to early deaths of many of the inhabitants. Some believe that scurvy deaths may have rivaled cholera as a killer, with most deaths occurring after the victim reached California. Many understood the importance of a diet that included fresh vegetables and fruit, and how to prevent scurvy was common knowledge in some circles but far from universally known or taught. Chinese travelers with their insistence on many vegetables in their diet fared much better.
Miscellaneous deaths included deaths by homicides, lightning strikes, childbirth, stampedes, snake bites, flash floods, falling trees, and kicks by animals. According to an evaluation by John Unruh, a 4% death rate or 16,000 out of 400,000 total pioneers on all trails may have died on the trail.
Legacy
One of the enduring legacies of the Oregon Trail is the expansion of the United States territory to the West Coast. Without the many thousands of United States settlers in Oregon and California and thousands more on their way each year, it is highly unlikely that this would have occurred. The western expansion and the Oregon Trail in particular inspired many songs that told of the settlers' experiences. "Uncle Sam's Farm" encouraged east-coast dwellers to "Come right away. Our lands they are broad enough, so don't be alarmed. Uncle Sam is rich enough to give us all a farm." In "Western Country," the singer exhorts that "if I had no horse at all, I'd still be a hauling, far across those Rocky Mountains, goin' away to Oregon."
Video games
The story of the Oregon Trail inspired a popular educational computer game of the same name,
The Oregon Trail. The game became widely popular in the 1980s and early 1990s. Several sequels to the game were also released, such as
The Oregon Trail II,
The Yukon Trail, and
The Amazon Trail.
The game resurfaced in 2008 when
Gameloft created an updated version for cell phones.
TV show
The Oregon Trail was briefly made into a television series that ran from September 21, 1977 – October 26, 1977, on NBC. The show starred
Rod Taylor, Tony Becker, Darleen Carr,
Charles Napier, and Ken Swofford. Although it was canceled after six episodes, the remaining seven episodes were still aired on BBC 2 in the U.K.
In June 2010, the entire series was released on DVD in the USA by Timeless.
See also
Kansas Territory (1854–1861)
Nebraska Territory (1854–1867)
(1847) by Francis Parkman
Landmarks of the Nebraska Territory
National Historic Trails Interpretive Center
National Historic Oregon Trail Interpretive Center
Notes
Bibliography
Bagley, Will. So Rugged and Mountainous: Blazing the Trails to Oregon and California, 1812-1848 (University of Oklahoma Press; 458 pages; 2010). First book in a projected four-volume study of the course and impact of western migration.
Federal Writers' Project. The Oregon trail: the Missouri river to the Pacific ocean (1939) online edition, 244pp
Parkman, Francis, . University of Virginia Press.
Unruh, John David. The Plains Across: The Overland Emigrants and the Trans-Mississippi West, 1840–1860 (1993) University of Illinois Press. ISBN 978-0-252-06360-2, the standard scholarly history
External links
National Trail Map
National Parks Service Oregon Trail Map
National Parks Service California Trail Map
Oregon National Historic Trail Home Page
Oregon Trail history from Oregon Department of Transportation (with maps)
Category:Oregon Country
Category:Lincoln Highway
Category:Columbia River Gorge
Category:National Register of Historic Places in Idaho
Category:National Register of Historic Places in Kansas
Category:National Register of Historic Places in Oregon
Category:Interstate 84 (west)
Category:U.S. Route 30
Category:Infrastructure-related listings on the National Register of Historic Places
Category:Jefferson Territory
![The Tryon Creek State Natural Area is a state park located primarily in Portland, Oregon, United States. The park is the only Oregon state park within a major metropolitan area.[3] The 645-acre (2.61 km2) park lies between Boones Ferry Road and Terwilliger Boulevard in southwest Portland in Multnomah County and northern Lake Oswego in Clackamas County and is bisected from north to south by Tryon Creek.](http://web.archive.org./web/20110312105406im_/http://cdn.wn.com/pd/16/45/f95e1f3abe7efd8f9aabc928dbb4_grande.jpg "The Tryon Creek State Natural Area is a state park located primarily in Portland, Oregon, United States. The park is the only Oregon state park within a major metropolitan area.[3] The 645-acre (2.61 km2) park lies between Boones Ferry Road and Terwilliger Boulevard in southwest Portland in Multnomah County and northern Lake Oswego in Clackamas County and is bisected from north to south by Tryon Creek.")
![The Tryon Creek State Natural Area is a state park located primarily in Portland, Oregon, United States. The park is the only Oregon state park within a major metropolitan area.[3] The 645-acre (2.61 km2) park lies between Boones Ferry Road and Terwilliger Boulevard in southwest Portland in Multnomah County and northern Lake Oswego in Clackamas County and is bisected from north to south by Tryon Creek.](http://web.archive.org./web/20110312105406im_/http://cdn.wn.com/pd/16/45/f95e1f3abe7efd8f9aabc928dbb4_thumb.jpg "The Tryon Creek State Natural Area is a state park located primarily in Portland, Oregon, United States. The park is the only Oregon state park within a major metropolitan area.[3] The 645-acre (2.61 km2) park lies between Boones Ferry Road and Terwilliger Boulevard in southwest Portland in Multnomah County and northern Lake Oswego in Clackamas County and is bisected from north to south by Tryon Creek.")
