Why was the Oregon Trail stopped being used?
Use of the trail declined after the first transcontinental railroad was completed in 1869, making the trip west substantially faster, cheaper, and safer. Today, modern highways, such as Interstate 80 and Interstate 84, follow parts of the same course westward and pass through towns originally established to serve those using the Oregon Trail.
Where did the Oregon Trail start and end location wise?
The trail started in Missouri and covered 2,000 miles before ending in Oregon City. What was the ending point of the Oregon Trail? Not too far past the end of the Barlow Road, the wagon trains camped a final time on the broad creekside meadow near the Willamette River.
What cities were on the Oregon Trail?
- Minor Park/Red Bridge Crossing - Kansas City, Missouri
- Alcove Spring - Blue Rapids, Kansas
- Fort Kearny - Kearney, Nebraska
- California Hill/Upper Crossing of the South Platte River
- Courthouse Rock/Jail Rock - Bridgeport, Nebraska
- Soda Springs Complex - Soda Springs, Idaho
- Three Island Crossing - Glenns Ferry, Idaho
Where did the Oregon Trail started and finished?
The trail started in Independence, Missouri, and finished in Oregon City. How did people travel on the Oregon Trail? Pioneers travelled along the Oregon Trail by foot, horseback, or with wagons. They had to bring enough food for the entire journey, as well as the things they needed for their new life. ... By 1846, an estimated 5,000 people had ...
Where was the Oregon Trail where did it begin and end?
The Oregon Trail was a roughly 2,000-mile route from Independence, Missouri, to Oregon City, Oregon, that was used by hundreds of thousands of American pioneers in the mid-1800s to emigrate west. The trail was arduous and snaked through Missouri and present-day Kansas, Nebraska, Wyoming, Idaho and finally into Oregon.
When did the Oregon Trail end?
The Oregon Trail was the most popular way to get to Oregon Country from about 1843 through the 1870s. The trail started in Missouri and covered 2,000 miles before ending in Oregon City.
How long did it take for the Oregon Trail to end?
four to five monthsPerhaps some 300,000 to 400,000 people used it during its heyday from the mid-1840s to the late 1860s, and possibly a half million traversed it overall, covering an average of 15 to 20 miles (24 to 32 km) per day; most completed their journeys in four to five months.
What state did the Oregon Trail go through?
The Trail passes through the following seven states: Missouri, Kansas, Nebraska, Wyoming, Idaho, Oregon, and Washington. The trail begins at its eastern end in Wayne City, Missouri, but emigrants also departed from St. Joseph, Missouri, and Omaha, Nebraska. The route ends in Oregon City, Oregon.
Where does the Oregon Trail actually end?
Oregon CityThe final wagon stop on the Oregon trail, Oregon City welcomes visitors with food, drink, museums and outdoor activities. Oregon City was the end of the trail for many because it was where land claims were granted for Oregon, Washington, Idaho and Wyoming.
Does the Oregon Trail still exist?
Although the original Oregon Trail led weary travelers from Independence, Missouri, to where Oregon City is located today, now, the Oregon Trail starts in Provincetown, Massachusetts, and doesn't end until Cannon Beach, Oregon, turning it into a full cross-country trip.
What did pioneers do at the end of the Oregon Trail?
Not too far past the end of the Barlow Road, the wagon trains camped a final time on the broad creekside meadow near the Willamette River. This spot, Oregon City's Abernethy Green, marked the traditional End of the Oregon Trail.
How much did it cost to travel the Oregon Trail?
The overland journey from the Mid-West to Oregon and California meant a six month trip across 2,000 miles of difficult country. It was also an expensive enterprise. It was estimated that the journey cost a man and his family about $1,000.
How many survived the Oregon Trail?
Only around 80,000 of the estimated 400,000 Oregon Trail emigrants actually ended their journey in Oregon's Willamette Valley.
Can you walk the entire Oregon Trail?
After three months, over 2,400 miles and four pairs of shoes, one Oregon man's journey to hike the entirety of the Oregon Trail is complete. Donald “Dundee” Martin began his hike back in April and started at Independence, Missouri.
How long is the Oregon Trail?
The Oregon Trail was a wagon road stretching 2170 miles from Missouri to Oregon's Willamette Valley. It was not a road in any modern sense, only parallel ruts leading across endless prairie, sagebrush desert, and mountains.
Who started the Oregon Trail?
Robert Stuart of the Astorians (a group of fur traders who established Fort Astoria on the Columbia River in western Oregon) became the first white man to use what later became known as the Oregon Trail. Stuart's 2,000-mile journey from Fort Astoria to St.
What did pioneers do at the end of the Oregon Trail?
Not too far past the end of the Barlow Road, the wagon trains camped a final time on the broad creekside meadow near the Willamette River. This spot, Oregon City's Abernethy Green, marked the traditional End of the Oregon Trail.
How many died Oregon Trail?
20,000 peopleCombined with accidents, drowning at dangerous river crossings, and other illnesses, at least 20,000 people died along the Oregon Trail. Most trailside graves are unknown, as burials were quick and the wagon trains moved on.
When was the last wagon train to Oregon?
By late October, 1853, the last of the wagons in the lost train had been driven down to Lowell, along the Middle Fork of the Willamette River. The river was forded more than forty times during the final leg of the journey.
How far did the pioneers typically walk each day for 6 months?
Average distance covered in a day was usually fifteen miles, but on a good day twenty could be traveled. 7:30 am: Men ride ahead on horses with shovels to clear out a path, if needed.
Where did the Oregon Trail end?
The End of the Oregon Trail. Sources. The Oregon Trail was a roughly 2,000-mile route from Independence, Missouri, to Oregon City, Oregon, which was used by hundreds of thousands of American pioneers in the mid-1800s to emigrate west. The trail was arduous and snaked through Missouri and present-day Kansas, Nebraska, Wyoming, ...
What states did the Oregon Trail lead to?
The trail was arduous and snaked through Missouri and present-day Kansas, Nebraska, Wyoming, Idaho and finally into Oregon. Without the Oregon Trail and the passing of the Oregon Donation Land Act in 1850, which encouraged settlement in the Oregon Territory, American pioneers would have been slower to settle the American West in the 19th century.
Why did the Oregon Trail become a well-beaten path?
Travelers often left warning messages to those journeying behind them if there was an outbreak of disease, bad water or hostile American Indian tribes nearby. As more and more settlers headed west, the Oregon Trail became a well-beaten path and an abandoned junkyard of surrendered possessions.
Why did the Oregon Trail leave in late spring?
Leaving in late spring also ensured there’d be ample grass along the way to feed livestock. As the Oregon Trail gained popularity, it wasn’t unusual for thousands of pioneers to be on the path at the same time, especially during the California Gold Rush.
How long did it take to travel the Oregon Trail?
Life on the Oregon Trail. Planning a five- to six-month trip across rugged terrain was no easy task and could take up to a year. Emigrants had to sell their homes, businesses and any possessions they couldn’t take with them. They also had to purchase hundreds of pounds of supplies including: flour. sugar.
What was the most important item on the trail?
rifles and ammunition. By far, the most important item for successful life on the trail was the covered wagon. It had to be sturdy enough to withstand the elements yet small and light enough for a team of oxen or mules to pull day after day. Most wagons were about six feet wide and twelve feet long.
When was the Oregon Trail named a national historic trail?
The National Park Service named it a National Historic Trail in 1981 and continues to educate the public on its importance.
Where did the Oregon Trail start?
Oregon Trail Location. This trail stretches for a whopping 2,170 miles across the United States, starting in Missouri and ending in Oregon. A few different towns in Missouri acted as starting points for settlers traveling along the trail, but the most common were the cities of Independence and Kansas City. The end goal was usually Oregon City, ...
How long was the Oregon Trail?
This wagon highway meandered for about 2000 miles and carried more than 400,000 of America’s pioneers west toward a better life during the mid to late 1800s. The pathway still shows deeply grooved wagon trails and offers many historical sites to explore. You won’t need to pack 600 pounds of flour and 400 pounds of bacon like the settlers did, but you may want to have your camping gear on hand.
Where is the Oregon Trail Interpretive Center?
Other points of interest include the End of the Oregon Trail Interpretive Center, which sits in Oregon City, the original trail's termination point. There, you can track your genealogy to see if you descend from pioneers and learn about traveler histories and the hardships of migrating along the Oregon Trail.
Why do we need a journal on the Oregon Trail?
Take along your own journal to refresh your memory when you recall your experiences along the Oregon Trail.
What were the dangers of the Oregon Trail?
Ten percent of those who traveled the trail from the 1840s to the 1860s died along the way, but the afflictions they faced – starvation and dysentery included – no longer pose the same dangers to modern travelers. And despite its bloody history, people today still opt to visit parts of the Oregon Trail in their travels.
How long did it take to complete the Oregon Trail?
In the 1840s, it usually took about five and a half months to complete the Oregon Trail. By the 1850s, that time dropped to less than five months, but the trip was still a brutal one.
Where to visit the Oregon Trail?
The modern Ore gon Trail offers several spots where tourists can stop and experience this piece of American history firsthand, one of the most interesting being the National Historic Oregon Trail Interpretive Center in Baker City , Oregon. There, visitors can try their hand at packing a trail wagon, hear stories from settlers who traveled the original trail and even spin a wheel of fate to determine whether they would have survived the migration. The center sits on 500 acres and hosts Oregon Trail-themed cooking competitions, weekend encampments, living history presentations and skill shows. You can even walk the 2.5-mile loop circling through the area to see the site of a former wagon encampment, plus preserved wagon trail ruts from the original Oregon Trail.
Where is the Oregon Trail?
The Oregon Trail. The route of the Oregon Trail shown on a map of the western United States from Independence, Missouri (on the eastern end) to Oregon City, Oregon (on the western end) Map from The Ox Team, or the Old Oregon Trail 1852–1906, by Ezra Meeker. Location. Missouri, Kansas, Nebraska, Wyoming, Idaho, Washington, Oregon.
When was the Oregon Trail established?
Established. 1830s by mountain men of fur trade, widely publicized by 1843. Governing body. National Park Service. Website. Oregon National Historic Trail. The Oregon Trail was a 2,170-mile (3,490 km) east-west, large-wheeled wagon route and emigrant trail in the United States that connected the Missouri River to valleys in Oregon.
How many people were on the wagon train in 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. Jesse Applegate's account of the emigration, " A Day with the Cow Column in 1843 ," has been described as "the best bit of literature left to us by any participant in the [Oregon] pioneer movement..." and has been republished several times from 1868 to 1990.
What was the consensus of women and men on the Overland Trail?
Consensus interpretations, as found in John Faragher's book, Women and Men on the Overland Trail (1979), held that men and women's power within marriage was uneven. This meant that women did not experience the trail as liberating, but instead only found harder work than they had handled back east.
What river did Lewis and Clark explore?
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.
How many people used the Oregon Trail?
From the early to mid-1830s (and particularly through the years 1846–1869) the Oregon Trail and its many offshoots were used by about 400,000 settlers, farmers, miners, ranchers, and business owners and their families.
What states are on the Oregon Trail?
The eastern part of the Oregon Trail spanned part of what is now the 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 current states of Idaho and Oregon.
When did the Oregon Trail emigrate?
From 1841 to 1843, overland emigration increased, and the first major wave of Oregon Trail emigrants arrived in 1843 , doubling the American population in Oregon. Most of the emigrants followed the Whitman Mission Route, the original route from the Blue Mountains to the Columbia River by way of the Whitman Mission, where emigrants bought goods and necessary services. From there, they followed the Upper Columbia River Route westward down the river corridor to the Willamette Valley.
What was the Applegate Trail?
Later called the Applegate Trail, the route avoided the dangerous canyons and river cataracts of the Columbia River, but it had dangers of its own, including vast reaches of open desert, little water, and difficult canyons to negotiate. It also provided Oregonians with a ready route to the gold fields of California in 1848.
What was the first step toward self-rule in Oregon?
When Ewing Young died in 1841 without a will, but with extensive property to be disposed of, the area’s residents (former HBC employees and American emigrants) joined to establish a “probate government” to determine the disposition of Young’s estate — an important first step toward self-rule for Oregonians. In 1843, American settlers pushed the issue of sovereignty to the fore and began convening public meetings to discuss the issue. When the question of self-rule was put before one of these meetings, the Americans won by one vote and established the provisional government which ruled Oregon until it was formally annexed by the United States.
What were the resources of Oregon?
Word spread about the rich resources Oregon offered: tall trees, plenty of wildlife, good soil, and the “free” land. Word spread about the wonders of the Oregon Country — and soon the media joined in the promotion.
What are the trails of the 19th century?
The trails of the Nineteenth Century are the foundation of Oregon’s modern transportation system.
Where did the trade in Santa Fe and Taos take place?
Trade expanded from the United States west into both the Oregon Country and Spanish California. As trade in Santa Fe and Taos grew in significance, a number of American trappers and traders ventured southwest from Missouri toward Mexico. Among the handful of trappers who worked the western creeks and streams were Jedediah Smith and Ewing Young, who traveled the trade trails into Spanish California and then into Oregon from the south in the late 1820s. Smith and Young both found temporary shelter under the long reach of the HBC.
Who was the first fur trader in Oregon?
American businessman John Astor was the first to establish a fur trading post in the Oregon Country. Astor founded the American Fur Company and sent an expedition to Oregon to establish the commercial settlement of Fort Astor (now known to us as the city of Astoria) in 1811. The English, under the flags of the North West Company and, later, the Hudson’s Bay Company, were also in a hurry to take advantage of the land. From a port on the west coast, the HBC could trap furs for a worldwide market and ship the goods either by ship or overland to the HBC posts on Hudson’s Bay; the British could also trade with the Orient through Hawaii.
Overview
History
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 cont…
Routes
As the trail developed it became marked by many 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, (which …
Travel equipment
Three types of draft and pack animals were used by Oregon Trail pioneers: oxen, mules, and horses.
By 1842, many emigrants favored oxen—castrated bulls (males) of the genus Bos (cattle), generally over four years old—as the best animal to pull wagons, because they were docile, generally healthy, and able to continue moving in dif…
Statistics
Overall, some 268,000 pioneers used the Oregon Trail and its three primary offshoots, the Bozeman, California, and Mormon trails, to reach the West Coast, 1840–1860. Another 48,000 headed to Utah. There is no estimate on how many used it to return East.
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—…
Other trails west
There were other possible migration paths for early settlers, miners, or travelers to California or Oregon besides the Oregon trail prior to the establishment of the transcontinental railroads.
From 1821 to 1846, the Hudson's Bay Company twice annually used the York Factory Express overland trade route from Fort Vancouver to Hudson Bay then on to London. James Sinclair led a large party of nearly 200 settlers from the Red River Colony in 1841. These northern routes were …
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 numerous c…
See also
• Kansas Territory
• Landmarks of the Nebraska Territory
• National Historic Oregon Trail Interpretive Center
• National Historic Trails Interpretive Center