How did pioneers travel the trail to California?
The trail generally followed rivers to South Pass, a mountain pass in present-day Wyoming which was relatively easy for wagons to negotiate. From there, pioneers had a choice of routes to their destinations. Lansford Hastings, an early migrant from Ohio to the West, went to California in 1842 and saw the promise of the undeveloped country.
When did most emigrants use the Carson River Trail?
Both the Carson River and Truckee River trails eventually ended up at Sutter's Fort in Sacramento, California. In 1848 most emigrants developed and used this route. In 1849 about one-third of all emigrants used the Carson Trail with later years many more using it.
Where did the pioneers cross the Missouri and Platte River?
If they started in Iowa or Nebraska, after getting across the Missouri River, most followed the northern side of the Platte River from near its junction on the Missouri River ferrying across the Elkhorn River and the wide and muddy Loup River, which intercept the Platte River.
What happened to the pioneers in the Sierra Nevada?
Delayed by a series of mishaps, they spent the winter of 1846–47 snowbound in the Sierra Nevada. Some of the migrants resorted to cannibalism to survive, eating the bodies of those who had succumbed to starvation and sickness.
What route did pioneers take to California?
California Trail: The California Trail was a 2,000-mile journey through arid plains, mountains, and vast deserts from Independence, Missouri to Sacramento, California. The last part of the trail was difficult traveling through 40 miles of desert and then over the Sierra Nevada mountains.
What mountain ranges did the pioneers cross?
Oregon Trail Main route of US pioneers to the West in the 1840s and 1850s. It ran 3200km (2000mi) from Independence, Missouri, to Fort Vancouver on the Columbia River in Oregon, and crossed the Rocky Mountains via South Pass. The journey took about six months.
What mountain range did the California Trail go through?
the Sierra Nevada mountainsToday, Interstate 80 runs partially along the pass through the Sierra Nevada mountains that was once known as the Truckee Trail, the Donner Pass, and Stephens Pass.
Did people use the Oregon Trail to get to California?
The north-south Oregon–to–California Trail was the main overland route for travel and shipment of goods between the two states during the nineteenth century.
How long does it take a wagon train to get to California?
four to six monthsEmigrants usually formed into wagon trains for security. Almost everyone preferred to walk rather than ride in dusty, bumpy wagons. They had to average 11 miles (18 km) to 17 miles (27 km) per day to reach California in four to six months.
Is 1883 based on the Oregon Trail?
Premiering Sunday on Paramount+, “1883” is a Dutton origin story, following the original settlers of the Yellowstone land as they endure the hardships of the Oregon Trail, accompanied by European immigrants and a few skilled frontiersmen.
How did wagon trains get to California?
The Legend of the Oregon Trail began In 1841 the first emigrant wagon train headed for California. It left Independence, Missouri on May 1, 1841 and reached California on November 4. Two years later, wagon trains began branching to the north onto the Oregon Trail leading to the Pacific Northwest.
What route did wagon trains take?
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.
Does the California Trail still exist?
Crossing 10 States, the entire California National Historic Trail system spans approximately 5,665 miles. About 1,100 miles of trail still have obvious remains on the ground such as trail ruts and other remnants, many on public lands. More than 320 historic sites are located along the trail system.
How many miles a day did wagon trains average?
The covered wagon made 8 to 20 miles per day depending upon weather, roadway conditions and the health of the travelers. It could take up to six months or longer to reach their destination.
How many miles would a wagon travel in a day?
How many miles would a typical wagon train travel per day? Wagons traveled between 10 and 20 miles per day, depending on weather, terrain, and other factors. Some wagon trains did not travel on Sunday while others did.
How many wagons were in an average wagon train?
Wagon Trains were composed of up to 200 wagons, though more common were trains of 30 or less wagons. Wagon Trains had large numbers of livestock accompany them. Upwards of 2,000 cattle and 10,000 sheep joined the pioneers in their westward trek.
What is the oldest mountain range in the world?
The Barbertown Greenstone BeltThe Barbertown Greenstone Belt (3.6 Billion Years) The Barbertown Greenstone Belt, or Makhonjwa Mountains is the very oldest mountain range in the world. These mountains are full of ancient fossils, volcanic rock and, you got it, gold.
Where are the Pioneer Mountains?
The Pioneer Mountains are a mountain range in the U.S. state of Idaho, spanning Blaine, Butte and Custer counties.
What is the oldest mountain in the United States?
The Appalachian Mountains, often called the Appalachians, are a system of mountains in eastern to northeastern North America. The Appalachians first formed roughly 480 million years ago during the Ordovician Period....Appalachian MountainsOrogenyTaconic, Acadian, AlleghanianAge of rockOrdovician–Permian13 more rows
What is the first mountain range west of the Great Plains?
The RockiesThe Rockies are bordered on the east by the Great Plains and on the west by the Interior Plateau and Coast Mountains of Canada and the Columbia Plateau and Basin and Range Province of the United States.
Where did the California Trail start?
For example, most travelers started near St. Joseph, Missouri and followed the Oregon Trail into Idaho before splitting off to California. But some passed through Salt Lake City rather than the more northern route through Idaho. The alkali water of the Humboldt River in Nevada was enough to drink and grow fodder for your horses and cattle before it sank into the desert at the Humboldt sink. After that you faced the "40-mile desert" with no water at all before you reached Carson City and the mountains. From far western Nevada pioneers followed 11 trails over the Sierra Nevada mountains into the California gold country and beyond.
When did wagons start moving to California?
If you were a pioneer with a wagonload of family facing the daunting task of moving from the United States across the Rocky Mountains to settle in early California you had three basic options before the railroad was finished in 1869. The earliest wagon route opened in 1846 by the ill-fated Donner Party. You followed the Oregon Trail over the Continental Divide at South Pass and then split off on the California Trail through northern Nevada. In 1857 the more-southerly Butterfield Overland Mail route was opened through Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona. Finally, in 1859 the Central Overland Trail was opened to wagons following the Pony Express route from Salt Lake City through central Nevada.
What was the Butterfield Overland Mail route?
The Butterfield Overland Mail route was estabished to provide a non-snow route to and from California. A stagecoach company provided service from St. Louis, Missouri, or Fort Smith Arkansas to San Francisco, California from 1857 to 1861. The route passed through Oklahoma and Texas (near El Paso) to Deming, New Mexico on to Tucson, Arizona and through Yuma to Los Angeles and San Francisco.
Where did the Pony Express Trail go?
The Central Overland Route or Pony Express trail left a branch of the California Trail at Salt Lake City, Utah headed south and then west into the central Nevada desert toward Carson City , Nevada. At the base of each desert range of mountains was usually a small swamp surrounded by enough forage for animals. The Central Overland Route followed a series of passes over the mountain ranges between these oasis swamp areas, or mountain springs. There were also occasional army forts for protection from hostile Indians. This dusty route shaved 200 miles and over ten-day's travel time off the more northern California Trail route.
What were the problems of the wagon train?
Along the way overland wagon migrants faced the dangers of fording rivers (many could not swim), diseases like cholera or Rocky Mountain spotted fever, long dry marches through hot deserts, figuring out ways to get wagons up and down steep mountain trails, taking the wrong fork of a trail hundreds of miles out of the way, ferocious thunderstorms on the plains, lost or sick or dead draft animals, lack of feed for animals because of over grazing by previous pioneers, broken wagon parts, gun accidents, pioneers and their children were run over by their wagons, snakes, mosquito hordes, swindlers and robbers, and even a few Indian raids. You would likely need to wash your clothes once a week. On the plains you probably used dried buffalo dung to fuel your cooking fires. Most emigrants followed a trail guide book, or went in groups with an experienced wagon train master, but some set off on their own. You probably slept on a rubberry mat under the stars on clear nights, but if rain threatened your home was a canvas tent, or sleeping in or under your wagon. Hunting buffalo, deer, antelope or fishing might supplement your diet on the trail, but might also slow your progress.
When did the pioneer wagons cross Sierra Nevada Pass?
The date was November 25, 1844. But their journey was far from done. Three of the men would return to Truckee Lake to watch the remaining wagons.
How old was Greenwood when he discovered the trail to California?
Eighty year old Greenwood knew the route very well up to Fort Hall, Idaho, but beyond that, he knew little of the route. The trail to California had been traveled by only two wagon trains, and they had not sent back any information on the route. Neither had been able to get their wagons into California.
What happened in 1845?
By June of 1845, the snow had melted and a party was formed to bring the wagons left at Truckee Lake. When the returning party arrived, they found that all of their possessions except the guns and ammunition had been taken by the Indians who summered there. The completion of the journey was uneventful.
Why did the six wagons stop at the Yuba River?
The snow continued to fall and on the South Fork of the Yuba River near the present Big Bend, the six wagons were forced to stop because of exhausted oxen & men. The remaining 42 members of the 51 who reached the Sierra, created a survival camp, built a small crude cabin, and butchered most of their cattle for food.
What was the plan of the horseback party to reach Sutter's Fort first?
The plan was for the faster horseback party to reach Sutter's Fort first and send back fresh animals and supplies for the wagon train. The six members of the horseback party headed south up the Truckee River, into the unknown, as Chief Truckee had not told them much about the river route.
Who was the captain of the wagon train?
They left with a larger group of Oregon bound settlers in a group of forty wagons. Elisha Stephens was elected captain of the wagon train, because he had spent several years as a mountain man and beaver hunter in the Pacific Northwest. He also had skills as a blacksmith.
When did John Fremont see Lake Tahoe?
John Fremont had already spotted the lake in February of 1844 while crossing the Sierra south of Lake Tahoe. As snow continued to fall, the six moved as quickly as possible along the west shore and up McKinney Creek and over the crest. They descended to the Rubicon River and out of the snow.
Who was the first person to use the California Trail?
The first recorded party to use part of the California Trail to get to California was the Bartleson–Bidwell Party in 1841. They left Missouri with 69 people and reasonably easily reached the future site of Soda Springs, Idaho on the Bear River by following experienced trapper Thomas "Broken-hand" Fitzpatrick on his way to Fort Hall. Near Soda Springs the Bear River swung southwest towards the Great Salt Lake and the regular Oregon Trail headed northwest out of the Big Basin drainage and into the Portneuf River (Idaho) drainage to Fort Hall on the Snake River .
Who discovered the California Trail?
Sections of what became the California Trail route were discovered and developed by American fur traders including Kit Carson, Joseph R. Walker, and Jedediah Smith, who often worked with the Rocky Mountain Fur Company and after 1834 by the American Fur Company and explored widely in the west. Canadian Hudson's Bay Company trappers led by Peter Skene Ogden and others scouted the Humboldt River off and on from about 1830 to 1840—little of their explorations was known. A few U.S. and British fur trappers and traders had explored what is now called the Humboldt River (named Mary's River by Ogden) that crosses most of the present state of Nevada and provides a natural corridor to western Nevada and eastern California.
What is the Mormon Road?
Mormon Road: Southern Route of the California Trail. Main article: Mormon Road. Hundreds of late arriving Forty-niners, and some parties of Mormons, both packers and teamsters, looking to avoid the fate of the Donner Party, in the fall and winter of 1849–1850 used the snow free Southern Route to Southern California.
What was the purpose of the Lander Road?
Lander by federal contractors in 1858—one of the first federally sponsored roads in the west. Lander's Road officially was called the Fort Kearney, South Pass and Honey Lake Road and was a federally funded attempt to improve the Oregon and California trails. The little used Honey Lake part of the proposed route near the present states of Nevada and California border was improved in 1859 under Lander's direction but did not go much beyond improving some watering holes—work ceased in 1860. The "Lander Road" was the first section of the federally funded road through the future states of Wyoming and Idaho. Expeditions under the command of Frederick W. Lander surveyed a new route starting at Burnt Ranch following the last crossing of the Sweetwater River before it turned west over South Pass. The Lander Road followed the Sweetwater River further north, skirting the Wind River Range before turning west and crossing the continental divide north of South Pass. The road crossed the Green River near the present town of Big Piney, Wyoming; then it passes over 8,800 feet (2,700 m) Thompson Pass in the Wyoming Range near the head of the Grey's River; and then it crosses another high pass across the Salt River Range before descending into Star Valley (Wyoming). The trail entered Star Valley about 6 miles (9.7 km) south of the present town of Smoot, Wyoming. From Smoot, the road then continued north about 20 miles (32 km) down Star Valley west of the Salt River before turning almost due west at Stump Creek near the present town of Auburn, Wyoming and passing into the present state of Idaho and following the Stump Creek valley about ten miles (16 km) northwest over the Caribou Mountains (Idaho) (this section of the trail is now accessible only by US Forest Service path as the main road ( Wyoming Highway 34) now goes through Tincup canyon to get across the Caribous.) After crossing the Caribou Range the road split, turning almost ninety degrees and progressing southwest to Soda Springs, Idaho, or alternately heading almost due west and passing south of Grays Lake (now part of the Grays Lake National Wildlife Refuge) to Fort Hall Idaho. The Lander Road had good grass, fishing, water and wood but was high, rough and steep in many places. Later, after 1869, it was mostly used by ranchers moving their stock to and from summer grazing or markets.
Where was the Hastings Cutoff?
Hastings Cutoff. Pioneered by Lansford Hastings in 1846, the Hastings Cutoff left the California Trail at Fort Bridger in Wyoming. In 1846 the party, guided by Hastings, passed successfully through the rugged, narrow, rock-filled Weber River canyon to get over the Wasatch Range.
How many people were on the California Trail?
The traffic was so heavy that in two years the new settlers added so many people to California that by 1850 it qualified for admission as the 31st state with 120,000 residents.
How long is the Pony Express Trail?
Proposed Oregon, California, Mormon, Pony Express Trail Map (NPS) U.S. River Maps (USGS) The California Trail was an emigrant trail of about 1,600 mi (2,600 km) across the western half of the North American continent from Missouri River towns to what is now the state of California.
How far did the Reeds and Donners travel?
Russell. By June 16, the company had traveled 450 miles (720 km), with 200 miles (320 km) to go before Fort Laramie, Wyoming. They had been delayed by rain and a rising river, but Tamsen Donner wrote to a friend in Springfield, "indeed, if I do not experience something far worse than I have yet done, I shall say the trouble is all in getting started". Young Virginia Reed recalled years later that, during the first part of the trip, she was "perfectly happy".
How many miles did the wagon train travel in the Hastings Cutoff?
Map of the route taken by the Donner Party, showing the Hastings Cutoff —which added 150 miles (240 km) to their travels—in orange. On July 20, at the Little Sandy River, most of the wagon train opted to follow the established trail via Fort Hall. A smaller group opted to head for Fort Bridger and needed a leader.
What happened to Hardkoop in the Donner Party?
To relieve the animals' load, everyone was expected to walk. Keseberg ejected Hardkoop from his wagon, telling the elderly man that he had to walk or die. A few days later, Hardkoop sat next to a stream, his feet so swollen they had split open; he was not seen again. William Eddy pleaded with the others to find him, but they all refused, swearing they would waste no more resources on a man who was almost 70 years old.
What is the Donner Party?
[ sic] The Donner Party (sometimes called the Donner–Reed Party) was a group of American pioneers who migrated to California in a wagon train from the Midwest. Delayed by a multitude of mishaps, they spent the winter of 1846–1847 snowbound in the Sierra Nevada mountain range.
Where did the migrants get trapped?
By early November, the migrants had reached the Sierra Nevada but became trapped by an early, heavy snowfall near Truckee Lake (now Donner Lake) high in the mountains . Their food supplies ran dangerously low, and in mid-December some of the group set out on foot to obtain help.
What did Stanton bring to Sutter's Fort?
Stanton, one of the two men who had left a month earlier to seek assistance in California, found the company; and he brought mules, food, and two Miwok Native Americans named Luis and Salvador. He also brought news that Reed and Herron, although haggard and starving, had succeeded in reaching Sutter's Fort in California. By this point, according to Rarick, "To the bedraggled, half-starved members of the Donner Party, it must have seemed that the worst of their problems had passed. They had already endured more than many emigrants ever did."
How many wagons were there in the spring of 1846?
Families. In the spring of 1846, almost 500 wagons headed west from Independence. At the rear of the train, a group of nine wagons containing 32 members of the Reed and Donner families and their employees left on May 12.
