Independence, MO. The Santa Fe Trail was blazed in 1821 from here. The place was an Osage Indian gathering place called Big Spring. In 1827 Independence was established.
The first settlers to go to Oregon left here in 1841. Under the direction of Wm. Clark, of Lewis & Clark fame, Fort Osage was built nearby, as the guardian of an unexplored frontier in 1808. Peak usage of the Trail was from 1841 to 1848. However, trappers and explorers used the Trail as early as 1811. In 1843 the first wagon train travelled the entire distance of the Trail to Oregon. An estimated 315,000 emigrants crossed the plains between 1843 and 1860. About 65,000 settled in Oregon. The Oregon Territory Law granted 640 acres to married couples who had resided for four years in the new land.
In 1857 the firm of Russell, Majors & Waddell used the route to operate a vast transportation system carrying freight across the plains to towns and Army installations in the West.
Fort Leavenworth, KS. Built in 1827 to protect the Santa Fe trail against Indians, also Oregon Trail.
Beatrice, NE. Just north of the trail the first settlement under the Home- stead Act of 1862 was claimed by Daniel Freeman.
Platte River, NE. Sandhill Cranes.
Fort Kearney, NE. Old Fort built in 1844 to protect travellers on the Ore- gon Trail. The new fort was built in 1848.
Ash Hollow, North Platte, NE. First used by fur traders in 1812. Named for its grove of Ash trees. Good water and grazing for the oxen. Good camping ground. Wagons lowered with ropes and other ways down steep slope called Windlass Hill. There were as many as four trading posts at dif- ferent times. Emigrants could trade for supplies and Indians could barter for their supplies. Chimney Rock A prominent landmark on the Trail. Scott's Bluff A narrow gap on the trail. It was a good camping place with water and grazing for the animals.
Fort Laramie, WYO. had its beginnings in 1834 and was used as a fur trading post. Later became a military post. All the emigrant trails to the west met here and continued together for 250 miles to South Pass.
Register Cliff, WYO. A sandstone outcrop 11 miles west of Fort Laramie. Many pioneers camped at the foot of the cliff. The cliff served as a place for them to etch their names, etc.
Independence Rock, WYO. A well known landmark - a giant granite out- crop. Named by a party of fur trappers led by Wm. Sublette on July 4th 1824. Thousands of names are carved on the rock. Reaching the rock by Independence day 4th July was a major goal of the covered wagon emi- grants.
Devil's Gate, WYO. A gap in the rock through which runs the Sweetwater River (Split Rock)
South Pass, WYO. 7,550 ft. Continental Divide. There is no other natural pass through the rugged chain of the Rocky Mountains that could be nego- tiated by covered wagons.
Fort Bridger, WYO. Established by Jim Bridger in 1843 as a trading post. He was a famous trapper and explorer. Later taken over by the Military. The Mormon Trail veered off to the southwest and Utah.
Massacre Rocks, IDO. Name probably coined after an Indian skirmish in 1862. It was at a narrow pass through which the trail passed.
Three Island Crossing, IDO. About half of the emigrants used the ford by crossing the gravel bars. Casualties did occur. It gave a shorter route, more potable water and better feed for the stock. Today the river is crossed by I-84.
Bruneau Dunes, IDO. The dunes are unique in the western hemisphere. They are formed near the centre of a natural basin in a semicircular form. Keeney Pass, ORE. West of Fort Boise, built in 1834 as a Hudson's Bay Trading Post. Served to supply emigrants and do wagon repairs. There was a river crossing here. Wagon ruts are visible as a walking trail.
Whitman Mission, WA. Marcus & Narcissa Whitman were doctor & Mis- sionary. In 1836 they crossed the continent to reach the Columbia river on Sept. 1st 1836. They were the first to take a wheeled vehicle and "blazed" the Oregon Trail for thousands of followers. They built their Mission and cultivated about 40 acres. In Nov. 1847 due to Indian unrest and an epi- demic of measles a band of Cayuse attacked & killed Whitmans.
Columbia River. In the early years before the Barlow road across the Cascades was opened as a toll road in 1846, emigrants had no choice but to go down the river from The Dalles on a raft or abandon their wagons and build boats. Many emigrants lost their lives in the rapids and dangerous currents. Once the settlers arrived in the Willamette valley they spread out to establish farms and towns. Oregon City is deemed to be the end of the Trail.