Oregon Historic Trails Report Book (1998)
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i ,' o () (\ ô OnBcox HrsroRrc Tnans Rpponr ô o o o. o o o o (--) -,J arJ-- ö o {" , ã. |¡ t I o t o I I r- L L L L L (- Presented by the Oregon Trails Coordinating Council L , May,I998 U (- Compiled by Karen Bassett, Jim Renner, and Joyce White. Copyright @ 1998 Oregon Trails Coordinating Council Salem, Oregon All rights reserved. No part of this document may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher. Printed in the United States of America. Oregon Historic Trails Report Table of Contents Executive summary 1 Project history 3 Introduction to Oregon's Historic Trails 7 Oregon's National Historic Trails 11 Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail I3 Oregon National Historic Trail. 27 Applegate National Historic Trail .41 Nez Perce National Historic Trail .63 Oregon's Historic Trails 75 Klamath Trail, 19th Century 17 Jedediah Smith Route, 1828 81 Nathaniel Wyeth Route, t83211834 99 Benjamin Bonneville Route, 1 833/1 834 .. 115 Ewing Young Route, 1834/1837 .. t29 V/hitman Mission Route, 184l-1847 . .. t4t Upper Columbia River Route, 1841-1851 .. 167 John Fremont Route, 1843 .. 183 Meek Cutoff, 1845 .. 199 Cutoff to the Barlow Road, 1848-1884 217 Free Emigrant Road, 1853 225 Santiam Wagon Road, 1865-1939 233 General recommendations . 241 Product development guidelines 243 Acknowledgements 241 Lewis & Clark OREGON National Historic Trail, 1804-1806 I I t . .....¡.. ,r la RivaÌ ï L (t ¡ ...--."f Pðiräldton r,i " 'f Route description I (_-- tt |". i rlTh.i t' r':: tl The Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail I ' 't .:\ I. 1.. , '..-o.,E aMoro ì; .Í-- * J") . 1':, in Oregon is comprised of the Columbia River t.- t :' li \ City I' l.r" 1..., r'*-tl, Çrriúläl' "' segment which reaches from the confluence of the t I l: L b t.." I Snake River to the mouth of the Columbia at the .:, Condona . .:¡ .i I t Pacific Ocean and includes the Corps' coastal ¡ ¿_ _ I 1' t * r,.::..: : explorations. The segment is represented by both a Lincoln /' t F6¡la - - r-EM water trail and a land trail. The water trail is the entire Columbia River in Oregon, including the I L iWarm portage and camp sites on both sides of the river, t I and the Expedition's route along the north and I (I south shores of the Columbia estuary, around f I ì I I I Young's Bay, and up the present Lewis and r I I t-- J I Clark River to Fort Clatsop. The land trail goes r I *-J I I I west from Fort Clatsop National Memorial to t- I the Pacific Ocean shoreline, south to the Salt I I Cairn site (Seaside), and over Tillamook J t l----r I (Ecola I I Head State Park) to V/hale Beach I G { 'I i (Cannon Beach). I I _ J I t- - * Oregon has the only National Park i I ì { ';, I (-* I i Service unit (Fort Clatsop National --t I I ì t I I Memorial) dedicated solely to the Lewis I I -';; and Clark Expedition. aFort Roct I I I lWa¡ontiro f ocnrì,¡lt i t ìt'rt It '".tl.-,-, Jordrn ! lL -1 Paislq¡d\ t .t'.r. ì *t '.ì '.i.' Gold G \ \ t \ Fbldsa \ F¡ll¡ I ,''-..',-..I \ r 0 5-0 r00 rffi 25 50 iltES -13- Lewis & Clark OREGON National Historic Trail, 1804-1806 R¡vaÌ Route description i Thoi The Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail 'i. ..''ì I - :l aMoro in Oregon is comprised of the Columbia River t. City "I segment which reaches from the confluence of the t :t Condona Snake River to the mouth of the Columbia at the r 'a Pacific Ocean and includes the Corps' coastal ¡ ¿_ _ 1' t explorations. The segmsnt is represented by both a Lincoln t : F6¡la water trail and a land trail. The water trail is the entire Columbia River in Oregon, including the I L iWarm portage and camp sites on both sides of the river, t I and the Expedition's route along the north and I ( t south shores of the Columbia estuary, around t t I I I Young's Bay, and up the present Lewis and r I I L-- J I Clark River to Fort Clatsop. The land trail goes f I **J I I I west from Fort Clatsop National Memorial to t- I the Pacific Ocean shoreline, south to the Salt I I Cairn site (Seaside), and over Tillamook J t t----r I (Ecola I I Head State Park) to Whale Beach I G { 'I i (Cannon Beach). I I _ J I t- - * Oregon has the only National Park I I ì I { 'i t (** *-' ¡ Service unit (Fort Clatsop National I I I .i Memorial) dedicated solely to the Lewis I I I I .;i and Clark Expedition. aFort Roct I I I lWaetontlro f ocnrì.ult i t ft ,i' '..i Jordrn I lu *1 Paislqr.*'. t .'\. i .\ *t !i\; :I Go¡d G \ \ t \ Fbldso \ Frlls I ,"_..r¡-,.I \ [: 0 5-0 r00 rfi 25 50 XrrES -13- Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail Lewis and Clark National Historic TraÍlo 1804-1806 Authority/Reco gnition - National Trails System Act: Public Law 90-543 - Congress: NHT est. 1978 - State of Oregon: ORS 358.057 - Lewis and Clark Trail Heritage Foundation, Inc - Lewis and Clark Bicentennial Council Significance In 1804, Lewis and Clark and the Corps of Discovery, under direction from President Thomas Jefferson, set forth on a lengthy expedition into the Western Lands of the continent to survey the resources, to serve as US ambassadors to the tribes living west of the Mississippi River, and to locate a waterway that would equal the Missouri River as a means of transporting goods and products from the interior to world-wide markets. The successful completion of the Lewis and Clark Expedition strengthened the United States' possessory claim to the Pacific Northwest and the lands drained by the Columbia River and its tributaries. The journals kept by the explorers provided the initial knowledge of the American West, describing the geography, flora, and fauna of the region and the first recorded contacts with native peoples who lived here. Historical context As early as 1783, Thomas Jefferson mulled an expedition to explore the Missouri River and the lands west of the mighty river. His intentions were fed by a life-long curiosity about the country and the people living in the "unknown" lands of North America. In 1804, one year after Napoleon deeded rights to the land bounded by the 49th parallel, the Rockies, the Mississippi River, and the Gulf of Mexico to the Americans (in what was later to be called the Louisiana Purchase), President Jefferson sent the Colps of Discovery into Western Lands. With a small band of engineers, botanists, linguists, soldiers, and guides (43 souls in all), Meriwether Lewis, 30, & William Clark, 34, set forth up the Missouri River on May 14,1804, from their winter headquarters at'Wood River, Illinois Territory, near St. Louis. After wintering in 1804-05 with Mandan tribes near present-day Bismarck, North Dakota, the Corps of Discovery (this time with 32 members, including Sacagawea, a Shoshone woman married to a French trapper) pushed further west along waterways and overland to the confluence of the Snake and Columbia rivers. -15- On October 18, 1805, the Expedition began its journey down the Columbia River. The navigational problems they experienced on the swift Snake River were minor compared to the l four major barriers they faced on the Columbia: Celilo Falls, the Short Narrows of The Dalles, the Long Narrows of the lower Dalles, and the Cascades. Portages were often necessary, but eager to reach the Pacific Ocean, Lewis and Clark occasionally took chances and ran their canoes through dângerous areas. In addition to water hazards, the Expedition encountered problems with a number of tribal groups along the lower Columbia River. Some were friendly and cooperative, others were shrewd and crafty. The Corps of Discovery's problems were perhaps balanced by the increasing indications that the end of their long westward journey was near. On November 7, 1805, Clark joyously recorded that the Pacific Ocean was in view, unaware that the wide expanse of water they were seeing was only the estuary of the Columbia. Actual sight of the Pacific did not occur until November 15, 1805, from the Expedition's Chinook Point campsite on the north side of the Columbia estuary. The lack of game and shelter and inclement weather, made the Columbia's north bank an unsatisfactory location for a winter camp. On November 25,1805, the Expedition headed upriver and crossed to the south side the following day. A winter campsite was finally reached on December 7. The Corps set to work building a fortification and quarters, which they named Fort Clatsop after the Indians in the vicinity. Moving day was December 25, completion was December 30, 1805. Two of the most noted activities during their winter stay were the making of salt at a site near present-day Seaside and Clark's trip to see a whale which had washed ashore near today's Cannon Beach. The majority of time was spent hunting, curing meat, tanning leather, drawing maps, and reworking their journal entries. After wintering at Fort Clatsop, a period in which their journals indicated only six days without rain, the Expedition began their homeward journey on March 23,1806.