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The Oregon Trail was a 2,170-mile (3,490 km) [1] east–west, large-wheeled wagon route and emigrant trail in the United States that connected the Missouri River to valleys in Oregon Territory. 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.
- Missionaries Blaze The Oregon Trail
- Marcus Whitman
- Great Emigration of 1843
- Cayuse War
- Life on The Oregon Trail
- Oregon Trail Route
- Independence Rock
- Dangers on The Oregon Trail
- The End of The Oregon Trail
- Sources
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By the 1840s, the Manifest Destiny had Americans in the East eager to expand their horizons. While Lewis and Clarkhad made their way west from 1804 to 1806, merchants, traders and trappers were also among the first people to forge a path across the Continental Divide. But it was missionaries who really blazed the Oregon Trail. Merchant Nathaniel Wy...
Determined to spread Christianityto American Indians on the frontier, doctor and Protestant missionary Marcus Whitman set out on horseback from the Northeast in 1835 to prove that the westward trail to Oregon could be traversed safely and further than ever before. Whitman’s first attempt took him as far the Green River Rendezvous, a meeting place f...
When Whitman headed west yet again, he met up with a huge wagon train destined for Oregon. The group included 120 wagons, about 1,000 people and thousands of livestock. Their trek began on May 22 and lasted five months. It effectively opened the floodgates of pioneer migration along the Oregon Trail and became known as the Great Emigration of 1843.
Upon Whitman’s return to his mission, his main goal shifted from converting American Indians to assisting white settlers. As more settlers arrived, the Cayuse resisted their encroachment. After a measles epidemic broke out in 1847, the Cayuse population was decimated, despite Whitman using his medical knowledge to help them. In the ongoing conflict...
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, bacon, coffee, salt, rifles and ammunition. By far, the most important...
It was critical for travelers to leave in April or May if they hoped to reach Oregon before the winter snows began. 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 C...
The settlers gave a sigh of relief if they reached Independence Rock—a huge granite rock in Wyoming that marked the halfway point of their journey—by July 4 because it meant they were on schedule. So many people added their name to the rock it became known as the “Great Register of the Desert.” After leaving Independence Rock, settlers climbed the ...
Many settlers looked at the Oregon Trail with an idealistic eye, but it was anything but romantic. According to the Oregon California Trails Association, almost one in ten who embarked on the trail didn’t survive. Most people died of diseases such as dysentery, cholera, smallpox or flu, or in accidents caused by inexperience, exhaustion and careles...
With the completion of the first transcontinental railroad in Utahin 1869, westward wagon trains decreased significantly as settlers chose the faster and more reliable mode of transportation. Still, as towns were established along the Oregon Trail, the route continued to serve thousands of emigrants with “gold fever” on their way to California. It ...
Life and Death on the Oregon Trail: Provisions for Births and Lethal Circumstances. Oregon California Trails Association. Marcus Whitman (1802-1847) Narcissa Whitman (1808-1847). PBS New Perspectives on the West. Oregon Donation Land Act. The Oregon Encyclopedia. Oregon or Bust. Arizona Geographic Alliance. Oregon Trail. The Oregon Encyclopedia. Tr...
Learn about the Oregon Trail, a 2,000-mile path that hundreds of thousands of American pioneers used to emigrate west in the 19th century. Explore the challenges, hardships and achievements of the trail, from missionaries and traders to settlers and gold seekers.
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Mar 28, 2024 · The Oregon Trail was an overland trail between Independence, Missouri, and Oregon City, near present-day Portland, Oregon, in the Willamette River valley. It was one of the two main emigrant routes to the American West in the 19th century, the other being the southerly Santa Fe Trail.
- William E. Hill
Feb 3, 2023 · Learn about the Oregon Trail, the most famous of the Overland Trails used by thousands of American pioneers who emigrated to Oregon and other western territories in the 19th century. Explore the history, facts, and significance of the trail, as well as its offshoots, landmarks, and challenges.
- Randal Rust
Learn about the Oregon Trail, one of the largest mass migrations of people in American history, from 1840 to 1860. Explore the route, the wagons, the challenges, and the legacy of this iconic event in Oregon's past.
Jul 18, 2023 · Explore the trail that brought early American settlers to Oregon and beyond. Find out where to go, what to see, and how to connect with the history and culture of the trail.
Oregon Trail pioneer Ezra Meeker erected this boulder near Pacific Springs on Wyoming's South Pass in 1906. [1] The historic 2,170-mile (3,490 km) [2] Oregon Trail connected various towns along the Missouri River to Oregon's Willamette Valley. It was used during the 19th century by Great Plains pioneers who were seeking fertile land in the West ...
