Oregon Trail, Missouri (MO), United States

Facts & Statistics
Place Name	Oregon Trail
Place Status (Type)	trail
Location	Missouri, United States, North America
Latitude	unknown
Longitude	unknown

Oregon Trail , overland emigrant route in the United States from the Missouri R. to the Columbia R. country (all of which was then called Oregon) in the 1840s and 1850s. The pioneers by wagon train did not, however, follow any single narrow route. In open country the different trains might spread out over a large area, only to converge again for river crossings, mt. passes, and other natural constrictions. In time many cutoffs and alternate routes also developed. They originated at various places on the Missouri, although Independence and Westport (now part of Kansas City, Mo.) were favorite starting points, and St. Joseph had some popularity. Those starting from Independence followed the same route as the Santa fe Trail for some 40 mi/64 km, then turned NW to the Platte and generally followed that river to the junction of the North Platte and the South Platte. Crossing the South Platte, the main trail followed the North Platte to Fort Laramie, then to the present Casper, Wyo., and through the mts. by the broad, level South Pass to the basin of the Colorado R. The travelers then went SW to Fort Bridger, from which the Mormon Trail continued SW to the Great Salt L., while the Oregon Trail went NW across a divide to Fort Hall, on the Snake R. It then went along the Snake R. The California Trail branched off to the southwest, but the Oregon Trail continued to Fort Boise. From that point the travelers had to make the hard climb over the Blue Mts. Once the mts. were crossed, paths diverged somewhat; many went to Fort Walla Walla before proceeding down the south bank of the Columbia R., traversing the Columbia's gorge where it passes through the Cascade Mts. to the Willamette valley, where the early settlement centered. The end of the trail shifted as settlement spread. The Mountain Men were chiefly responsible for making the route known, and Thomas Fitzpatrick and James Bridger were renowned as guides. Capt. Benjamin de Bonneville 1st took wagons over South Pass in 1832. The 1st genuine emigrant train was that led by John Bidwell in 1841, half of which went to Calif., the rest proceeding from Fort Hall to Oregon on horses and mules. The 1st train of emigrants to reach Oregon was that led by Elijah White in 1842. In 1843 occurred the “great emigration” of more than 900 persons and more than 1,000 head of livestock. Four trains made the journey in 1844, and by 1845 the emigrants reached a total of over 3,000. Although it took the average emigrant train six months to traverse the c.2,000-mi/3,200-km route, the trail continued in use for many years. Travel upon the trail gradually declined with the coming of the RR, and it was abandoned in the 1870s.