Oregon Trail

Quick Facts: Who was Oregon Trail?

Subject:

Oregon Trail

Known for:

Historic 2,170-mile wagon route connecting Missouri to Oregon Territory.

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2Day Chrono-Wiki & Primary Historical Archives

Origins & Early Life

The Oregon Trail was a 2,170-mile (3,490 km) east–west, large-wheeled wagon route and emigrant trail in North America that connected the Missouri River to valleys in Oregon Territory. The eastern part of the Oregon Trail crossed what is now the states of Kansas, Nebraska, and Wyoming. The western half crossed the current states of Idaho and Oregon. The Oregon Trail was laid by fur traders and trappers from about 1811 to 1840 and was initially only passable on foot or horseback. By 1836, when the first migrant wagon train was organized in Independence, Missouri, a wagon trail had been cleared to Fort Hall, Idaho.

Career & Major Achievements

Wagon trails were cleared increasingly farther west and eventually reached the Willamette Valley in Oregon, at which point what came to be called the Oregon Trail was complete. Further improvements in the form of bridges, cutoffs, ferries, and roads made the trip faster and safer. From starting points in Iowa, Missouri, or Nebraska Territory, the routes converged along the lower Platte River Valley near Fort Kearny, Nebraska Territory. They led to fertile farmlands west of the Rocky Mountains. The Oregon Trail and its many offshoots were used by about 400,000 settlers, farmers, miners, ranchers, and business owners and their families to get to the area known as Oregon and its surroundings, with traffic especially thick from 1846 to 1869.

Enduring Legacy & Impact

The eastern half of the trail was also used by travelers on the California Trail from 1843, the Mormon Trail from 1847, the Montana Trail from 1862, and the Bozeman Trail from 1863, before turning off to their separate destinations. Use of the trail declined after the first transcontinental railroad was completed in 1869, making the trip west substantially faster, cheaper, and safer. Since the mid-20th century, modern highways, such as Interstate 80 and Interstate 84, follow parts of the same course westward, and pass through towns originally established to serve those using the Oregon Trail. The first land route across the present-day contiguous United States was mapped by the Lewis and Clark Expedition between 1804 and 1806, following these 1803 instructions from President Thomas Jefferson to Meriwether Lewis: "The object of your mission is to explore the Missouri river, and such principal stream of it, as, by its course and communication with the waters of the Pacific Ocean, whether the Columbia, Oregon, Colorado and/or other river may offer the most direct and practicable water communication across this continent, for commerce." Although Lewis and William Clark found a path to the Pacific Ocean, it was neither direct nor practicable for prairie schooner wagons to pass through without considerable road work. The two passes they found going through the Rocky Mountains, Lemhi Pass, and Lolo Pass, turned out to be much too difficult.

Chronological Milestones & Life Events

1. 1804: 1804 Milestone — The first land route across the present-day contiguous United States was mapped by the Lewis and Clark Expedition between 1804 and 1806, following these 1803 instructions from President Thomas Jefferson to Meriwether Lewis: "The object of your mission is to explore the Missouri river, and such principal stream of it, as, by its course and communication with the waters of the Pacific Ocean, whether the Columbia, Oregon, Colorado and/or other river may offer the most direct and practicable water communication across this continent, for commerce.
2. 1811: 1811 Milestone — The Oregon Trail was laid by fur traders and trappers from about 1811 to 1840 and was initially only passable on foot or horseback.
3. 1836: 1836 Milestone — By 1836, when the first migrant wagon train was organized in Independence, Missouri, a wagon trail had been cleared to Fort Hall, Idaho.
4. 1843: 1843 Milestone — The eastern half of the trail was also used by travelers on the California Trail from 1843, the Mormon Trail from 1847, the Montana Trail from 1862, and the Bozeman Trail from 1863, before turning off to their separate destinations.
5. 1846: 1846 Milestone — The Oregon Trail and its many offshoots were used by about 400,000 settlers, farmers, miners, ranchers, and business owners and their families to get to the area known as Oregon and its surroundings, with traffic especially thick from 1846 to 1869.
6. 1869: 1869 Milestone — Use of the trail declined after the first transcontinental railroad was completed in 1869, making the trip west substantially faster, cheaper, and safer.

Historical Fact-Check Quiz: Oregon Trail

True or False: “The primary reason the Oregon Trail declined in use was due to the completion of the transcontinental railroad.”

Answer (TRUE ⭕): The completion of the first transcontinental railroad in 1869 made travel west substantially faster, cheaper, and safer than wagon travel.

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Frequently Asked Questions about Oregon Trail