California Trail: Difference between revisions

California Trail (view source)

Revision as of 15:34, 15 August 2011

177 bytes added , 15 August 2011

save old version that still had proper div style

VisualWikitext

DiltsGD

73,385

edits

@@ Line 7: / Line 7: @@
 === Background History  ===
-'''Footpaths, wagons, and stagecoaches.''' The overland route over [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_Pass South Pass] was discovered by [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mountain_men fur trappers] in 1811. By the 1830s that pass was used as part of the [[Oregon Trail]]. Between 1829 and 1840 other mountain men explored possible additional routes extending through northern [[Utah]] and [[Nevada]] toward [[California]]. At first these were footpaths or pack train trails. The earliest wagon road was pioneered through South Pass to a [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rocky_Mountain_Rendezvous mountain man rendezvous] on the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Green_River_%28Utah%29 Green River] in [[Wyoming|Wyoming]] in 1830. By 1836 a wagon road reached as far as [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fort_Hall Fort Hall], Idaho.<ref name="OrTr" /> In 1841 and 1843 wagon trains started for [[California|California]] but abandoned their wagons in [[Nevada|Nevada]] and went on by foot. The first overland wagon train to reach [[California|California]] arrived in 1844 by leaving the [[Oregon Trail|Oregon Trail]] after crossing the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raft_River Raft River] in [[Idaho|Idaho]]. From there they followed Nevada's [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Humboldt_River Humboldt River] west to the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sierra_Nevada_%28U.S.%29 Sierra Nevada] mountains, up the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Truckee_River Truckee River] and over [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Truckee_River Donner Pass] to [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sacramento,_California Sacramento, California]. This became the most popular route, but other pioneers also came via [[Salt Lake City, Utah|Salt Lake City, Utah]] to the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/City_of_Rocks_National_Reserve City of Rocks]. From 1857 to 1861 the [[Butterfield Overland Mail|Butterfield Overland Mail]] stagecoach route near the Mexican border opened to Calfornia. That mail route was closed in favor of the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pony_Express Pony Express] (Central Overland) route through central Nevada farther south than the Humboldt River. In time these various paths to California were followed by wagon roads, railroads, and modern highways.<ref name="CaTr" />
+'''Footpaths, wagons, and stagecoaches.''' The overland route over [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_Pass South Pass] was discovered by [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mountain_men fur trappers] in 1811. By the 1830s that pass was used as part of the [[Oregon Trail]]. Between 1829 and 1840 other mountain men explored possible additional routes extending through northern [[Utah]] and [[Nevada]] toward [[California]]. At first these were footpaths or pack train trails. The earliest wagon road was pioneered through South Pass to a [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rocky_Mountain_Rendezvous mountain man rendezvous] on the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Green_River_%28Utah%29 Green River] in [[Wyoming|Wyoming]] in 1830. By 1836 a wagon road reached as far as [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fort_Hall Fort Hall], Idaho.<ref name="OrTr" /> In 1841 and 1843 wagon trains started for [[California|California]] but abandoned their wagons in [[Nevada|Nevada]] and went on by foot. The first overland wagon train to reach [[California|California]] arrived in 1844 by leaving the [[Oregon Trail|Oregon Trail]] after crossing the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raft_River Raft River] in [[Idaho|Idaho]]. From there they followed Nevada's [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Humboldt_River Humboldt River] west to the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sierra_Nevada_%28U.S.%29 Sierra Nevada] mountains, up the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Truckee_River Truckee River] and over [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Truckee_River Donner Pass] to [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sacramento,_California Sacramento, California|Sacramento]. This became the most popular route, but other pioneers also came via [[Salt Lake City, Utah|Salt Lake City, Utah]] to the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/City_of_Rocks_National_Reserve City of Rocks]. From 1857 to 1861 the [[Butterfield Overland Mail|Butterfield Overland Mail]] stagecoach route near the Mexican border opened to Calfornia. That mail route was closed in favor of the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pony_Express Pony Express] (Central Overland) route through central Nevada farther south than the Humboldt River. In time these various paths to California were followed by wagon roads, railroads, and modern highways.<ref name="CaTr" />
 '''Reasons for migrating.''' [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mountain_men Mountain men fur trappers] were the earliest to use the California Trail. Larger groups of American settlers began arriving in 1846. The outbreak of the [http://wiki.familysearch.org/en/Mexican_War,_1846_to_1848 Mexican-American War 1846-1848] resulted in American soldiers invading California to help secure it for the United States. Once California was officially United States territory it immediately began to attract more immigrants. Several western gold and silver strikes, productive farm land, lumber, and ranching all increased traffic on the California Trail.<ref name="OrTr" /> The '''[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/California_Gold_Rush California gold rush]''' attracted adventurers and gold seekers from around the world after gold was discovered at Sutter's Mill. An estimated 90,000 arrived in 1849, about half of them Americans. Americans usually took the California Trail to reach the gold fields. Some came by ship. Other used the [[Oregon Trail|Oregon Trail]] and then came south to California on the [[Siskiyou Trail|Siskiyou Trail]], or [[Applegate Trail]]-Lassen Cutoff.<ref name="CaGoRu">Wikipedia contributors, "California Gold Rush" in ''Wikipedia: the Free Encyclopedia'' at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/California_Gold_Rush (accessed 24 July 2011).</ref>
@@ Line 15: / Line 15: @@
 '''Trail life.''' Non-essentials were often abandoned on the trail to lighten the load. Forts and trading posts ([http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fort_Kearny Ft. Kearny], [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fort_Laramie_National_Historic_Site Ft. Laramie], [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fort_Fetterman Ft. Fetterman], [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fort_Bridger Ft. Bridger], [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fort_Hall Ft. Hall], and [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sutter%27s_Fort Sutter's Fort] along the way usually provided supplies, fresh animal teams, repairs, spare parts, and news of trail conditions. Hunting (including bison), fishing, and trading were also common along the route. Emigrants usually formed into [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wagon_train wagon trains] for security. Almost everyone preferred to walk rather than ride in dusty, bumpy wagons. They had to average 11 miles (18 km) to 17 miles (27 km) per day to reach California in four to six months. To leave too early risked muddy trails and too little grass for livestock. To arrive late risked traveling in winter weather. Thunderstorms and fierce winds were common. In good weather they often slept under the stars. On the prairie [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cow_dung buffalo chips] were gathered for use as cooking fuel. Wash day was about every two weeks. Many travelers enjoyed side trips climbing over trail landmarks like [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chimney_Rock_National_Historic_Site Chimney Rock], [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scotts_Bluff_National_Monument Scott's Bluff], and [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Independence_Rock_%28Wyoming%29 Independence Rock]. Some entrepreneurs drove herds of cattle over the trail to sell and help pay for the trip.<ref name="OrTr" />
 <div style="float: left; width: 147%">'''Deaths.''' About five percent of pioneers died on the Oregon-California-Mormon trails. The most common killer was [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cholera cholera] along the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Platte_River Platte River] in [[Nebraska|Nebraska]]. This disease killed as much as three percent between 1849 and 1855 (6,000 to 12,500 individuals). About 3,000 to 4,500 deaths happened because of [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Indian_Wars#Pacific_Northwest Indian attacks] especially in [[Idaho|Idaho]] and [[Nevada|Nevada]] after U.S. Army troops were withdrawn in 1860 in the run up to the Civil War. Other causes of death included freezing, [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scurvy scurvy], being run over, drownings (especially in the 1850s before many ferries), and accidental shootings.<ref name="OrTr" /> <div style="padding-left: 25px; float: right; width: 15%">
-{| width="126" align="right" class="wikitable FCK__ShowTableBorders" style="text-align: right"
+{| width="126" align="right" style="text-align: right" class="wikitable FCK__ShowTableBorders"
 |+ '''California Trail Immigrants'''<ref>John D. Unruh, ''The Plains Across: the Overland Immigrants and Trans-Mississippi West 1840–1860'' (University of Illinois Press, 1979), 119–20.</ref>
 |-
@@ Line 108: / Line 108: @@
 | '''250,000'''
 |}
+</div><br><br>
+'''Decline of trail use.''' In 1855 the California Trail (and Oregon Trail) traffic declined dramatically. First, the bloom was off the California gold rush. Second, the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Panama_Railroad Panama Railroad] was completed with steamship links that made transportation from the east coast to the west coast of America more practical than using an overland wagon trail.<ref name="OrTr" /> From 1857 to 1861 the [[Butterfield Overland Mail]] stagecoach route took some traffic from the California Trail. In 1869 the [[First Transcontinental Railroad|transcontinental]] [[Union Pacific Railroad|Union Pacific]] and [[Central Pacific Railroad|Central Pacific]] railroads completed to [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sacramento,_California Sacramento, California] made that route faster, safer, and less expensive than traveling the California Trail.<ref name="CaTr" />
-<br><br> '''Decline of trail use.''' In 1855 the California Trail (and Oregon Trail) traffic declined dramatically. First, the bloom was off the California gold rush. Second, the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Panama_Railroad Panama Railroad] was completed with steamship links that made transportation from the east coast to the west coast of America more practical than using an overland wagon trail.<ref name="OrTr" /> From 1857 to 1861 the [[Butterfield Overland Mail]] stagecoach route took some traffic from the California Trail. In 1869 the [[First Transcontinental Railroad|transcontinental]] [[Union Pacific Railroad|Union Pacific]] and [[Central Pacific Railroad|Central Pacific]] railroads completed to [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sacramento,_California Sacramento, California] made that route faster, safer, and less expensive than traveling the California Trail.<ref name="CaTr" />
-</div>
 === Main Route  ===
@@ Line 117: / Line 117: @@
 Two of the most popular early outfitting or "jumping off points" were [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Independence,_Missouri Independence] and [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._Joseph,_Missouri St. Joseph] in western [[Missouri|Missouri]]. Once the river was dredged and steamboats could reach it in the early 1850s, [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Council_Bluffs,_Iowa Council Bluffs, Iowa] became the most popular California Trail starting place.<ref name="EmigTr">Wikipedia contributors, "Emigrant trail" in ''Wikipedia: the Free Encyclopedia'' at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emigrant_trail (accessed 15 July 2012).</ref> [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kansas_City,_Missouri Kansas City], [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lawrence,_Kansas Lawrence], and [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Topeka,_Kansas Topeka] in [[Kansas|Kansas]] were also used. From their starting point emigrants often followed the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Missouri_River Missouri River] up to the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Platte_River Platte River]. Another option was to follow the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kansas_River Kansas River] and then the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Little_Blue_River_%28Kansas/Nebraska%29 Little Blue River] toward the Platte River.<ref name="OrTr" />
-Livestock needed watering so the California Trail followed rivers across the dry [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Plains prairies]. The California Trail usually followed the south side of the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_Platte_River North Platte River] west through [[Nebraska|Nebraska]] into [[Wyoming]]. Near Casper, Wyoming California Trail emigrants followed the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sweetwater_River_%28Wyoming%29 Sweetwater River] farther west. An important goal was to reach [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Independence_Rock_%28Wyoming%29 Independence Rock] on the Sweetwater River by [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Independence_Day_%28United_States%29 Independence Day]. The trail went over [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_Pass South Pass] then worked its way through the mountains. One [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sublette_Cutoff#Sublette-Greenwood_Cutoff shortcut] went from South Pass due west toward [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fort_Hall Fort Hall]. The main trail from South Pass headed southwest to cross the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Green_River_%28Utah%29 Green River] at [http://wyoshpo.state.wy.us/trailsdemo/lombard_ferry.htm Lombard Ferry], headed for [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fort_Bridger Fort Bridger]. At Fort Bridger the [[Mormon Trail]] branched southwest toward [[Salt Lake City, Utah|Salt Lake City]].<ref name="MorTr">Wikipedia contributors, "Mormon Trail" in ''Wikipedia: the Free Encyclopedia'' at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mormon_Trail (accessed 15 July 2012).</ref> The main California Trail went northwest from Bridger to [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fort_Hall Fort Hall, Idaho]. From the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raft_River Raft River] southwest of Fort Hall most '''''California Trail emigrants''''' forked southwest past the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/City_of_Rocks_National_Reserve City of Rocks, Idaho] toward [[Nevada|Nevada]],<ref name="CaTr" /> while '''''Oregon Trail followers''''' continued along the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snake_River Snake River] to [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fort_Boise Fort Boise] and the [[Oregon|Oregon]] border. The California Trail followers who opted to go through Salt Lake City often rejoined the main trail at the City of Rocks. In [[Nevada|Nevada]] the trail followed the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Humboldt_River Humboldt River] westward to its end. The next stage of the journey was usually considered the worst--southwest across the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Forty_Mile_Desert#Forty_Mile_Desert Forty Mile Desert] to the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Truckee_River Truckee River] or [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carson_River Carson River] in the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sierra_Nevada_%28U.S.%29 Sierra Nevada].<ref name="CaTr" />
+Livestock needed watering so the California Trail followed rivers across the dry [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Plains prairies]. The California Trail usually followed the south side of the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_Platte_River North Platte River] west through [[Nebraska|Nebraska]] into [[Wyoming]]. Near Casper, Wyoming California Trail emigrants followed the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sweetwater_River_%28Wyoming%29 Sweetwater River] farther west. An important goal was to reach [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Independence_Rock_%28Wyoming%29 Independence Rock] on the Sweetwater River by [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Independence_Day_%28United_States%29 Independence Day]. The trail went over [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_Pass South Pass] then worked its way through the mountains. One [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sublette_Cutoff#Sublette-Greenwood_Cutoff shortcut] went from South Pass due west toward [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fort_Hall Fort Hall]. The main trail from South Pass headed southwest to cross the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Green_River_%28Utah%29 Green River] at [http://wyoshpo.state.wy.us/trailsdemo/lombard_ferry.htm Lombard Ferry], headed for [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fort_Bridger Fort Bridger]. At Fort Bridger the [[Mormon Trail]] branched southwest toward [[Salt Lake City, Utah|Salt Lake City]].<ref name="MorTr">Wikipedia contributors, "Mormon Trail" in ''Wikipedia: the Free Encyclopedia'' at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mormon_Trail (accessed 15 July 2012).</ref> The main California Trail went northwest from Bridger to [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fort_Hall Fort Hall, Idaho]. From the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raft_River Raft River] southwest of Fort Hall most [[California_Trail|California Trail]] emigrants forked southwest past the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/City_of_Rocks_National_Reserve City of Rocks, Idaho] toward [[Nevada|Nevada]]<ref name="CaTr" />Wikipedia contributors, "California Trail" in ''Wikipedia: the Free Encyclopedia'' at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/California_Trail (accessed 15 July 2012).&lt;/ref&gt;, while Oregon Trail followers continued along the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snake_River Snake River] to [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fort_Boise Fort Boise] and the [[Oregon|Oregon]] border. The California Trail followers who opted to go through Salt Lake City often rejoined the main trail at the City of Rocks. In [[Nevada|Nevada]] the trail followed the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Humboldt_River Humboldt River] westward to its end. The next stage of the journey was usually considered the worst--southwest across the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Forty_Mile_Desert#Forty_Mile_Desert Forty Mile Desert] to the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Truckee_River Truckee River] or [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carson_River Carson River] in the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sierra_Nevada_%28U.S.%29 Sierra Nevada].<ref name="CaTr" />
 '''Trails over the mountains to the gold fields:'''<ref name="CaTr" />
@@ Line 250: / Line 250: @@
 <div style="padding-left: 10px"></div>
 === References  ===
+{{reflist}}</div>{{California|California}} {{Idaho|Idaho}} {{Iowa|Iowa}} {{Kansas|Kansas}} {{Missouri|Missouri}} {{Nebraska|Nebraska}} {{Nevada|Nevada}} {{Oregon|Oregon}} {{Utah|Utah}} {{Wyoming|Wyoming}}
-{{reflist}}{{California|California}} {{Idaho|Idaho}} {{Iowa|Iowa}} {{Kansas|Kansas}} {{Missouri|Missouri}} {{Nebraska|Nebraska}} {{Nevada|Nevada}} {{Oregon|Oregon}} {{Utah|Utah}} {{Wyoming|Wyoming}}
+[[Category:US_Migration_Trails_and_Roads]] [[Category:California]] [[Category:Idaho]] [[Category:Iowa]] [[Category:Kansas]] [[Category:Missouri]] [[Category:Nebraska]] [[Category:Nevada]] [[Category:Oregon]] [[Category:Utah]] [[Category:Wyoming]]
-[[Category:US_Migration_Trails_and_Roads]] [[Category:California]] [[Category:Idaho]] [[Category:Iowa]] [[Category:Kansas]] [[Category:Missouri]] [[Category:Nebraska]] [[Category:Nevada]] [[Category:Oregon]] [[Category:Utah]] [[Category:Wyoming]] </div>