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| | ''[[United States|United States ]] > [[United States Migration Internal|Migration ]] > [[US Migration Trails and Roads|Trails and Roads ]] > [[Santa_Fe_Trail|Santa Fe Trail]]'' |
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| The Santa Fe Trail was an overland international trade route, military road, and pioneer migration trail in central North America between the [[United States Genealogy|United States]] and [[Mexico Genealogy|Mexico]] from 1821 to 1880. The Santa Fe Trail went from Missouri through Kansas, Colorado, or sometimes Oklahoma to New Mexico.
| | [[Image:Santa Fe Trail map.gif|thumb|right|Slowly click map twice to enlarge it.]]<br><br> |
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| [[Image:{{SanFeTmap}}]]<br><br>
| | [[Category:US_Migration_Trails_and_Roads]] [[Category:New_Mexico]] [[Category:Colorado]] [[Category:Kansas]] [[Category:Oklahoma]] [[Category:Texas]] [[Category:Missouri]] |
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| == Historical Background ==
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| Shortly after [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mexican_independence Mexican independence from Spain] in 1821, [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Becknell William Bicknell], a merchant-trader opened the Santa Fe Trail as a lucrative trade route from Franklin, [[Missouri, United States Genealogy|Missouri]] to Santa Fe, [[New Mexico, United States Genealogy|New Mexico]]. During most of its history, the trail was used to carry pack-trains or wagon loads of trade goods between Missouri and New Mexico. In 1846 at the start of the [[Mexican War, 1846 to 1848|Mexican War]] the United States Army used the Santa Fe Trail to invade and later supply New Mexico. At the end of the war Mexico ceded territory that would become [[California, United States Genealogy|California]], [[Nevada, United States Genealogy|Nevada]], [[Utah, United States Genealogy|Utah]], [[Colorado, United States Genealogy|Colorado]], [[Arizona, United States Genealogy|Arizona]], and [[New Mexico, United States Genealogy|New Mexico]] to the United States. Some American [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/California_Gold_Rush forty-niners] used the Santa Fe Trail on the way to the California goldfields. Before long, ox teams pulling wagons began to carry more and more [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_pioneer pioneers] from the expanding United States into New Mexico and the western states. Eventually, in 1880, the old wagon trail was replaced by the [[Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe Railway|Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe Railway]] which roughly followed the Santa Fe Trail Mountain Route from Kansas City into Colorado and New Mexico.<ref>Wikipedia contributors, "Santa Fe Trail" in ''Wikipedia: the Free Encyclopedia'' at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Santa_Fe_Trail (accessed 19 July 2009).</ref>
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| Part of the reason the Santa Fe Trail was a success was that it linked the [[United States Genealogy|United States]] to two other significant trade routes, the [[Camino Real de Tierra Adentro|Camino Real]], and the [[Old Spanish Trail|Old Spanish Trail]], all forming a hub in Santa Fe. Since 1598 the Camino Real had been used to carry settlers and goods from Mexico City and Chihuahua to Santa Fe.<ref>Wikipedia contributors, "El Camino Real de Tierra Adentro" in ''Wikipedia: the Free Encyclopedia'' at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/El_Camino_Real_de_Tierra_Adentro (accessed 19 July 2009).</ref> When the Santa Fe Trail opened these Mexican goods could be traded for goods from the United States. In 1829-1830 the Old Spanish Trail also was opened connecting Los Angeles to Santa Fe making even more merchandise available for trade.<ref>Wikipedia contributors, "Old Spanish Trail" in ''Wikipedia: the Free Encyclopedia'' at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_Spanish_Trail_(trade_route) (accessed 19 July 2009).</ref>
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| Settlers followed trails because forests, mountains, rivers, lakes, or deserts blocked other routes. If an ancestor settled near a trail, you may be able to trace their place of origin back to another place along the trail.
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| * Vernon, Joseph S. {{FSC|1053152|disp=Along the old trail: a history of the old and a story of the new Santa Fe Trail}}, online through FamilySearch Catalog.
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| == Route ==
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| During much of its early history, the only permanent white settlement on the Santa Fe Trail was [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bent%27s_Old_Fort Bent's Old Fort] in Colorado. Many of the following places were built later in trail history, or after the coming of the nearby [[Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe Railway|Santa Fe Railway]]. From east to west some of the more prominent places along or near the Santa Fe Trail included:
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| *Franklin, Missouri
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| *Independence, Missouri
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| *Council Grove, Kansas
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| *Fort Larned, Kansas
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| *Fort Dodge (Dodge City), Kansas
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| *Lakin, Kansas
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| '''Cimarron Route''' (60 miles shorter but drier and less-dependable water and forage for livestock)
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| *Boise, Oklahoma
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| *Clayton, New Mexico
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| '''Mountain Route''' (60 miles longer but wetter and more-dependable water and forage for livestock)
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| *[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bent%27s_Old_Fort Bent's Old Fort] near La Junta, Colorado
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| *Raton Pass, New Mexico
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| '''Trails rejoin near:'''
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| *Fort Union, New Mexico
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| *Las Vegas, New Mexico
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| *Santa Fe, New Mexico
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| == Settlers ==
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| American pioneer settlers who followed the Santa Fe Trail to [[Colorado, United States Genealogy|Colorado]], or northern [[New Mexico, United States Genealogy|New Mexico]] would appear in land records, censuses, and possibly county histories. Few appear in lists as the earliest settlers because the Spanish speaking pioneers from old [[Mexico Genealogy|Mexico]] via the [[Camino Real de Tierra Adentro|Camino Real de Tierra Adentro]] preceded them by many years.
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| American settlers who traveled the Santa Fe Trail most likely would have come from [[Kansas, United States Genealogy|Kansas]], [[Missouri, United States Genealogy|Missouri]], [[Iowa, United States Genealogy|Iowa]], [[Arkansas, United States Genealogy|Arkansas]],[[Illinois Genealogy|Illinois]], [[Kentucky, United States Genealogy|Kentucky]], or [[Tennessee, United States Genealogy|Tennessee]].
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| == External Links ==
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| *[http://www.nps.gov/safe/ National Park Service, Santa Fe Trail] History, stories, and map
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| *NPS [http://www.nps.gov/PWR/customcf/apps/maps/mini-band.gif Santa Fe National Historic Trail Map] fairly detailed map with historical notes
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| *[http://www.santafetrailresearch.com/ Santa Fe Trail Research] describes trail projects and research articles
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| == Sources ==
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| {{reflist}}
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| {{Colorado|Colorado}}{{Kansas|Kansas}}{{Missouri|Missouri}}{{New Mexico|New Mexico}}{{Oklahoma|Oklahoma}}{{Texas|Texas}}
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| [[Category:Migration_Routes]] [[Category:US_Migration_Trails_and_Roads]] [[Category:New Mexico Migration Routes]] [[Category:Colorado Migration Routes]] [[Category:Kansas Migration Routes]] [[Category:Oklahoma Migration Routes]] [[Category:Texas Migration Routes]] [[Category:Missouri Migration Routes]]
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