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| link1=[[United States Genealogy|United States]] | |||
| link2=[[United States Migration Internal|Migration]] | |||
| link3=[[US Migration Trails and Roads|Trails and Roads]] | |||
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| link5=[[Oregon Trail]] | |||
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The '''Oregon Trail''' went from western [[Missouri, United States Genealogy|Missouri]] across the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Plains Great Plains] into the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rocky_Mountains Rocky Mountains] to Oregon City, Oregon. It was most heavily used in the 1840s, 1850s, and 1860s. It was the longest historic overland migration | The '''Oregon Trail''' went from western [[Missouri, United States Genealogy|Missouri]] across the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Plains Great Plains] into the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rocky_Mountains Rocky Mountains] to Oregon City, Oregon. It was most heavily used in the 1840s, 1850s, and 1860s. It was the longest historic overland migration trail in North America. The length of the wagon trail from the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Missouri_River Missouri River] to [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Willamette_Valley Willamette Valley] was about 2,000 miles (3,200 km). It normally took four to six months to traverse the length of the Oregon Trail with wagons pulled by oxen. About 80,000 pioneers used it to reach Oregon, and about 20,000 to Washington before the transcontinental railroad in 1869.<ref name="OrTr">Wikipedia contributors, "Oregon Trail" in ''Wikipedia: the Free Encyclopedia'' at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oregon_Trail (accessed 12 July 2012).</ref> | ||
== Background History == | == Background History == | ||
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'''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], [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fort_Boise Ft. Boise], [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fort_Nez_Perc%C3%A9s Ft. Nez Percés], and [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fort_Vancouver_National_Historic_Site Ft. Vancouver]) 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 Oregon City 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" /> | '''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], [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fort_Boise Ft. Boise], [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fort_Nez_Perc%C3%A9s Ft. Nez Percés], and [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fort_Vancouver_National_Historic_Site Ft. Vancouver]) 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 Oregon City 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" /> | ||
'''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, United States Genealogy|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, United States Genealogy|Idaho]] and [[Nevada, United States Genealogy|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" /> | '''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, United States Genealogy|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, United States Genealogy|Idaho]] and [[Nevada, United States Genealogy|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" /> | ||
{| align="right" width="126" style="text-align: right" class="wikitable FCK__ShowTableBorders" | {| align="right" width="126" style="text-align: right" class="wikitable FCK__ShowTableBorders" | ||
|+ ''Oregon Pioneers''<ref>John D. Unruh, ''The Plains Across: the Overland Immigrants and Trans-Mississippi West 1840–1860'' (University of Illinois Press, 1979), 119–20.</ref> | |+ ''Oregon Pioneers''<ref>John D. Unruh, ''The Plains Across: the Overland Immigrants and Trans-Mississippi West 1840–1860'' (University of Illinois Press, 1979), 119–20.</ref> | ||
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|} | |} | ||
</div> </div> | </div> </div> | ||
[[Image:Oregon Trail.jpg| | [[Image:Oregon Trail.jpg|thumb|left|803px|<center>Oregon Trail map.</center>]]'''Decline of trail use.''' In 1855 the Oregon Trail (and California Trail) traffic declined dramatically for at least two reasons. First, Oregon's free land incentive ended in 1855. From 1850 to 1854 pioneers could claim 300 acres of land for free. From 1855 to 1862 Oregon pioneers were required to pay for government land. The next free-land opportunities were not created in Oregon until the 1862 Homestead Act was passed. 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" /> | ||
Another factor that later diminished the use of the Oregon Trail was American railroads. The [[First Transcontinental Railroad|transcontinental]] [[Union Pacific Railroad|Union Pacific]] and [[Central Pacific Railroad|Central Pacific]] railroads completed in 1869 to Sacramento, California made that route faster, safer, and less expensive than traveling the Oregon Trail. Railroads to Oregon were developed in the 1870s. Nevertheless, a few emigrants continued to use the Oregon Trail as late as the 1890s.<ref name="OrTr" /> | |||
== Main Route == | == Main Route == | ||