The
beginnings of the Oregon Trail can be traced to Robert
Stuart, who in 1812 left Oregon and journeyed east.
Along the way, Stuart and his party had the good fortune
to find South Pass, a gentle and manageable crossing
of the Continental Divide. The Bidwell-Bartleson Party
(see the California Trail
page) was the first emigrant party across the Oregon
Trail although most of the emigrants opted for California
instead of Oregon. In 1843, the first large party of
emigrants bound for Oregon included Peter Burnett, Jesse
Applegate and Marcus Whitman. The years 1849-1852 saw
the largest concentration of emigrants on the Oregon
Trail; in 1850 and 1852 and estimated 65,000 to 70,000
emigrants moved west.
The Oregon Trail began in the Independence-Westport
area in Missouri. For the first few miles, the Oregon
Trail used a path already established as part of the
Santa Fe Trail. About a
mile southwest of Gardner, Kansas, the trail split.
The trail continued in a general northwest direction
through Kansas, Nebraska, Wyoming, Idaho and Oregon.
Like its counterparts, the Santa Fe and California Trails,
there was never really a single trail, rather a network
of interwoven trails.
Between Lawrence and Bellvue, Kansas,
Route 40 follows the path of the Oregon Trail. For "rut
nuts," Kansas presents some great opportunities
for locating trail swales. Grab a copy of Gregory Franzwa's
Maps of the Oregon Trail and start exploring.
Almost all of the intersections of the old trail and
modern streets and roads are marked with National Park
Service signs.
For more information, visit these fine
web sites:
Oregon-California
Trails Association
National Park Service Oregon Trail Site
Overland
Trail Association
