THE OREGON TRAIL IN 1848

The Oregon Trail was the roughly 2,000-mile wagon road from the Missouri River to the Willamette Valley in Oregon. Large wagon trains began using it in the early 1840s, and by the end of the 1860s, when the railroad reached across the country, hundreds of thousands of people had traveled the overland trails to Oregon, California and Utah.

WHY PEOPLE WENT

Most emigrants were farming families looking for land. Oregon's Willamette Valley had rich soil and a mild climate, and reports sent back east made it sound like a promised land. Hard times on farms in the Midwest, and the chance to claim land for free, pushed many families to sell what they had and head west.

THE JOURNEY

Families left from towns on the Missouri River, such as Independence, in April or May. The trip took four to six months. Wagons were packed with food, tools and household goods, and most people walked beside them, since the wagons were for cargo and riding was rough. Oxen were the favorite animals for pulling: slow, but strong and steady.

The route followed rivers wherever it could: the Platte across Nebraska, the Sweetwater up to South Pass, and the Snake across Idaho. Forts and trading posts along the way, like Fort Laramie and Fort Hall, sold supplies at high prices. The last stretch, through the Blue Mountains and on to the Columbia River, was often the hardest.

WHY 1848?

The Oregano Trail is set in 1848, the year Oregon became an official U.S. territory and the year the Army founded Fort Kearny on the Platte. It is also the year before the California gold rush crowded the trails with tens of thousands of gold seekers and brought deadly cholera epidemics with them.

THE DANGERS

Disease was the biggest killer, especially cholera, along with accidents, drownings at river crossings, and cold and hunger when a party fell behind. Read more in ways to die on the Oregon Trail.

FOLLOW THE ROUTE

See every stop, from Independence to the Willamette Valley, in the landmarks guide. Teachers can print the classroom worksheet.