Oregon Trail Resources
From End of the Oregon Trail, America’s Library:
The Oregon Trail Notes and Activities is a multi-lesson resource. 'Pack' for the trail, create advertisements for Oregon Fever and more! Ideal for distance learning. The National Historic Oregon Trail Interpretive Center in Baker City, Oregon is a 500 acre historic site with a modern facility and professional staff offering interpretive programs, exhibits, special events, and four miles of hiking trails. The site is designed for all age levels, and to accommodate a variety of physical abilities. Jan 07, 2020 Imagine yourself an emigrant headed for Oregon: would promises of lush farmlands and a new beginning lure you to leave home and walk for weeks? More than 2,000 miles of trail ruts and traces can still be seen along the Oregon National Historic Trail in six states and serve as reminders of the sacrifices, struggles, and triumphs of early. Imagine yourself an emigrant headed for Oregon: would promises of lush farmlands and a new beginning lure you to leave home and walk for weeks? More than 2,000 miles of trail ruts and traces can still be seen along the Oregon National Historic Trail in six states and serve as reminders of the sacrifices, struggles, and triumphs of early.
The Oregon Trail was a route used by people who traveled to Oregon Country, which is what Oregon was called before it became a state in 1859. The Oregon Trail was the most popular way to get to Oregon Country from about 1843 through the 1870s. The trail started in Missouri and covered 2,000 miles before ending in Oregon City.
Oregon National Historic Trail History & Culture National Park Service
Oregon Trail historical newspaper coverage 1836-1879
Oregon Trail historical newspaper coverage 1880-1922
Oregon Trail Resources
Select primary sources & analysis activities related to Traveling on the Overland Trails, 1843-60
Robert Stuart of the Astorians (a group of fur traders who established Fort Astoria on the Columbia River in western Oregon) became the first white man to use what later became known as the Oregon Trail. Stuart's 2,000-mile journey from Fort Astoria to St. Louis in 1810 took 10 months to complete; still, it was a much less rugged trail than Lewis and Clark's route.
It wasn't until 1836 that the first wagons were used on the trek from Missouri to Oregon. A missionary party headed by Marcus and Narcissa Whitman bravely set out to reach the Willamette Valley. Though the Whitmans were forced to abandon their wagons 200 miles short of Oregon, they proved that families could go west by wheeled travel.
Oregon Trail Map
In the spring of 1843, a wagon train of nearly 1,000 people organized at Independence, Missouri with plans to reach Oregon Country. Amidst an overwhelming chorus of naysayers who doubted their success, the so-called 'Great Migration' made it safely to Oregon. Crucial to their success was the use of South Pass, a 12-mile wide valley that was virtually the sole place between the plains and Oregon where wagons could cross the formidable Rocky Mountains.
Oregon Trail Game Free Online
By 1846, thousands of emigrants who were drawn west by cheap land, patriotism or the promise of a better life found their way to Oregon Country. With so many Americans settling the region, it became obvious to the British that Oregon was no longer theirs. They ceded Oregon Country to the United States that year.