Where the Lost Wander

The Oregon Trail was the 19th-century overland route taken during one of America’s largest mass migrations. From the early 1840s to the late 1860s, more than 300,000 people traveled over the 2,000-mile trail, going from starting places mostly along the Missouri River to destinations in Oregon Territory, Utah Territory, and California. Some were simply escaping hardship in Eastern cities, while others wanted land to farm, which was made available through the Homestead Act.

Pioneers traveled in trains of dozens of covered wagons for safety and in order to share duties. The hardier travelers walked alongside their wagons, making about 15-20 miles each day. To avoid snow that would make mountains impassable, the journey began each spring and took about six months.

Pioneers began their trek westward by following the Platte River through present-day Kansas and Nebraska, where they encountered a trading post at Fort Kearny. They then followed the Platte River to Fort Laramie, Wyoming, and crossed the Rocky Mountains to reach their next trading post, Fort Hall, Idaho. At this point, they branched off depending on their final destination: Some went southwest to Utah and California, and others continued westward, following the Snake River through Idaho and Oregon, crossing the Blue Mountains, and traveling down the Columbia River to end points in Oregon.