History of the Oregon Trail
Written by Mark Pulcifer
Here at Run On History, we love a good story. They help us connect with the past and create shared experiences. When these newly formed memories are tied to real people, places, and events that actually transpired--that’s the storytelling that brings history to life. One of the accounts that we find particularly interesting is about the Oregon Trail. Countless pioneers in the mid-1800s immigrated west through this roughly 2,000-mile route from Oregon City, Oregon, to Independence, Missouri. Numerous trails meandered through present-day Kansas, Nebraska, Wyoming, Idaho, and finally Oregon. Without the Oregon Trail and the Oregon Donation Land Act of 1850, pioneer migration into the American West would have occurred significantly more slowly.
Here are five things you may (or may not) know about the Oregon Trail that we find fascinating:
1) The Oregon Trail was founded primarily by missionaries, not Lewis and Clark.
From 1804 to 1806, Meriwether Lewis and William Clark discovered a route to the Pacific Ocean—however, it was not practical enough for hopeful settlers to use for crossing the Rocky Mountains over the charted path. The journey was too rough for wagons, and the Blackfoot Indian tribes controlled the regions that this area passed through at this time. Fur traders eventually found passages south of where Lewis and Clark explored, and in the 1830s, doctor and Protestant missionary Marcus Whitman established the Whitman Missionary Route to Fort Vancouver, Washington; the practical Oregon Trail was used from 1843 to 1867.
From 1804 to 1806, Meriwether Lewis and William Clark discovered a route to the Pacific Ocean—however, it was not practical enough for hopeful settlers to use for crossing the Rocky Mountains over the charted path. The journey was too rough for wagons, and the Blackfoot Indian tribes controlled the regions that this area passed through at this time. Fur traders eventually found passages south of where Lewis and Clark explored, and in the 1830s, doctor and Protestant missionary Marcus Whitman established the Whitman Missionary Route to Fort Vancouver, Washington; the practical Oregon Trail was used from 1843 to 1867.
2) The covered wagons traveling the Oregon Trail were not the Conestoga wagons (or “prairie schooners”) used in the East.
Covered wagons had to traverse terrain that would have been impossible for the larger, more rigid Conestoga wagons. Standing 7-8 feet tall and around 10-15 feet long, it was by far the most important tool for making the trip along the Oregon Trail, making it the pickup truck of its time. It was made of seasoned hardwood with an oiled canvas stretched over a wooden frame. The wagon could carry necessary supplies like guns, ammunition, flour, salt, sugar, bacon, extra wagon wheels, and axles. It had to be strong enough to last for four to six months of travel over rivers, muddy plains, and rocky mountain passes. |
3) The Oregon Trail became a dumping ground for abandoned supplies.
“Use it up, wear it out, make it do, or do without” became the motto of the Oregon Trail. The covered wagons used were capable of holding about 2,000 to 2,500 pounds; exceeding that would make the oxen unable to pull the wagons day in and day out. This sounds like a lot of available cargo, until you consider that keeping everyone fed requires at least 200 pounds of flour per person for the trip. Furthermore, while it was true that a well-stocked wagon could mean the difference between life and death on the trail, frontier trading posts preyed on the travelers' fears, conning them into purchasing provisions and items over the necessities. Discarded food barrels, wagon parts, and other goods turned sections of the area into junk heaps. When pioneers faced mortality, it was common to see draught animals, broken wagons, and personal items littering the roads. Eventually, Fort Laramie in Wyoming gained both a reputation and the nickname “Camp Sacrifice” as an Oregon Trail dumping ground.
“Use it up, wear it out, make it do, or do without” became the motto of the Oregon Trail. The covered wagons used were capable of holding about 2,000 to 2,500 pounds; exceeding that would make the oxen unable to pull the wagons day in and day out. This sounds like a lot of available cargo, until you consider that keeping everyone fed requires at least 200 pounds of flour per person for the trip. Furthermore, while it was true that a well-stocked wagon could mean the difference between life and death on the trail, frontier trading posts preyed on the travelers' fears, conning them into purchasing provisions and items over the necessities. Discarded food barrels, wagon parts, and other goods turned sections of the area into junk heaps. When pioneers faced mortality, it was common to see draught animals, broken wagons, and personal items littering the roads. Eventually, Fort Laramie in Wyoming gained both a reputation and the nickname “Camp Sacrifice” as an Oregon Trail dumping ground.
4) Traveling the Oregon Trail was costly — there’s an estimated 10 graves for every mile of the Trail.
The Homestead Act of 1862’s promise of free land was enticing for citizens in any state, but getting there to lay claim to a piece of land was downright dangerous. Most of the danger came in the form of disease. The settlers traveling the Oregon Trail encountered illnesses that could be transmitted from one family to another, including dysentery, cholera, smallpox, and the flu. Food shortages made people more susceptible to disease, and it was not unusual for them to starve even when Mt. Hood first came into view. One traveler from 1851 wrote, “It seems the nearer we approach Oregon the worse roads we have, and a worse more rough looking country.” The path consisted of many dangers that required traversing rivers by raft or canoe. Hostile American Indian tribes were mostly exaggerated--while some conflicts with them did occur, it was primarily distrust and misunderstanding that resulted in immediate aggression whenever Native Americans stopped by a pioneer encampment attempting to trade.
The Homestead Act of 1862’s promise of free land was enticing for citizens in any state, but getting there to lay claim to a piece of land was downright dangerous. Most of the danger came in the form of disease. The settlers traveling the Oregon Trail encountered illnesses that could be transmitted from one family to another, including dysentery, cholera, smallpox, and the flu. Food shortages made people more susceptible to disease, and it was not unusual for them to starve even when Mt. Hood first came into view. One traveler from 1851 wrote, “It seems the nearer we approach Oregon the worse roads we have, and a worse more rough looking country.” The path consisted of many dangers that required traversing rivers by raft or canoe. Hostile American Indian tribes were mostly exaggerated--while some conflicts with them did occur, it was primarily distrust and misunderstanding that resulted in immediate aggression whenever Native Americans stopped by a pioneer encampment attempting to trade.
5) The Minnesota Educational Computing Consortium (MECC) made the popular Oregon Trail video game and other educational programs.
A top five list of the Oregon Trail would be incomplete without mentioning the classic computer game. Initially written in computer language to be accessed by teleprinters in 1971, the game was written in around 800 lines with the Beginner's All-purpose Symbolic Instruction Code (HP Time-Shared BASIC), a computer programming language developed in the 1960s. The game was marketed to home consumers in 1985, becoming the most popular game of MECC’s Elementary series, which included other titles like Lemonade Stand, The Secret Island of Dr. Quandray, The Yukon Trail, The Amazon Trail, Odell Lake, Zoyon Patrol, Spellevator, and DinoPark Tycoon. The game provided the same kinds of challenges experienced on the actual Oregon Trail, and would come to an end when the player’s party reached the Willamette Valley, either through the Columbia River, a toll road, or when they died from disease or injuries.
A top five list of the Oregon Trail would be incomplete without mentioning the classic computer game. Initially written in computer language to be accessed by teleprinters in 1971, the game was written in around 800 lines with the Beginner's All-purpose Symbolic Instruction Code (HP Time-Shared BASIC), a computer programming language developed in the 1960s. The game was marketed to home consumers in 1985, becoming the most popular game of MECC’s Elementary series, which included other titles like Lemonade Stand, The Secret Island of Dr. Quandray, The Yukon Trail, The Amazon Trail, Odell Lake, Zoyon Patrol, Spellevator, and DinoPark Tycoon. The game provided the same kinds of challenges experienced on the actual Oregon Trail, and would come to an end when the player’s party reached the Willamette Valley, either through the Columbia River, a toll road, or when they died from disease or injuries.