Oregon Trail

Oregon Trail History Timeline

Oregon Trail Definition

The Oregon Trail was a 6-month journey that took settlers from Missouri westwards to Oregon. Between 1840 and 1880, 400,000 people traveled the trail and went west.

Fig. 2: Map of the Oregon Trail.

Oregon Trail Background

Oregon was neither American nor British in the early 1800s. It was home to around 60 indigenous tribes. The wealthy Hudson Bay Company, a British-owned company that dealt in the fur trade, had some outposts in Oregon.

Before 1818, there was disagreement between the British and American governments about who owned Oregon. In 1818 both governments agreed to allow residents of both nations to settle in the Oregon area. Citizens of either country could settle in Oregon and claim land. This agreement ignored Native American claims to the land.

Oregon Trail Missionaries

Missionaries were responsible for opening up and popularizing the Oregon Trail. The most notable missionary was Marcus Whitman. In 1835 Whitman traveled to the northwest so he could convert Native Americans to Christianity.

Whitman wanted to prove that the Oregon trail could be traveled safer and farther than before. Whitman made a second trek west with his wife Narcissa and another missionary couple. They journeyed across the Rockies using native American trails and guides from the Hudson Bay Company.

Why was the Whitmans' journey important? Narcissa's account of the trip was published back on the east coast. It proved that both men and women were capable of traveling west. The path they took became known as the Whitman Mission Route. It became a stopping point along the Oregon Trail.

Fig. 3: Narcissa Whitman.

Oregon Trail Rising Interest

The Great Migration in 1843 saw a large volume of pioneers (the first settlers) crossing the Oregon Trail. Around 1,000 people took the trail and settled in Oregon. In 1846 the US Navy published a positive report on the harbors in Washington state. Interest in the northwest began to rise. 'Oregon fever' began soon after.

In 1850, the Oregon Donation Land Law came into existence which made the Oregon Trail even more popular.

Oregon Trail Experience on the Road

The Oregon Trail was a 5 or 6-month trek by wagon or by horse. Travelers had to leave in the spring or else they wouldn't arrive in Oregon before the winter came.

Pioneers battled floods and dust storms. They could get injuries from falling off horses, drown while crossing the river, or catch diseases like cholera or smallpox. It is estimated that about 20,000 pioneers died along the Oregon Trail.

End of the Oregon Trail

The Oregon Trail's popularity began to wane as the popularity of the Transcontinental Railroad came to replace it in 1869. It was faster and more convenient to travel by train than by wagon or by horse.

Fig. 4: Transcontinental railway.

The National Park Service decreed The Oregon Trail as a National Historic Trail in 1981.

Significance of the Oregon Trail

The Oregon Trail was significant for speeding up American expansion west. The Oregon Trail gave pioneers an established route to travel and the Oregon Donation Land law increased the number of settlers.

While expansion west had a positive impact on settlers, it had a devastating impact on indigenous peoples. Not only was their land claimed by these pioneers, but they were also exposed to damaging amounts of disease and violence.