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Oregon Trail MapMap of the Oregon Trail… It's an inspiration story about those who have crossed the U.S., on the Oregon Trail, to forge out a better life. The challenges and risks they encountered are embedded into our National Heritage. The early settlers pioneered what we have today and we cannot forget. The Oregon trail map will highlight the struggles. Here's a good Oregon Trail Map, Click Here…This will give you an insight into the remoteness the pioneers engaged. While viewing the map, click on some of the other locations to learn about the Oregon Trails landmarks. Landmarks… Compare these landmarks with those on the Oregon Trail Map. Independence, Missouri, Mile 0. Most travelers began their journey here, in st. Joseph, MO. or in Council Bluffs, Iowa. Fort Kearney, Mile 319. The U.S. Army established the fort in 1848 to provide protection for travelers. All trails from jumping off points along the Missouri River met here at the "Gateway to the Great Plains". Ash Hollow, Mile 504. This was the entry to the North Platte River Valley. Ample supplies of wood, water and grass made this a sough-after camping area. Scotts Bluff, Mile 596. This was one of the major landmarks on the trail, and with Chimney Rock 35 miles east, it signaled that almost one-third of the trail had been traversed. Fort Laramie, Mile 650. This early Indian trading post quickly developed into the major resupply point for emigrants and a major military post. Old Bedlam, on the fort grounds is the oldest structure in Wyoming. Register Cliff, Mile 658. Of the thousands of names carved by emigrants into the soft sandstone, several hundred are still legible. Some trail ruts, as deep as five feet are three miles west. Independence Rock, Mile 815. Fur trappers named this formation on July 4, 1824. Many emigrants left messages on the rock or simply carved their names on it. South Pass, Mile 914. Here the emigrants crossed the Continental Divide and passed into the Oregon Country. The pass is so broad and so level that many did not realize they had passed into the Pacific watershed. Fort Bridger, Mile 1026. This was a major supply point on the trail. Here the Mormon Trail veered off to the southwest and Utah. Three Island Crossing, Mile 1398. If the water was low this was the best place to cross to the north bank of the Snake River to a route that offered better travel conditions and drinking water. Flagstaff Hill, Mile 1601. Travelers caught their first glimpses of the Blue Mountains from this point - an indication their trip was nearing an end. Blue Mountain Segment, Mile 1642-1659. Though the trail passed over mountainous terrain, wood, water and shade were abundant. Whitman Mission, Mile 1710. Marcus and Narcissa Whitman, who helped blaze the route of the Oregon Trail, estabilshed a mission to Christianize the Indians here in 1836. The Dalles, Mile 1820. Before opening of the Barlow Road in 1846, emigrants had no choice but to build rafts and float down the treacherous Columbia. The ford on the Deschutes River is 15 miles east. Barlow Pass, Mile 1878. Tired and weary emigrants who chose not to go down the Columbia faced a steep climb to the pass before descending into the Willamette Valley. Oregon City, Mile 1930. The Oregon Trail ended here. Fort Vancouver, a Hudson Bay Company trading post, is across the Columbia in Washington. On To Oregon… It all began with a network of rutted traces from the wagon wheels across the land from the Missouri River to the Willamette River. Nearly 400,000 people treked across this great barren ground to forge a new beginning. The Oregon trail map reveals the harse lands they had to cross. Imagine today, we can drive coast to coast in about 3-days at relative ease. Compare that with the old Oregon trail map to todays' road map. Today, the remnants of this 2,170-mile trail, that you can see on the Oregon trail map, still prevails an image against the countryside. In 1840 there were only three states in existence west of the Mississippi River. The nation's boundaries lay roughly along the Continental Divide. The last frontier was west of the Continental Divide. Prior to the trail of Oregon it was only the rough and ready that would venture off into this vast abyss west of the Continental Divide. Mountain men, trappers and the maritime explorers were the only daring ones to face the unknown of the west coast. In 1812 John Jacob Astor established Astoria at the mouth of the Columbia River. Robert Stuart was sent with dispatches overland to the eastern cities, some 2000 miles away. He was one of the beginning pioneers who found overland routes for the future swarms of people who would eventually settle in the Oregon Territory and make the Oregon trail map. East Coast Economic Depression Opens Door To Oregon… Businessmen and farmers were frustrated from the economic depressions of 1837 and 1841. Finally the international fur trade collapsed in 1839 intensifying the hard times. At the same time, concerns of British domination in the west grew. Churches saw the Indians of the west as prime candidates to spread their "good news". In 1836 Marcus Whitman his wife Narcissa, Henry and Eliza Spalding were sent out as missionaries to Oregon. Upon their arrival they sent encouraging letters home publicizing the opportunities and advantages of the Oregon Frontier. It wasn't until 1841 that the first group with serious intent to emigrate left the banks of the Missouri River. In 1843, nearly 1000 completed the trip. The Trail Undefined… The trail of Oregon was never really defined. Wagons often traveled in columns, sometimes hundreds of yard apart. Many traces of the trail were obliterated due to the effects from weathering. More permanent traces of the trail were along best route options, 1000's of wagons crossed over the same wagon ruts. The Oregon Trail was quickly being forgotten as time evolved. In 1906, a 76-year old Ezra Meeker set out to retrace his travels on the Oregon Trail following the old Oregon Trail Map. He had crossed in 1852 and wanted to create an interest in marking the route, raise public awareness of the trail's history and heritage, and point out the loss and damage resulting from careless disregard. Meeker had the opportunity to meet with Presidents Roosevelt and Coolidge, congress and several publicity trips over the trail. Upon his death in 1928, he opened the door to keep the trail of Oregon alive and keep it on the Oregon trail map. The Editorial Staff, Northwest Travel Tips 
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