By Kansas Historical Society
The Oregon Trail exhibit is a permenent installation at the Kansas Museum of History.
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Welcome to the Kansas Museum of History. In this museum you will find pictures and objects from the time period we will be discussing. These are called primary sources. This is how we know about events that took place long ago. Today we will be taking a journey back in time to the 1850s to learn about the Oregon Trail.
What was the Oregon Trail?
Beginning in 1843 families and young men began moving west to Oregon and California. The routes they traveled became known as the Oregon-California Trail. Families moved west to find a new home with more land. They were called settlers. Young men went looking for gold.
The Oregon-California Trail was approximately 2,000 miles long. It took most travelers between four and six months to reach their destinations. Travelers had several routes they could take. Most began in Missouri, cut through Kansas, moved north to Nebraska, and continued into Wyoming before before going different directions.
Emigrant family (1870) by Alice Stewart HillKansas Historical Society
Most travelers were families. Each family member had different jobs to do before leaving for the trail.
The father had to buy the wagon and animals to pull the wagon. He packed all the tools they would need.
The mother was in charge of packing the food. This included bacon, ham, dried fruit, flour, sugar, beans, and canned goods. She also packed clothes for the whole family.
Children could not take all of their things with them. They had to pick a few, very important items to bring.
If you were moving and could only pack three items from your room, what would you choose?
The wagon
The main form of transportation on the Oregon Trail was covered wagon. Wagons needed to be strong enough to carry 2,000 pounds of supplies, but light enough to be pulled by a team of oxen, mules, or horses. In the early years there were no stores along the way so settlers had to pack everything they would need before leaving.
Covered wagon interior (1840/1860) by Kansas Museum of HistoryKansas Historical Society
In addition to clothes and food, travelers had to bring items for sleeping and cooking. Take a close look in this wagon. What did this group bring?
What they brought (1840/1860) by Kansas Museum of HistoryKansas Historical Society
So many items were needed there wasn't enough room for people in the wagon. Travelers instead walked beside their wagon. They also did not ride because it would make the wagon heavier and therefore harder for the oxen to pull.
Steamboat Annie Cade (1860/1880) by UnknownKansas Historical Society
Some settlers began their journey on steamboats like this one. After they packed they needed to travel from their homes to where the trail began.
Independence,
Missouri
People from all over the United States wanting go west started by going to Independence, Missouri. There travelers formed groups called wagon trains. Members of wagon trains would help each other during the journey. It was safest to go on the trail together.
Since the Oregon Trail was such a hard journey people needed help. Those with knowledge of the trail wrote guide books to share what they knew. The books, like this one written by J.M. Shively, told people how to prepare, where they could get water along the way, and gave tips for timing the trip.
Oregon Trail guide book (1846) by J.M. ShivelyKansas Historical Society
One part of Shively's book says: “…first, buy a light strong wagon made of the best season materials; for if the timbers be not well seasoned, your wagon will fall to pieces when you get to the dry, arid plains of the mountains…”
“You should be ready to take up your march as early as the first of April, and if there is no grass, carry enough feed for your animals to last you to the crossing of the Kanzas, which is 102 miles from Independence, here you will find the grass quite high.”
The best time for the groups to leave was in mid-April. At that time the grass the oxen would eat along the way was beginning to grow. Leaving then meant the animals would have the most grass to eat.
Kansas in the 1840s
When settlers on the Oregon Trail passed through Kansas they would see open prairies and buffalo wallows. Buffalo and other animals roamed the open grassland. This land was home to the American Plains Indians. Travelers on the trail were not yet allowed to settle in the area.
Crossing the Plains, the journal of Harriett Bidwell Shaw (1851) by Harriett Bidwell ShawKansas Historical Society
Settlers kept diaries as they moved along the trail. Their diaries are called primary source documents because they come from people who traveled the trail at that time. It is from these primary sources we know about the travel experience today.
One traveler on the Santa Fe trail wrote: “I carry my babe and another [child] through snow, mud, and water, almost to my knees. It is the worst road. I went ahead with my children and I was afraid to look behind me for fear of seeing the wagons turn over into the mud…I was so cold and numb I could not tell by feeling that I had any feet at all. There was not one dry thread on one of us – not even my babe. I have not told you half we suffered.”
Entertainment on the
Trail
Traveling on the Oregon Trail would get boring after some time. Settlers walked all day and ate the same food for months. To keep themselves entertained they brought instruments and told stories. Children would play games with their friends.
Dangers on the Trail
The trail was also dangerous. A group could run out of food, someone could be injured, or a wagon could break. Drawings from the time show the risk. This image shows how difficult it was to move wagons up and down steep hills.
Fording the Platte (1840/1860) by UnknownKansas Historical Society
In this one we see the danger of crossing a river with a wagon and several animals. Bad weather could also lead to accidents.
Dangers on the trail (1840) by Kansas Museum of HistoryKansas Historical Society
Since there were no doctors travelers brought medicine kits with them. These first-aid style kits were used to treat everything from broken bones to serious illnesses. Sadly, not everyone completed their journey. S.M. Marshall and many others died on the trail.
Oregon or California?
When settlers reached Fort Bridger, Wyoming, they faced a cross road. They could continue on the route to Oregon or they could switch routes to head to California. Why do you think travelers would choose one over the other?
Settling in
Once settlers reached their final destination, they would begin their new lives on their new land. They used the tools they brought with them to start a farm and build a house. This log house was built by Solomon Humbarger in 1857 near Salina, Kansas.
Interior Humbargar House (1866) by Solomon HumbargarKansas Historical Society
Take a look inside. Do you see items Solomon might have brought with him on the trail?
Railroad
Once the railroad made its way into the west trails were no longer needed. Trains were a faster and safer way to travel. Visit the Kansas Museum of History in Topeka to see this 1880 steam locomotive.
