When was the Oregon Trail last used?

The Oregon Trail was a route used by people traveling to Oregon Country, which is what Oregon was called before it became a state in 1859. The Oregon Trail was the most popular way to get to Oregon Country from about 1843 through The 1870s.

When was the Oregon Trail first used?

The Oregon Trail was built by fur traders and trappers from about 1811 to 1840, and was only accessible on foot or horseback. By 1836, when the first migrant wagon train was organized at Independence, Missouri, a wagon trail had been cleared to Fort Hall, Idaho.

Where did the Oregon Trail start and end?

Travel west on the Oregon Trail began at several towns on the Missouri River, from Independence to Council Bluffs, and then followed routes west on both sides of the Platte River. Companies of wagons were formed, emigrants bought supplies, and the group followed the developing ruts westward.

When was the first wagon train on the Oregon Trail?

Yet it was not until 1843 that the pioneer dam finally burst. That year, Marcus helped lead the first large wagon train of about 1,000 settlers along the Oregon Trail, an exodus now known as "The Great Migration." Traffic quickly skyrocketed, and by the late 1840s and early 1850s upwards of 50,000 people were using the trail each year. 3.

Why are people interested in the Oregon Trail?

The trail continues as the main interest of a modern organization – the Oregon-California Trails Association – and of major museums in Oregon, Idaho and Nebraska. The Oregon Trail has attracted such interest because it is the central feature of one of the largest mass migrations of people in American history.

Who was the first person to cross the Oregon Trail?

A pair of Protestant missionaries made one of the trail's first wagon crossings. Frontier explorers and fur trappers pioneered the Oregon Trail's rugged contours in the early 19th century, but the route was initially deemed too demanding for women, children or covered wagons to navigate.