Oregon Trail | Can’t Sleep? Learn About The Journey West

The Oregon Trail was more than a single path across the American West. This episode explores the network of routes that carried hundreds of thousands of emigrants toward Oregon, California, and beyond, and how those trails changed over time. Along the way, you’ll hear about famous cutoffs, river crossings, mountain passes, frontier forts, and the geography that shaped one of the largest overland migrations in American history.

It’s steady and consistent, with no whispering and no sudden changes, just enough to give your mind something to follow as you wind down. Happy sleeping!

Transcript

Welcome to the I Can't Sleep Podcast, Where I help you drift off one fact at a time. I'm your host, Benjamin Boster. And today's episode is about the Oregon Trail. The Oregon Trail was a 2, 170-mile east-west large-wheeled wagon route and emigrant trail in North America that connected the Missouri River to valleys in Oregon Territory. The eastern part of the Oregon Trail crossed what is now the states of Kansas, Nebraska, And Wyoming. The western half crossed the current states of Idaho and Oregon. The Oregon Trail was laid by fur traders and trappers from about 1811 to 1840 and was initially only passable on foot or horseback. By 1836, When the first migrant wagon train was organized in Independence, Missouri, A wagon trail had been cleared to Fort Hall, Idaho. Wagon trails were cleared increasingly farther west and eventually reached the Willamette Valley in Oregon, At which point what came to be called the Oregon Trail was complete. Further improvements in the form of bridges, Cut-offs, Ferries, And roads made the trip faster and safer. From starting points in Iowa, Missouri, Or Nebraska Territory, The routes covered along the lower Platte River Valley near Fort Kearney, Nebraska Territory. They led to fertile farmlands west of the Rocky Mountains. The Oregon Trail and its many offshoots were used by about 400, 000 settlers, Farmers, Miners, Ranchers, And business owners and their families to get to the area known as Oregon and its surroundings, With traffic especially thick from 1846 to 1869. The eastern half of the trail was also used by travelers on the California Trail from 1843, The Mormon Trail from 1847, And the Bozeman Trail from 1863, Before turning off to their separate destinations. Use of the trail declined after the first transcontinental railroad was completed in 1869, Making the trip west substantially faster, Cheaper, And safer. Since the mid-20th century, Modern highways such as Interstate 80 and Interstate 84 follow parts of the same course westward and pass through towns originally established to serve those using the Oregon Trail. The first land route across the present-day contiguous United States was mapped by the Lewis and Clark expedition between 1804 and 1806, Following these 1803 instructions from President Thomas Jefferson to Meriwether Lewis. The object of your mission is to explore the Missouri River, And such principles stream of it, As by its course and communication with the waters of the Pacific Ocean, Whether the Columbia, Oregon, Colorado, And or other river, May offer the most direct and practicable water communication across this continent for commerce. Although Lewis and William Clark found a path to the Pacific Ocean, It was neither direct nor practicable for prairie schooner wagons to pass through without considerable roadwork. The two passes they found going through the Rocky Mountains, Lemhi Pass and Lolo Pass, Turned out to be much too difficult. On the return trip in 1806, They traveled from the Columbia River to the Snake River and the Clearwater River over the Lolo Pass again. They then traveled overland up the Blackfoot River and crossed the Continental Divide at Lewis and Clark Pass, As it would become known, And on to the head of the Missouri River. This was ultimately a shorter and faster route than the one they followed west. This route had the disadvantages of being much too rough for wagons and controlled by the Blackfoot tribes. Even though Lewis and Clark had only traveled a narrow portion of the Upper Missouri River drainage, And part of the Columbia River drainage, These were considered the two major rivers draining most of the Rocky Mountains, And the expedition confirmed that there was no easy route through the northern Rocky Mountains as Jefferson had hoped. Nonetheless, This famous expedition mapped both the Eastern and Western River Valleys, Platte and Snake Rivers, That bookend the route of the Oregon Trail, And other emigrant trails across the continental divide. They just had not located the South Pass or some of the interconnecting valleys later used in the High Country. They showed the way for the mountain men, Who within a decade, Found a better way across, Even if it was not an easy way. The Pacific Fur Company, PFC, Founded in 1810 by John Jacob Astor as a subsidiary of his American fur company, AFC, Operated in the Pacific Northwest in the North American fur trade. Two movements of BFC employees were planned by Astor. One sent to the Columbia River aboard the merchant ship Tonquin. The other dispatched overland under an expedition led by Wilson Price Hunt. Hunt and his party were to find possible supply routes and trapping territories for further fur trading posts. Upon arriving at the river in March 1811, The Tonquin crew began building what became Fort Astoria. The ship left supplies and men to continue work on the station, And ventured north up the coast to Klaikwatsaun for a trading expedition. While anchored there, Jonathan Thorne insulted an elder, Tlaquiat, Who was previously elected by the natives to negotiate a mutually satisfactory price for animal belts. Under Hund, Fearing attack by the Nitsitapi, The Overland Expedition veered south of Lewis and Clark's route into what is now Wyoming. And in the process passed across Union Pass and into Jackson Hole, Wyoming. From there they went over the Teton Range, Via Teton Pass, And then down to the Snake River into modern Idaho. They abandoned their horses at the Snake River, Made dugout canoes, And attempted to use the river for transport. After a few days travel they soon discovered that steep canyons, Waterfalls, And impassable rapids made travel by river impossible. Too far from their horses to retrieve them, They had to cash most of their goods and walk the rest of the way to the Columbia River, Where they made new boats and traveled to the newly established Fort Astoria. The expedition demonstrated that much of the route along the Snake River Plain and across to the Columbia was passable by pack train, Or with minimal improvements, Even wagons. This knowledge would be incorporated into the concatenated trail segments as the Oregon Trail took its early shape. Pacific Fur Company partner Robert Stewart led a small group of men back east to report to Astor. The group planned to retrace the path followed by the Overland Expedition back up to the east following the Columbia and Snake Rivers. Fear of a Native American attack near Union Pass in Wyoming forced the group further south, Where they discovered South Pass, A wide and easy pass over the Continental Divide. The party continued east via the Sweetwater River, North Platte River, Where they spent the winter of 1812-13, And Platte River to the Missouri River, Finally arriving in St. Louis in the spring of 1813. The route they had used to potentially be a practical wagon route, Requiring minimal improvements, And stewards' journals, Provided a meticulous account of most of the round. Because of the War of 1812 and the lack of U. S. Fur trading posts in the Pacific Northwest, Most of the route was unused for more than 10 years. In August 1811, Three months after Fort Astoria was established, David Thompson and his team of Northwest Company explorers came floating down the Columbia to Fort Astoria. He had just completed a journey through much of Western Canada and most of the Columbia River drainage system. He was mapping the country for possible fur trading posts. Along the way he camped at the confluence of the Columbia and Snake Rivers, And posted a notice claiming the land for Britain and stating the intention of the Northwest Company to build a fort on the side. When the War of 1812 broke out, The managers at Fort Astoria were concerned the British Navy would seize their forts and supplies, And in 1813 they sold out to the Northwest Company. By 1821, Intense competition between the Hudson's Bay Company, HPC, And the Northwest Company reached the point of armed hostilities, And the British government pressured the two companies to merge. The newly reconfigured HBC had a near monopoly on trading and most governing issues in the Columbia District, Or Oregon Country, As it was referred to by the Americans, And also in Rupert's Land. That year the British Parliament passed a statute applying the laws of Upper Canada to the district and giving the HBC power to enforce those laws. From 1813 to the early 1840s, The British, Through the NWC and HBC, Had nearly complete control of the Pacific Northwest and the western half of the Oregon Trail. In theory, The Treaty of Ghent, Which ended the War of 1812, Restored possession of U. S. Property in Oregon Territory to the United States. Joint occupation of the region was formally established by the Anglo-American Convention of 1818. The British, Through the HPC, Tried to discourage any U. S. Trappers, Traders, And settlers from work or settlement in the Pacific Northwest. By overland travel, American missionaries and early settlers, Initially mostly ex-trappers, Started showing up in Oregon in the late 1820s. Although officially the HBC discouraged settlement because it interfered with its lucrative fur trade, Its manager at Ford Vancouver, John McLaughlin, Gave substantial help, Including employment, Until it could get established. In the early 1840s, Thousands of American settlers arrived and soon greatly outnumbered the British settlers in Oregon. McLaughlin, Despite working for the HPC, Gave help in the form of loans, Medical care, Shelter, Clothing, Food, Supplies, And seed to U. S. Immigrants. These new emigrants often arrived in Oregon tired, Worn out, Nearly penniless, With insufficient food or supplies, Just as winter was coming on. McLaughlin would later be hailed as the father of Oregon. The York Factory Express, Establishing another route to the Oregon Territory, Evolved from an earlier express brigade used by the Northwest Company between Fort Astoria and Fort William, Ontario, On Lake Superior. By 1825, The HBC started using two brigades, Each setting out from opposite ends of the express route, One from Fort Vancouver on the Columbia River, And the other from York Factory on Hudson Bay in spring, And passing each other in the middle of the continent. This established a quick, About 100 days for 2, 600 miles one way to transport personnel and transmit messages between Fort Vancouver and York Factory on Hudson Bay. The HBC built a new, Much larger Ford Vancouver in 1825, About 90 miles upstream from Fort Astoria, On the north side of the Columbia River. They were hoping that Colombia would be the future Canada-US border. The Ford quickly became the center of activity in the Pacific Northwest. Every year ships would come from London to the Pacific via Cape Horn to drop off supplies and trade goods in its trading posts in the Pacific Northwest and pick up the accumulated furs used to pay for these supplies. It was the nexus for the fur trade on the Pacific coast. Its influence reached from the Rocky Mountains to the Hawaiian Islands, And from Russian Alaska into Mexican-controlled California. At its pinnacle in about 1840, The manager of Ford Vancouver launched over 34 outposts, 24 ports, Six ships, And about 600 employees. When American emigration over the Oregon Trail began in earnest in the early 1840s, For many settlers, The fort became the last stop on the Oregon Trail, Where they could get supplies, Aid, And help before starting their homesteads. Fort Vancouver was the main resupply point for nearly all Oregon Trail travelers until U. S. Towns could be established. The HPC established Fort Colville in 1825 on the Columbia River near Kettle Falls as a good site to collect furs and control the upper Columbia River fur trade. Ford Nisqually was built near the present town of DuPont, Washington, And was the first HBC Ford on Puget Sound. Fort Victoria was erected in 1843 and became the headquarters of operations in British Columbia, Eventually growing into modern-day Victoria, The capital city of British Columbia. By 1840, The HBC had three fords, Fort Hall, Fort Boise, And Fort Nez Perce on the western end of the Oregon Trail Route, As well as Fort Vancouver near its terminus in the Willamette Valley. With minor exceptions, They all gave substantial and often desperately needed aid to the early Oregon trail pioneers. When the fur trade slowed in the 1840s because of fashion changes in men's hats, The value of the Pacific Northwest to the British was seriously diminished. Canada had few potential settlers who were willing to move more than 2, 500 miles to the Pacific Northwest. Although several hundred ex-trappers, British and American, And their families did start settling in what became Oregon and Washington. In 1841, James Sinclair, On orders from HBC Governor Sir George Simpson, Guided nearly 200 settlers from the Red River Colony into the Oregon Territory. This attempt at settlement failed when most of the families joined the settlers in the Willamette Valley with their promise of free land and HBC free government. In 1846, The Oregon Treaty ending the Oregon boundary dispute was signed with Britain. The British lost much of the land they had so long controlled. The new Canada-United States border was established at the 49th parallel to the Pacific coast, Then dipping south around Vancouver Island. The treaty granted the HPC navigation rights on the Columbia River for supplying their fur posts, Clear titles to their trading posts' properties, Allowing them to be sold later if they wanted, And left the British with a good anchorage at Victoria. It gave the United States most of what it wanted, A reasonable boundary, And a good anchorage on the West Coast and Puget Sound. While there were few United States settlers in the future state of Washington in 1846, The United States had already demonstrated it could induce thousands of settlers to go to the Oregon Territory. And it would be only a short time before they would vastly outnumber the few hundred HBC employees and retirees living in the region. Reports from the expeditions in 1806 by Lieutenant Zebulon Pike, And in 1819 by Major Stephen Long, Describe the Great Plains as unfit for human habitation, And as the Great American Desert. These descriptions were mainly based on the relative lack of timber and surface water. The images of sandy wastelands conjured up by terms like desert were tempered by the many reports of vast herds of millions of plains bison that somehow managed to live in this desert. In the 1840s the Great Plains appeared to be unattractive for settlement and were illegal for homesteading until well after 1846. Initially it was set aside by the U. S. Government for Native American settlements. The next available land for general settlement, Oregon, Appeared to be free for the taking and had fertile lands, Disease-free climate, Extensive forests, Big rivers, Potential seaports, And only a few nominally British settlers. Fur trappers, Often working for fur traders, Followed nearly all possible streams looking for beaver in the years when the fur trade was active. Besides describing and naming many of the rivers and mountains in the Intermountain West and Pacific Northwest, They often kept diaries of their travels and were available as guides and consultants when the trails started to become open for general travel. The fur trade business wound down to a very low level just as the Oregon Trail traffic seriously began around 1840. In the fall of 1823, Jedediah Smith and Thomas Fitzpatrick led their trapping crews south from the Yellowstone River to the Sweetwater River. They were looking for a safe location to spend the winter. Smith reasoned since the Sweetwater flowed east, It must eventually run into the Missouri River. Trying to transport their extensive fur collection down the Sweetwater and North Platte rivers. They found, After a near-disastrous canoe crash, That the rivers were too swift and rough for water passage. On July 4, 1824, They cached their furs under a dome of rock they named Independence Rock and started their long track on foot to the Missouri River. Upon arriving back in a settled area, They bought packhorses on credit and retrieved their furs. They discovered the route that Robert Stewart had taken in 1813, Eleven years before. Thomas Fitzpatrick was often hired as a guide when the fur trade dwindled in 1840. Up to 3, 000 mountain men were trappers and explorers, Employed by various British and United States fur companies, Or working as free trappers who roamed the North American Rocky Mountains from about 1810 to the early 1840s. They usually traveled in small groups for mutual support and protection. Trapping took place in the fall when the fur became prime. Mountain men primarily trapped beaver and sold the skins. A good beaver skin could bring up to $4 at a time, When a man's wage was often $1 per day. Some were more interested in exploring the West. In 1825 the first significant American rendezvous occurred on the Henry's Fork of the Green River. The trading supplies were brought in by a large party using pack trains originating on the Missouri River. The trading supplies were brought in by a large party using pack trains originating on the Missouri River. These packed trains were then used to haul out the fur bales. They normally used the north side of the Platte River, The same route used 20 years later by the Mormon Trail. For the next 15 years, The American Rendezvous was an annual event, Moving to different locations, Usually somewhere on the Green River in the future state of Wyoming. Each rendezvous occurring during the slack summer period allowed the fur traders to trade for and collect the furs from the trappers and their Native American allies, Without having the expense of building or maintaining a ford or wintering over in the cold Rockies. In only a few weeks at a rendezvous, A year's worth of trading and celebrating would take place, As the traders took their furs and remaining supplies back east for the winter, And the trappers faced another fall and winter with new supplies. Trapper Jim Beckworth described the scene as one of mirth, Songs, Dancing, Shouting, Trading, Running, Jumping, Singing, Racing, Target shooting, Yarns, Frolic, With all sorts of extravagancies that white men or Indians could invent. In 1830, William Sublett brought the first wagons carrying his trading goods up the Platte, North Platte, And Sweetwater Rivers, Before crossing over South Pass to a fur trade rendezvous on the Green River, Near the future town of Big Piney, Wyoming. He had a crew that dug out the gullies and river crossings and cleared the brush where needed. This established that the eastern part of most of the Oregon Trail was passable by wagons. In the late 1830s, The HBC instituted a policy intended to destroy or weaken the American fur trade companies. The HPC's annual collection and resupply Snake River Expedition was transformed into a trading enterprise. Beginning in 1834, It visited the American rendezvous to undersell the American traders, Losing money but undercutting the American fur traders. By 1840, The fashion in Europe and British shifted away from the formerly very popular beaver or feldhads. And prices for furs rapidly declined, And the trapping almost ceased. Fur traders tried to use the Platte River, The main route of the Eastern Oregon Trail, For transport, But soon gave up in frustration as its many channels and islands combined with its muddy waters were too shallow, Crooked, And unpredictable to use for water transport. The plot proved to be unnavigable. The Platte River and the North Platte River Valley, However, Became an easy roadway for wagons. With its nearly flat plain sloping easily up and heading almost due west. Several U. S. Government-sponsored explorers explored part of the Oregon Trail and wrote extensively about their explorations. Captain Benjamin Bonneville on his expedition of 1832 to 1834 explored much of the Oregon Trail and brought wagons up the Platt, North Platt, Sweetwater route across South Pass to the Green River in Wyoming. He explored most of Idaho and the Oregon Trail to the Columbia. The account of his expeditions in the West was published by Washington Irving in 1838. John C. Fremont of the U. S. Army's Corps of Topographical Engineers and his guide Kit Carson led three expeditions from 1842 to 1846 over parts of California and Oregon. His explorations were written up by him and his wife, Jessie Brenton Fremont, And were widely published. The first detailed maps of California and Oregon were drawn by Fremont and his topographers and cartographers in about 1848. In 1834, The Dalles Methodist Mission was founded by Rev. Jason Lee, Just east of Mount Hood on the Columbia River. In 1836, Henry H. Spaulding and Marcus Whitman traveled west to establish the Whitman Mission near modern-day Walla Walla, Washington. The party included the wives of the two men, Narcissa Whitman and Eliza Hart Spaulding, Who became the first European-American women to cross the Rocky Mountains. En route, The party accompanied American fur traders going to the 1836 rendezvous on the Green River in Wyoming. And then joined Hudson's Bay Company fur traders traveling west to Fort Nez Perce, Also called Fort Walla Walla. The group was the first to travel in wagons to Fort Hall, Where the wagons were abandoned at the urging of their guides. They used pack animals for the rest of the trip to Fort Walla Walla, And then floated by boat to Fort Vancouver to get supplies before returning to start their missions. Other missionaries, Mostly husband and wife teams using wagon and pack trains, Established missions in the Willamette Valley, As well as various locations in the future states of Washington, Oregon, And Idaho. On May 1st, 1839, A group of 18 men from Peoria, Illinois set out with the intention of colonizing the Oregon country on behalf of the United States of America and driving out the HBC operating there. The men of the Peoria party were among the first pioneers to traverse most of the Oregon Trail. They were initially led by Thomas J. Farnham and called themselves the Oregon Dragoons. They carried a large flag and blazed in with their motto, Oregon or the graves. Although the group split up near Bent's Ford on the south plaid, And Farnham was deposed as leader, Nine of their members eventually did reach Oregon. In September 1840, Robert Newell, Joseph L. Meek, And their families reached Fort Walla Walla with three wagons that they had driven from Fort Hall. Their wagons were the first to reach the Columbia River over land, And they opened the final leg of the Oregon Trail to wagon traffic. In 1841, The Bartleson-Bidwell Party was the first immigrant group credited with using the Oregon Trail to emigrate west. The group set out for California, But about half the party left the original group at Soda Springs, Idaho, And proceeded to the Willamette Valley in Oregon, Leaving their wagons at Fort Hall. On May 16, 1842, The second organized wagon train set out from Elm Grove, Missouri, With more than 100 pioneers. The party was led by Elijah White. The group broke up after passing Fort Hall, With most of the single men hurrying ahead and the families following later.