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introduction
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Before the
Civil War, the frontier of American settlement generally followed the western
limits of the states bordering the Mississippi River, along with a slight
western tilt that included the eastern halves of Kansas and Nebraska. Beyond the edge of settlements such as St.
Joseph, Missouri and Omaha, Nebraska lay expansive prairies that eventually
gave way to the massive Rocky Mountains.
Migrations via the Oregon and California trails into the
trans-Mississippi West had bypassed this vast interior often referred to as
the "Great American Desert" because of its comparative lack of
water. California and Oregon had climates and environments more conducive to
farming than the Great Plains and were rapidly populated, while the vast
interior lay mostly vacant of American settlements. In the
1860s and 1870s, however, an increasing number of migrants turned their
attention to those areas of the trans-Mississippi interior along the now well
establish Oregon Trail and the new trans-continental railroad. Here they came
into conflict with the Indian tribes of the Great Plains including the Sioux,
and Cheyenne. Both tribes allowed
travelers to cross their territory but would not accept permanent
settlements. When migrants began to
push into Wyoming, the Dakotas, and Colorado in violation of native
sovereignty, the Indians waged a determined resistance. Gradually however,
they were subdued and the Great Plains lay open to settlement. |
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List of routes
Generally these routes are defined as having their terminus in
present day North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota, Nebraska, Kansas, Iowa,
Minnesota, Missouri, as well as parts of Oklahoma, Texas, and Colorado. |
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The
LINKS in the following list will
take you to either our web page or Another identified resource with more information
about that migration route. |
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NAME |
FROM / TO |
COMMENTS |
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Abilene,
TX to Dodge
City, KS |
That
part of the Great Western
Cattle Trail which commenced at Abilene
in West Texas and concluded
at Dodge
City, Kansas. |
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St.
Charles, MO to
Franklin, MO |
Nathan
and Daniel Morgan Boone, sons of famous frontiersman Daniel Boone forged this
road in 1804. The pathway enabled settlers to reach central Missouri. Later, Franklin, MO became the starting
point for the Santa Fe Trail. |
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Camp Supply Road |
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see
Fort Dodge-Camp Supply Road |
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Nueces
River, TX to Abilene
& Ellsworth, KS |
Named for Jesse Chisholm this trail
was used in the later 19th century to drive cattle overland from
ranches in Texas to Kansas railheads. |
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Dodge City Trail |
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see
Great Western Cattle Trail |
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Dodge
City, KS to
Supply, OK |
Established in
1868 this ungraded
prairie trail, was approximately 90 miles long. |
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Ft.
Griffin, TX to Dodge
City, KS |
That
part of the Great Western Cattle Trail which commenced at Fort Griffin in West Texas and concluded
at Dodge
City, Kansas. |
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Banderas,
TX to Dodge
City, KS |
Route used in the 19th century for
movement of cattle to markets in the East. It ran west of and roughly
parallel to the Chisholm
Trail. aka.
Dodge City Trail; Western Cattle Trail;
Old Texas Trail; Texas Cattle Trail |
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Old Texas Trail |
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see Great Western Cattle Trail |
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Yankton, SD to Sioux
Falls, SD |
Original 1862 road traveled to the first town site of Sioux Falls, on the Sioux
River where Canton, SD is now located.
Later the stage Road went to present day Sioux Falls, SD |
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Military Road(NE) |
Omaha, NE to Benson, NE |
This route was laid out from Downtown Omaha in 1857 by
Captain Edward Beckwith for the U.S. Army.
Originally a shipment road for military supplies to Fort Kearny, thousands of
travelers moving to the Pacific
Northwest used the road for the next 50 years as a part of the Overland Trail. |
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Osage Trace |
Franklin
MO to Fort Osage, MO |
The route of the Santa Fe Trail across
Missouri first used by Becknell followed portions of the existing Osage
Trace. Follows today’s Missouri Highway 87 |
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St.
Paul, MN to Pembina,
ND |
Eastern
segment of the Red River Trail it ran east of the Red river to the south
before crossing the Mississippi River and going to St. Paul. |
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St.
Paul, MN to Pembina,
ND |
Change to conform with Red River Trails,
i.e. West Plains, East Plains and Woods Trails |
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Santa Fe Road |
Fort
Gibson, OK to
Great Bend, KS |
Name for the segment of the Fort Smith-Santa Fe Trail migration
route from eastern Oklahoma, along the north side of the Arkansas River to
near Great Bend, KS where it linked with the Santa Fe Trail. |
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Sedalia Trail |
Nueces River, TX to Sedalia, MO |
cattle trail,
aka Shawnee Trail |
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Nueces River, TX to various points in Missouri and eastern Kansas |
The earliest and easternmost of the principal routes by which
Texas longhorn cattle were taken afoot, starting in the 1840’s, to railheads
to the north. The trail split into terminal branches that ended at various
points in Missouri and in other towns in eastern Kansas. |
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Texas Cattle Trail |
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see
Western Cattle Trail |
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Baxter,
KZ to Colbert’s
Ferry, TX |
a major trade and emigrant route across Indian Territory.
Established during the Mexican
War by emigrants rushing to Texas, it remained an important route
across Indian Territory until Oklahoma
statehood. |
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Western Cattle Trail |
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see Great Western Cattle Trail |
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* = denotes link to a
“Road Trip” page |
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The Google search engine button and following web sites
may provide you |
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with additional information to assist with your research about this U. S.
State. |
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General Resources |
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· Ancestry.com - Message Boards - Migration |
·
Frontier Trails - A Brief History |
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Topic Specific |
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Download
a free 2-page Fact Sheet |
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about
American migration routes |
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OUR GENEALOGY REFERENCE
LIBRARY |
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The following Link will take you to our
library of genealogy reference books.
Here you will find books about historic American roads, trails, and
paths. In addition, there are texts that pertain
to ethnic
and religion groups, history, geography as well as other books
that will assist you with your research. Research
Library – Table of Contents |
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Snail
mail: Fred USA |
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Pony Express: Tom |
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