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introduction
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By the
1860’s Americans began to look beyond the
settlements of the states on the western bank of the Mississippi
River, such as Missouri and the eastern part of Kansas. Here wagon trains formed at such places as
Independence in Missouri to travel through the expansive prairies via several
trails to the old Spanish colonial city of Santa Fe which up to this time was
focused upon its lifeline to Mexico via the El Camino de Tierra Adentro. From Santa Fe westward bound migrants
traveled to the Rocky Mountains and on to California on the Old Spanish
Trail. After the
American Civil War an increasing number of migrants turned their attention to
the old Spanish Southwest. Here they came into conflict with the
Native-American Comanche, and Apache who like the Great Plains tribes allowed
migrants to cross their territory but would not tolerate permanent
settlements. When migrants moved into Colorado and New Mexico in violation of
native sovereignty, the Indians waged a determined resistance. Gradually,
however, the United States Army subdued them and this region lay open to
further settlement during the last final decades of the 19th
century. Westward
migration into the Southwestern United States first opened with the great
rush of migrants to the mountainous regions following the discovery of gold
in California. Starting in the 1850’s
prospectors used the Old Spanish Trail as they flooded into California,
Nevada, Utah, and Colorado. The rush diminished significantly after the most
workable deposits were exhausted and many mining communities disappeared. Yet
the mining frontier helped lay the foundation for communities that would
become important commercial centers for continued migrations into the
Southwest. During the middle decades of the 19th century cattle
ranching, brought more migration to the Southwest via the South Texas and Old
San Antonio Trails. At first,
cattle-ranchers settled in Texas to pursue range ranching, an activity
requiring ranchers to drive huge herds of cattle hundreds of miles over open
grasslands to designated slaughter depots. As railroads opened more eastern
markets to beef, more sedentary forms of ranching took hold throughout the
Southwest. Some Southwest immigrants,
no longer able to make a living as ranchers, returned to the Midwest and
found employment in support industries in cities like Chicago, which became
the leading center for meat processing and packaging in the United States. Soon after the
ranchers came to the Southwest they were followed by the farmers. Thousands of migrants pushed into the
Southwest after the passage of the 1862 Homestead Act awarded free grants of
160 acres to anyone who would improve the land. During the 1880s and 1890s, these migrants-turned-farmers
clashed with ranchers over land usage and water rights. As with the Great Plains and other western
areas a significant percentage of these migrants were newly arrived foreign
immigrants, who preferred to take their chances with western farming rather
than endure life in the rapidly industrializing eastern cities, or former
slaves who sought refuge from the racially exclusive environment of the
American South. Unfortunately these
ethnic minorities seldom found increased opportunity or equality along the
route west and settled along side of the previous Mexican population in the
growing cities of the newly emerging Southwest. |
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List of routes
Generally these routes are defined as having
their terminus in present day Arizona, New Mexico, West Texas, as well as
southern Nevada, Utah, 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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Apache
Jct., AZ to Roosevelt Lake, AZ |
originally a stagecoach trail that ran
through the Superstition
Mountains of Arizona. |
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San
Bernardino, CA to
La Paz, AZ |
La Paz is known today as Ehrenberg.
It was the first road connecting Riverside County to the Colorado River. aka The Gold Road |
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Mexico
City, MX to
Santa Fe, NM |
see El
Camino Real de Tierra Adentro.
Probably so named because it linked Chihuahua, Mexico with
northern New Mexico. |
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Cimarron Cutoff |
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see Cimarron Route |
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Holcomb,
KS to
Watrous, NM |
aka Cimarron Cutoff or
Cimarron Trail, this was the portion of the Santa Fe trail that cut through
the Oklahoma Panhandle. It was shorter than the Mountain Route through
Colorado by about 100 miles. |
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Cimarron Trail |
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see Cimarron Route |
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Cooke’s Wagon Trail |
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see Desert Trail |
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El
Paso, TX to
Yuma, AZ |
That
segment, of a complex of trails that ran through NM and AZ to the Pacific
coast, which ran from southwestern New Mexico to the Colorado River. aka. Cooke’s Wagon Trail. |
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Mexico
City, MX to
Santa Fe, NM |
Sometimes
called just Camino Real, this was the main trail from Mexico to Santa Fe, and followed the Rio
Grande Valley. aka Chihuahua Trail; El Camino Real.
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Fort
Smith, AR to
Santa Fe NM |
Name for the
entire route to Santa Fe. The eastern
segment ran from eastern Oklahoma, along the north side of the Arkansas River
to near Great Bend, KS where it linked with the Santa Fe Trail., aka Gregg’s
Route |
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Gold Road |
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see The Bradshaw Trail |
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Van
Buren, AR to
Santa Fe, NM |
Josiah Gregg
was a Santa Fe trader who sought a southern alternative to the existing Santa
Fe Trail. His route generally followed the Canadian River across what
is now Oklahoma. aka Fort Smith-Santa Fe Trail |
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Pipe
Spring, AZ to
St. George, UT |
Southern
segment of the Old Arizona Road. Mormon newlyweds from NM & AZ used this
road to travel to the Temple to seal their marriages. |
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Santa Rita, NM
to Chihuahua and Sonora in northern
Mexico |
A trade route established
by the Spaniards, extending from the copper mines in New Mexico. Tradition
has it that this trail used part of the Ancient Way. |
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Los Angeles, CA
to Albequerque, NM |
Became a military wagon
road in 1859 with the establishment of Ft. Mojave on the Colorado River. During the period of
1860-1880 the road served travelers heading west. |
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Holcomb,
KS to
Watrous, NM |
The portion of the Santa
Fe Trail that followed mountain passes through Colorado. This was more
rugged than the Cimarron Cutoff, but offered reliable sources of water. |
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Mt.
Trumbull, AZ to
St. George, UT |
80 mile trail used between
1871 -77 to haul materials to build Mormon Temple at St. George |
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Old Trader’s Trail |
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Located in
northern New Mexico |
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Franklin,
MO to Santa Fe, NM |
19th century
migration trail extending west through much of Kansas. Near Lakin, KS travelers could choose from
the Mountain or the Cimarron Routes. |
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San
Antonio, TX to
El Paso, TX |
A western
extension of the Old San Antonio Road through west Texas near the Rio Grande
River. |
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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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