Introduction

List of Migration Routes

Internet Resources

Contact Information

introduction

   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. As such most migrants settled along the Pacific Coast in those areas that would become the states of California, Oregon and Washington.

     Migration to the American West began with the mining frontier which opened with the great rush of migrants to the mountainous regions following the discovery of gold in California. From 1848 to 1853, more than 250,000 prospectors flooded California, Nevada, Utah, and Colorado. Although this rush for gold and silver weakened considerably after the many mineral deposits were exhausted and most mining towns disappeared the mining frontier helped lay the foundation for such major communities as Denver and San Francisco, cities that would become important political and social centers for continued migrations into the west.

     Even after the conclusion of the famous gold rush era, when hundreds of thousands of fortune seekers came west, most American migrants still followed the overland trails to their terminus along the Pacific Coast. 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.

Source: http://www.answers.com/topic/westward-migration

List of routes

Generally these routes are defined as having their terminus in present day California, Oregon, and Washington.

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.  

NAME

FROM / TO

COMMENTS

Applegate Trail

Humboldt, NV to

 Dallas, OR

a southern route of the Oregon Trail, aka Applegate-Lassen Route

Barlow Road

The Dalles, OR to

 Oregon City, OR

Served as the last overland segment of the Oregon Trail. Its construction allowed wagons to cross the Cascade Range and reach the Willamette Valley, which had previously been nearly impossible.

Bidwell-Bartleson Trail

Westport, MO to

Walker River, CA

The Westward migration used in 1841by the Bartleson-Bidwell Party led by Captain John Bartleson and John Bidwell.  This group became the first American emigrants to attempt a wagon crossing from Missouri to California.

Butterfield Overland Trail

St. Louis, MO to

 San Francisco, CA

aka Oxbow Route; Butterfield Overland Stage; Butterfield Overland Mail Trail; or the Butterfield Stage

California Road

Ft. Smith, AR to

 California

One of the many trails to California, this one from Ft. Smith through the old Choctaw and Chickasaw Nation into Texas. It loosely followed Gregg's Route.

California Trail*

Missouri to

California

Not really a single trail, but a network of trails that led west during the Gold Rush. aka Emigrant Trail and includes the Applegate Trail, and Hastings Route,

Central Nevada Route

Salt Lake City, UT

to California

aka Central Route, Simpson's Route, or the Egan Trail

De Anza Trail*

Tubac, AZ  to

 San Francisco, CA

The Juan Bautista de Anza National Historic Trail is a 1,210 mile United States national historic trail that commemorates the 1775–1776 route that Spanish commander Juan Bautista de Anza took to build a presidio and mission near San Francisco Bay.

Egan Trail

Salt Lake City, UT

to California

see Central Nevada Route

Elliott Cutoff

Malheur River, OR to

Willamette Valley, OR

A wagon road that branched off the Oregon Trail at the Malheur River and continued west to the Willamette Valley of Oregon Country.

Emigrant Trail

name that applies to those sections of the Oregon Trail, California Trail, and Mormon Trail where they traveled the same track.  This track generally speaking this interrelated track commenced at Fort Kearny in Nebraska and followed along the North Platte River into Wyoming to Fort Bridger.

Gila Trail

Gila River, AZ to

Southern California

An often used term for the early southern overland route to California, but actually a network of trails that followed the Gila River downstream to its confluence with the Colorado, then westward across the southern desert to the Pacific coast. 

Lolo Pass Trail

The Dalles, OR to

Willamette Valley, OR

First used in 1838 the trail was used as one of the final legs of the Oregon Trail; settlers arriving from The Dalles would often drive their livestock over the pass while their families floated down the river.

Meek Cutoff

Vale, OR to

Willamette Valley, OR

Branched off from the Oregon Trail near at present-day Vale, Oregon in 1845. It connected to the Barlow Road, which opened in 1846, permitting passage across the Cascade Range and into the Willamette Valley.

Mormon Trail (UT/CA)

Salt Lake City, UT to

San Bernardino, CA

Beginning in 1849 Mormon pioneer Jefferson Hunt guided several parties of gold prospectors from Utah to California along the Old Spanish Trail.   He used this trail when he was called by his church in 1851 to help create a Mormon settlement in San Bernardino, California.

Mount Hood Road

See Barlow Road

Old Spanish Trail*

Santa Fe, NM to

 Los Angeles, CA

This migration route through Colorado, and Utah was primarily traversed by mule trains as it was generally too rough to safely accommodate freight wagons. 

Oregon Trail*

Independence, MO

to Oregon

An arrangement of Indian Trails that was generally the most preferred migration route to the northern Pacific Coast area. aka Emigrant Trail

Oxbow Route

see Butterfield Overland Mail

Pony Express Trail  

St. Louis, MO to

 Sacramento, CA

Some portions of this early mail route corresponded with the Oregon and Central Overland Trails.

Santiam Wagon Road

Willamette Valley, OR

to Central Oregon

A freight route (roughly paralleling Oregon Highway 20) in Oregon between the Willamette Valley and Central Oregon regions from 1865 to the 1930s. AKA Willamette Valley and Cascade Mountain Wagon Road.

Simpson's Route

Salt Lake City, UT

to California

see Central Nevada Route

Willamette Valley and Cascade Mountain Wagon Road

see Santaim Wagon Road

*  = denotes link to a “Road Trip” page

The Google search engine

 button  and following web

sites    may     provide    you

with additional information

to assist with your research

about   this   U. S.   State. 

General Resources

·  American Migration Patterns 

·  Ancestry.com - Message Boards - Migration 

·  Historical American Migration & Settlement Patterns

·  MIGRATIONS LINKS

·  Trails West 

·  GENTREK - Migration Routes

·  Historic trails and roads in the U. S. - Wikipedia

·  Frontier Trails - A Brief History 

·  Familyworks American Migration

·  Migrations.org 

·  Roots & Routes 

·  Brethren Life: Migrations

·  Early Migration Routes

·  Native American trails in the U. S. - Wikipedia

Topic Specific

·  Trails to Utah & Pacific: Diaries & Letters, 1846-69 

·    Oregon Historic Trails Fund

Download a free 2-page Fact Sheet

about American migration routes

OUR GENEALOGY REFERENCE LIBRARY

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

Email

Snail mail:

Fred
889 Dante Ct.
Mantua, NJ 08051

USA

Email

Pony Express:

Tom
27 Christopher Dr.
Burton, NB E2V3H4
Canada