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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. As such most migrants settled along the Pacific
Coast in those areas that would become the states of California, Oregon and
Washington, or in the case of the Mormons, in the mountain basin of present
Utah.
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. 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 which included 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, 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. Source:
http://www.answers.com/topic/westward-migration |
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List of routes
Generally these routes are defined as having their terminus in
present day Utah, Wyoming, Montana, Idaho; northern Nevada and western
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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Piedra
Lumbre, NM to Paiute
Indian Resevation,
UT |
Alternate
route of the Old Spanish Trail that leaves the main route at the junction of
US 84 and NM Route 96 near the Abiguiu Reservoir and travels west for almost
500 miles until it rejoins the main route at at Shivwits on the Paiute Indian Reservation in
southern Utah. |
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Laramie,
WY to Virginia City, MT |
An overland route
connecting the Oregon
Trail to the gold rush territory of Montana. |
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Oregon
Trail to Mormon Trail |
Link between
the Oregon Trail [from the junction of the North & South Platte Rivers]
to the Mormon Trail [east of Salt Lake City]. |
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Tahlequah, OK to Granger, WY |
Followed the Arkansas River from Oklahoma through Kansas, Colorado, and into Wyoming, where it met the
California Trail at Ft. Jim Bridger. Used in the Gold Rush Days.. aka. Overland-Cherokee Trail |
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Ft.
Laramie, WY to/
Casper, WY |
Originally travelers on the Emigrant
Trail crossed the North Platte to the south side at Fort Laramie. After 1852
they used Child's Cutoff to stay on the north side to about the present day
town of Casper,
Wyoming where they crossed over to the south side. |
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Fort
Hall, ID to Ditto
Creek, ID (near Regina) |
Established in 1862 on the north side of
the Snake River, this trail formed a spur of the Oregon Trail. Emigrant
wagons traversed parts of the eastern section as early as 1852. The 230 mile
journey typically took 2 to 3 weeks to complete. |
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Young County, TX to Cheyenne, WY |
Spanning more than 2,000 miles from Texas to Wyoming, this
livestock trail was first blazed by Charles Goodnight and Oliver Loving in 1866. |
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Sheep Rock, ID to Cassia Creek, ID |
Established in 1849 as route to the California gold fields. This 110-mile trail headed almost due west and by-passed Fort Hall, Idaho.
It
rejoined the California Trail at Cassia Creek near the City of Rocks. |
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Kelton,
UT to Boise,
ID |
developed in 1860 from roughly the _City of Rocks_ via the main Oregon Trail to Boise
crossing to the North side of the Snake River at Three Island Crossing or _Glenn's Ferry_.
In 1869 the Road was extended from City of Rocks to Kelton, Utah to connect with the new
Transcontinental Railroad. |
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Burnt
Ranch, WY to
Smoot, WY |
Formally known as the Fort Kearney, South
Pass, and Honey Lake Wagon Road, was established and built by government
contractors in 1858. It departed the main Oregon Trail at Burnt Ranch, crossed the
Continental Divide descending into Star Valley.
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Leavenworth,
KS to Denver, CO |
Stage line began operating in April 1859 between Leavenworth
and the gold fields near Denver |
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Nauvoo, IL to Salt
Lake City, UT |
The route that the
Mormons followed to Utah. It paralleled the Oregon Trail in parts, but
traversed the Rockies by the South Pass. Aka.
Emigrant Trail |
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American
Falls, ID to
Hammett, ID |
This route, established
about 1852, left the Oregon Trail and crossed the Snake River near present
day American Falls, Idaho. Today’s
Idaho Route 24 generally follows much of the old track that ran north of the
river for about 150 miles until it
linked backed to the Oregon Trail near present day Hammett, Idaho. |
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Old Arizona Road |
Pipe
Spring, AZ to Salt
Lake City, UT |
Northern segment
from St. George, UT linked the Little Colorado settlements in Arizona to
northern Utah, Southern portion called the “Honeymoon Trail” |
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Atchison,
KS to Fort
Bridger, WY |
Due to Indian uprisings in
the 1860’s the Oregon Trail through central Wyoming was relocated to the
south, to a route which had been known, in part, as the Cherokee Trail.
It became the only emigrant route on which the US Government would
allow travel, and consequently was the principal corridor to the west from
1862 to 1868. |
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Overland-Cherokee Trail |
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See Cherokee Trail |
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Council
Bluffs, IA to Ft.
Laramie, WY |
Parallels the Oregon
Trail until it joins with it at Fort Laramie. |
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Salt
Lake City, UT to City
of Rocks, ID |
one of the many
shortcuts that branched from the California Trail and Oregon Trail |
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Leavenworth,
KS to Pike’s
Peak, CO |
Named for the Smoky Hill River that it followed across
western Kansas. First used in June 1865. |
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Snake
River Cutoff |
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see South Alternate
(Oregon Trail) |
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Three
Mile Crossing, ID to Fort
Boise, ID |
Started
being used around 1848 this spur off the main Oregon Trail by-passed the
Three Island Crossing and continued traveling down the south side of the
Snake River, till it rejoined the trail near Fort Boise in Idaho. Aka. Snake River Cutoff |
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South
Pass Road |
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See
Lander Road |
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Little
Sandy River, WY to Bear
River Valley, WY |
A part of the Emigrant Trail in Wyoming
that was opened in 1844 by Stephens-Townsend-Murphy Party
lead by mountaineers Caleb Greenwood and Isaac
Hitchcock. This route completely bypassed Fort Bridger crossing the Bear
River Ridge thus saving about 85 miles and 7 days off the main route. |
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Taos,
NM to Ft. Laramie, WY |
As the nearest customs officials were in Santa Fe, Taos
became a commercial center for outfitting the trappers and for trading in
their pelts. The route over Sangre de Cristo Pass became known as the
Trappers Trail and fingers of it extended northward into Wyoming. The Trapper’s Trail intersects
with the Cherokee Trail between Pueblo and Denver Colorado. |
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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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