KANSAS TRAILS
KANSAS TRAILS
Fact Booklet
Fact Booklet
Oregon Trail
• Used for 42 years from 1827 to 1869, peaking in the
1840s.
• People stopped using the trail in 1869 with
construction of the transcontinental railroad.
• Started in Independence, MO, ended in the
Columbia River area of Oregon.
• 400,000 people took the four- to five-month trip in
a covered wagon during the summer months for
migration purposes.
• In 1846, one man brought two wagons full of fruit
trees on the journey because Oregon had none
like them. His wagon was estimated to be worth
$1,000,000.
Are we there yet?
Kansas City
Wichita
1862 Kansas map courtesy of Special Collections and University Archives,
Wichita State University Libraries.
Discover your inner explorer. Try these search terms for more
information: covered wagon, western trails
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Copyright
2010 by Museum of World Treasures
Modern Highways
Oregon Trail
KANSAS TRAILS
KANSAS TRAILS
Fact Booklet
Fact Booklet
California Trail
• Followed the Oregon Trail then branched off in Fort
Hall, ID leading down into California.
• Used for 20 years (1849 to 1869) from the start of
the California Gold Rush until the transcontinental
railroad provided better transportation.
• About 250,000 people used the trail, for both
migration and commercial purposes.
• 1850 census showed an overwhelmingly high
number of males to females during the Gold Rush
years. The ratio of men to women in California over
16 years of age was approximately 18 to 1.
Oregon Trail
California Trail
Mormon Trail
Smoky Hill Trail
Kansas City
Wichita
1862 Kansas map courtesy of Special Collections and University Archives,
Wichita State University Libraries.
Modern Highways
California Trail
Pony Express
Santa Fe Trail
Chisholm Trail
Great Western Trail
Before there were paved or even graveled roads, people
traveled along trails carved out of the landscape. The
trails were used for both migration and commercial
purposes.
Most trails either ran along major rivers or frequently
crossed paths with rivers as people and animals
traveling the trails needed water to survive. Trail routes
were also influenced by how passable the landscape
was, favoring valleys and flat terrain to hills and
mountains. They also ran through towns, outposts, and
forts so travellers could resupply. For these reasons,
many different migration trails, like the California and
Oregon Trails, used the same path for long stretches.
KANSAS TRAILS
KANSAS TRAILS
Fact Booklet
Fact Booklet
Mormon Trail
Pony Express
• Started in Nauvoo, IL, followed the Oregon Trail
loosely, then branched south to Salt Lake City, UT.
• Used for 23 years from 1846 to 1869 ending with the
construction of the transcontinental railroad
• Approximately 70,000 Mormons migrated along the
trail to escape religious persecution.
• Many poor foreign Mormons used a specially
designed human-drawn hand cart instead of a
covered wagon to carry their belongings.
• Traveling as a group, Mormons were more
organized and safer than most individuals traveling
on the trails. Their religion encouraged mutual
aid, which meant helping each other complete the
journey and survive once they reached Utah.
• This specialized commercial mail trail was only
used for 18 months. From April 1860 to October
1861, men on horseback transported mail along the
trail.
• Riders carried 35,000 pieces of mail from Missouri to
California. It was a 10-day, 1,800 mile trip with 190
stations along the way.
• During its operation, riders lost only one bag of mail
and one rider’s life from a Native American attack.
• The trail stopped being used when the Overland
Telegraph Company’s line connected New York,
NY to San Francisco, CA on October 26, 1861.
The telegraph was a much more efficient form of
communication.
St. Joseph
Ft. Leavenworth
Kansas City
Kansas City
Wichita
Wichita
1862 Kansas map courtesy of Special Collections and University Archives,
Wichita State University Libraries.
Modern Highways
Mormon Trail
1862 Kansas map courtesy of Special Collections and University Archives,
Wichita State University Libraries.
Modern Highways
Pony Express
KANSAS TRAILS
Fact Booklet
KANSAS TRAILS
Fact Booklet
Santa Fe Trail
Smoky Hill Trail
• Used heavily for 48 years from 1821 to 1869 until
railroads took away many of the trail’s travelers.
• This commercial trail started in Independence, MO
and ended in Santa Fe, NM. It was used to transport
trade goods, such as cattle, household goods, and
food.
• Two different routes were available for travel on
the Santa Fe Trail. One route went through the
Colorado mountains, making it longer, but safer.
The southern route went through the Oklahoma
plains, which was shorter, but more dangerous
because of Native American raids and water
shortages. Seventy-five percent of travelers chose
the shorter and more dangerous route.
• Used for 11 years from 1859 to 1870. At first the trail
was rough and unmarked, but by 1861 people were
placing markers along the trail. Transcontinental
railroads took the place of the trail by 1870.
• This gold rush migration trail started at Fort
Leavenworth, KS and ended in Denver, CO.
• Seen as the shortest route to Denver, in 1865 the
Smoky Hill Trail was resurveyed to become the
Butterfield Overland Dispatch (B.O.D.), a mainly
commercial trail. In 1865, the first wagon train on
the B.O.D. carried 150,000 pounds of freight from
Atchison, KS to Denver, CO. Stagecoaches also
carried people, mail, and freight along the trail.
• Native American attacks were common on the
Smoky Hill Trail. Fort Wallace was established in far
western Kansas to protect travelers along the route.
Atchison
Ft. Leavenworth
Kansas City
Kansas City
Mountain Branch
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ma
Ci
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Cu
Dodge City
1862 Kansas map courtesy of Special Collections and University Archives,
Wichita State University Libraries.
Modern Highways
Santa Fe Trail
Wichita
Wichita
1862 Kansas map courtesy of Special Collections and University Archives,
Wichita State University Libraries.
Modern Highways
Smoky Hill Trail
KANSAS TRAILS
KANSAS TRAILS
Fact Booklet
Fact Booklet
Trail Transportation
Chisholm Trail
• Used for 22 years from 1864 to 1886. During peak years
from 1867 to 1872, cattle hands drove at least 3,000,000
cattle north up the trail. By 1872, railroads commonly
transported livestock.
• Commercial trail created by Jesse Chisholm. Joseph
McCoy extended it north from Wichita to Abilene. It
was used to drive Texas Longhorn cattle from Red River
Station, TX to the rail line in Abilene where the cattle could
fetch a higher price than in Texas.
• Jesse Chisholm’s Wichita trading post was at present day
21st Street and Amidon.
• Dangerous trail because there were so many outlaws,
angry farmers and Native Americans, disease, and cattle!
• The Chisholm Trail fed into the legend of the Western
Cowboy. The legend romanticized cowboys as rough and
tumble rugged characters with unlimited freedom, an
exaggerated view of actual cowboys.
Settlers using trails to move and businesses using trails
to ship goods often used Conestoga (or covered)
wagons like the one in this picture. Most people used
oxen instead of horses or mules to pull the wagons
because they were stronger. One Conestoga wagon
could hold up to 2,000 pounds of freight. For safety,
people often travelled the trails in groups called wagon
trains.
Kansas City
Abilene
Wichita
1862 Kansas map courtesy of Special Collections and University Archives,
Wichita State University Libraries.
Modern Highways
Chisholm Trail
Discover your inner explorer. Try these search terms for more
information: covered wagon, western trails
6 Print this fact booklet off our website www.worldtreasures.org
Copyright
2010 by Museum of World Treasures
KANSAS TRAILS
KANSAS TRAILS
Fact Booklet
Fact Booklet
Great Western Cattle Trail
• Used for 19 years from 1874 to 1893. Cattlemen drove
3,000,000 to 5,000,000 cattle up the trail.
• The Great Western Cattle Trail started in Bandera,
TX and ran north all the way to South Dakota. Many
drives would stop along the way in Dodge City, KS or
Ogallala, NE where cattle could be loaded on trains
and transported via railways.
• Competed with the Chisholm Trail, but operated
longer. The Chisholm Trail went through so much
farm land it made farmers angry. By 1879, the Great
Western Cattle Trail was the principal route for moving
cattle from Texas to northern markets and rangeland.
Kansas City
Dodge City
Wichita
1862 Kansas map courtesy of Special Collections and University Archives,
Wichita State University Libraries.
Modern Highways
Great Western Cattle Trail