Everything about Santa Fe National Historic Trail totally explained
The
Santa Fe Trail was a historic
19th century transportation route through southwestern
North America connecting
Missouri with
Santa Fe, New Mexico. First used in
1821 by
William Becknell, it served as a vital commercial and military highway until the introduction of the
railroad to Santa Fe in
1880. At first an international trade route between the
United States and
Mexico, it served as the
1846 U.S. invasion route of
New Mexico during the
Mexican-American War. After the U.S. acquisition of the Southwest, the trail helped open the region to U.S. economic development and settlement, playing a vital role in the expansion of the U.S. into the lands it had acquired. The road route is commemorated today by the
National Park Service as the
Santa Fe National Historic Trail. A highway route that roughly follows the trail's path through
Colorado and northern New Mexico has been designated the Santa Fe Trail
National Scenic Byway.
Route
The eastern end of the trail was in the central
Missouri town of
Franklin on the north bank of the
Missouri River. The route across Missouri first used by Becknell followed portions of the existing
Osage Trace. West of Franklin the trail crossed the Missouri near
Arrow Rock, after which it followed roughly the route of present-day
U.S. Route 24. It passed north of
Marshall, through
Lexington to
Fort Osage, then to
Independence. Independence was also one of the historic "jumping off points" for the
Oregon and
California Trails.
West of Independence, in the State of Missouri, it roughly followed the route of
U.S. Route 56 to the town of
Olathe. The section of the trail between Independence and Olathe was also used by imigrants on the California and Oregon Trails, which branched off to the northwest near
Gardner, Kansas.
From Olathe, the trail passed through the towns of
Baldwin City,
Burlingame, and
Council Grove, then swung west of
McPherson to the town of
Lyons. West of Lyons the trail followed nearly the route of present-day Highway 56 to
Great Bend. Ruts in the earth made from the trail are still visible in several locations (Ralph's Ruts are visible in aerial photos at . At Great Bend, the trail encountered the
Arkansas River. Branches of the trail followed both sides of the river upstream to
Dodge City and
Garden City.
West of Garden City in southwestern Kansas the trail has a complex network of branches. One of the branches continued to follow the Arkansas upstream in southeastern
Colorado to the town of
La Junta. At La Junta, the trail continued south into New Mexico to Fort Union at
Watrous. This branch was known as the Mountain Route. A dramatization of life on the route was made into a
motion picture in
1940, starring
Errol Flynn,
Olivia de Havilland,
Raymond Massey, and
Ronald Reagan.
image:1845 trailmap.gif
Cimarron Cutoff
The other main branch cut southwest to the valley of the
Cimarron River near the town of
Ulysses and
Elkhart then continued toward
Boise City, Oklahoma, to
Clayton, New Mexico, joining up with northern branch at
Fort Union. From Watrous, the reunited branches continued southward to Santa Fe. This route was generally very hazardous because it had very little water. In fact, the Cimarron River was one of the only sources of water along this branch of the trail. Many people died because of the lack of water.
Part of this route has been designated a
National Scenic Byway.
Threats Along the Trail
Travelers faced many hardships along the Santa Fe Trail. Native American attacks and lack of food and water made the trail very risky. Weather conditions, like huge lightning storms, gave the travelers difficulty. If a storm blew up, there was often no place to take shelter and the livestock could get spooked.
Rattlesnakes often posed a threat--many died due to snakebite.
Historic preservation
Segments of this trail in
Missouri,
Kansas,
Oklahoma, and
New Mexico are listed on the
National Register of Historic Places. The longest clearly identifiable section of the trail,
Santa Fe Trail Remains, near
Dodge City, Kansas, is listed as a
National Historic Landmark.
Further Information
Get more info on 'Santa Fe National Historic Trail'.
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