Under the name "Oregon Trail" in the history of the United States entered the land route from Missouri to Fort Vancouver, along which the Americans migrated from the east coast to the west. The people of Lewis and Clarke were the first to follow this path, but until the mid-1830s it was hardly used.
Several factors contributed to the beginning of the "exploitation" of the trail. First, a massivepropaganda campaignfor resettlement to the West, and secondly, the long-term flooding in the Missouri, Mississippi and the rivers of Ohio in the late 1830s, which plunged the country into a severe crisis. Millions of ruined farmers were looking for a place to escape from the flooded plains and start a new life.
Oregon was perfect for this - rumors circulated throughout the states about the high quality of the crops grown in Oregon, about human-sized wheat and five-foot turnips.
Missionary guided the first 40 wagons along the trail Marcus Whitmanin 1836. And since then, the number of immigrants has grown exponentially every year. Over the years 1840-1845, more than 11 thousand people walked along the trail.
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| Oregon Trail |
Not everyone who set out on this difficult path reached the desired goal. The path from coast to coast was marked by an endless series of grave crosses. For six months the migrants' road was awaited by many misfortunes - people were dying of cholera, measles, dysentery and accidents; became victims of attacks by animals and Indian warriors. But the biggest danger along the way was the lack of drinking water. In rare forts and posts, the price for one jug of water reached $ 100. Despite this, the 1950 miles of travel remained a pleasant memory for the survivors for a lifetime. Many of them, for the first time in their lives, kept diaries and wrote letters, leaving invaluable testimonies to their descendants.
The whole family got together on the way. The wagons of their neighbors joined the resettlement train of one family... History knows an example when a whole village from Ohio moved to the west.
The same route for all settlers went to Fort Hall or Fort Boyes. Then the settlers set off along a great variety of trails and paths, some of which bore the names of the pioneers (trailApplegates, road Barlow), others were unnamed.
Since the mid-1840s, the Oregon Trail has a southwest branch that led to california.