6/9/2023 0 Comments The oregon trail unblockedMore than a thousand pioneers traversed the trail in 1843, followed by increasing numbers in the succeeding years. By 1843, migration on the Oregon Trail began in earnest. They traveled across the Platte River Valley and divided at Soda Springs, some heading for Oregon and others to California (Olson and Naugle 1997:54). In 1841, the first group of settlers, the Bidwell-Bartleson party led by Thomas Fitzpatrick, left Missouri for the west. News of abundant fertile agricultural land reached the east and by the end of the 1830s many Americans had the Oregon fever. Marcus Whitman and his wife, Narcissa, established a protestant mission near Fort Walla Walla in 1836, inspiring other eastern families to move west (Olson and Naugle 1997:53). In addition, religious revivals in the east caused many churches to send missionaries to Oregon to convert the natives. The company noted that the Southern Pass would allow easy passage to wagons wishing to cross the Rocky Mountains. In 1830, they traveled from St Louis, MO to the head of Wind River ( Wyoming) to gather furs. Fur trappers such as Jedediah Smith, David Jackson, and William Sublette were the first group to leave wagon tracks on the Oregon Trail. Various individuals and groups traveled part of the distance west on what would become the Oregon Trail. "Oregon country" consisted of what is known presently as the northwestern states of Idaho, Washington, Oregon, and parts of Montana and Wyoming. The publication of the Lewis and Clark journals in 1814 fostered national interest in Oregon country.
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