USA HISTORY

Detailed explanation-1: -The Oregon Trail was a roughly 2, 000-mile route from Independence, Missouri, to Oregon City, Oregon, that was used by hundreds of thousands of American pioneers in the mid-1800s to emigrate west. The trail was arduous and snaked through Missouri and present-day Kansas, Nebraska, Wyoming, Idaho and finally into Oregon.

Detailed explanation-2: -Overwhelmingly, the journey was made by wagons drawn by teams of draft animals. Some people did not have wagons and rode horseback, while others went west with handcarts, animal carts, or even the occasional carriage.

Detailed explanation-3: -While the first few parties organized and departed from Elm Grove, the Oregon Trail’s primary starting point was Independence, Missouri, or Westport, (which was annexed into modern day Kansas City), on the Missouri River.

Detailed explanation-4: -From about 1811 to 1840 the Oregon Trail was laid down by traders and fur trappers. It could only be traveled by horseback or on foot. By the year 1836, the first of the migrant train of wagons was put together. It started in Independence, Missouri and traveled a cleared trail that reached to Fort Hall, Idaho.

Detailed explanation-5: -Between 1840 and 1860, from 300, 000 to 400, 000 travelers used the 2, 000-mile overland route to reach Willamette Valley, Puget Sound, Utah, and California destinations. The journey took up to six months, with wagons making between ten and twenty miles per day of travel.