Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, April 11, 1993 TAG: 9304090446
SECTION: TRAVEL PAGE: F-8 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: LYLA FOGGIA
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
HIT THE TRAIL
TODAY, it takes less than a week to drive the 2,000-mile distance of the Oregon Trail between Independence, Mo., and Portland, Ore. One hundred and fifty years ago, it took a minimum of five grueling months, if one made it at all.Each April, beginning in 1843, the wagon trains pulled out of Independence and hoped to make it to their destination in Oregon or California by late September before the winter snows set in. Ideally, the crossing was 120 days. If the wagons rolled unimpeded between 6 a.m. to 5 p.m., with a one-hour rest at noon, they might make 15 miles on a good day.
But considering that they had to cross three mountain ranges, raging swollen rivers and scorching deserts - while enduring lightning storms, flash floods, disease, accidents, undrinkable water, near-starvation and stampeding buffalo - there were, not surprisingly, few good days.
It began as the Great Migration of 1843 and during the next two decades formed one of the monumental chapters in American history. It was the saga of the Oregon Trail, over which more than 350,000 persevering men, women and children followed their dreams to the West.
It also was one of the more tragic episodes in the development of this country, with about one grave for every 80 yards of the 2,000-mile distance, turning the trail into an enduring memorial for the 20,000 to 30,000 who perished along the way.
From Missouri, which was then the western border of the United States, the trail cut through the northeastern corner of Kansas, then wound more or less in a straight line across the states of Nebraska, Wyoming, Idaho and Oregon.
Between 1848 to 1852, the California Gold Rush turned the trail into a primitive freeway between Independence and the Raft River junction in Idaho. Suddenly, the traffic leaped to 30,000 travelers in 1849 and reached a high of 65,000 in 1850 - less than a thousand of them still heading to Oregon each year during this period.
"In the early 1840s all the emigrants left at once in one train, but the traffic had so increased by the end of the decade that trains were leaving daily from the last week in April almost through the month of May," notes Gregory Franzwa in his book, "The Oregon Trail Revisited."
According to historian and author Dan Murphy, in 1852 the column of wagons stretched a solid 500 miles along the trail. One observer at Fort Kearney in Nebraska reported counting one thousand wagons pass by in one day.
By 1868, the trail's "importance as an emigrant route had dwindled to insignificance," according to Aubrey L. Haines in "Historic Sites Along The Oregon Trail."
"Why did such men peril everything . . . exposing their helpless families to the possibilities of massacre and starvation, braving death - and for what purpose?" wrote one emigrant in 1843. "I am not quite certain that any rational answer will ever be given to that question."
This summer, Oregon will host a celebration of the trail's 150th anniversary, with a statewide program of events.
Several years of effort have been devoted to marking every significant site along the 547-mile route - the longest of any trail state - with wayside exhibits and walking trails, providing, among other things, excellent views of remaining segments of original wagon ruts.
Four major interpretive complexes are being erected - at Baker City near the Idaho/Oregon crossing, in Pendleton near the Umatilla Indian Reservation, at The Dalles on the Columbia River and in Oregon City, the official end of the trail.
There also will be the Official Oregon Trail Sesquicentennial Wagon Train, which the public can join as it travels the original route through Idaho and Oregon between June 25 and Sept. 5.
And nearly every small community throughout the state has planned festivities, a schedule of which is available from the Oregon Tourism Division.
Two excellent maps are available to assist in planning a personal driving route: "The Oregon Trail Self-Guided Tour" (free from the Oregon Tourism Division) and "The Barlow Road (Self-Guided Tour)" ($3.00 from the Mount Hood Information Center).
Whether your own tour begins at Oregon's eastern border or at the Portland International Airport, you won't want to miss these major points:
Baker City:
Situated just off Interstate 84 near Baker City in eastern Oregon, the National Historic Oregon Trail Interpretive Center at Flagstaff Hill allows visitors to stand on the site where the settlers received their first panoramic view of Oregon and much-needed inspiration to complete the journey.
The $10 million complex was opened just last May and already has hosted 200,000 visitors, despite its 304-mile distance from Portland.
Inside the 23,000-square-foot facility, one can stroll through a massive gallery housing a full-sized wagon train, complete with costumed pioneers engaged in typical day-to-day chores. Sound effects bring the awesome scene to life with the once-familiar sounds of creaking wagons, bellowing oxen and settler chatter. A second exhibit hall displays thousands of artifacts, rare photographs and precious pages from surviving pioneer diaries. Outside, a network of footpaths leads to one of the best remaining sections of original wagon ruts and to living history exhibits of a wagon train encampment and a gold mine operation.
Pendleton:
West on I-84 at Pendleton (211 miles from Portland) more living history exhibits will focus on the impact of the trail on Indian cultures. Jointly sponsored by the Confederation of Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation and the Pendleton community, this temporary installation will be open on the famous Pendleton Round-Up Grounds between June 19 and Aug. 29.
The Dalles:
Farther west on I-84 at The Dalles (about 100 miles from Portland), visitors can participate in the interactive re-enactments of what the settlers faced when they arrived at the edge of the stunning Columbia River Gorge and had to disassemble their wagons for the dangerous raft trip to Oregon City via Fort Vancouver (the Hudson Bay Company's headquarters). Called Crate's Point, this temporary installation will be open only between May 15 and Sept. 26.
Mount Hood:
After leaving The Dalles, the easiest way to pick up the Barlow Road, which became the preferred route after 1845, is to continue on I-84 for about 20 miles to Hood River, turn south onto Oregon 35 and go about 40 miles to the Oregon 26 junction. A few miles west on Oregon 26, signs will guide you to Timberline Lodge.
This majestic National Historic Landmark, which opened in 1937, sits just 1,000 feet below the 7,000-foot elevation to which emigrant guide Joel Palmer climbed to chart a passage over Mount Hood. This summer, visitors will be able to ride the lodge's new high-speed chairlift up to that site for one of the Northwest's truly magnificent panoramic views, encompassing the plains of eastern Oregon, the rugged peaks of the Cascades and the lush Willamette Valley to the west.
The Mount Hood area also will be the favored destination for outdoors enthusiasts. The U.S. Forest Service has created a network of hiking trails over some 20 miles of the original Barlow Road/Oregon Trail, providing access to such sites as the trails biggest physical challenge, the Laurel Hill, a sheer rocky drop over which the wagons had to be lowered by rope.
The End Of The Trail: Oregon City
The last major historical stop is Oregon City, about 45 miles west of Mount Hood and some 30 miles south of Portland, on the Willamette River.
Situated in the Willamette Valley, which was then regarded as "the land of milk and honey" because of its abundance of fertile soil, moderate climate and salmon-rich rivers, Oregon City represented the end of the trail and the place where the settlers could file their land claims and replenish their supplies to carry them through their first winter.
Besides the many restored historical residences which are open to the public, Oregon City is building a $3 million End Of The Trail Preview Center, which will open May 27. This 10,000-square-foot complex will consist of three connected buildings, all designed in the shape of 50-foot-tall covered wagons. Inside, displays will feature an array of pioneer artifacts from both the crossing and life on the homesteads. Outside, there will be wagon rides, dramatic re-enactments and a replica of a territorial farm.
Regardless of whether one had ancestors who made that fascinating journey a century and a half ago, this will be a poignant opportunity to witness the human courage that was involved in expanding our borders from sea to shining sea.
Lyla Foggia is a free-lance travel writer who lives in Welches, Ore.