Oregon Trail Museum Baker City Oregon RV Travel Destination

Remembering The Pioneers

Oregon Trail Interpretive Center tells their story

They traveled in crude ox-drawn wagons, they rode on horseback, and they plodded along on foot, mile after weary mile across prairie, mountains, and desert. They forded raging rivers, crept along the faces of treacherous cliffs, and faced hostile Indians. Danger dogged them every stop of the way, and one out of ten would perish along the way. But still they continued on their long journey. It was the greatest mass migration of people in the history of the United States, if not the entire world; the trip west over the Oregon Trail .

Historians estimate that between 1840 and 1865, anywhere from 300,000 to 500,000 people set out on the difficult journey west in search of free land, gold, adventure, and to escape problems back east. These pioneers left their mark in many ways as they crossed the continent and expanded the nation. They paved the way for even further expansion, they created settlements that grew into towns and cities, and they changed a wilderness into civilization.

As America began to outgrow its settled lands east of the Mississippi River, there were many reasons for people to look west. A widespread economic depression in the late 1830s left many people bankrupt or deeply in debt, and the promise of free land, leaving their creditors behind, and the chance for a new start lured many to attempt the journey. Others hoped to escape the tensions and strife that culminated in the Civil War. Religious groups such as the Mormons sought a place where they would be free from persecution. The lure of gold and adventure drew many. The Donation Land Act of 1850 provided from 320 to 640 acres of Oregon land to any settler who would claim the land and improve it. Back east land was at a premium, while in Oregon it was free for the taking. Because most emigrants were from Europe, where there was almost no land available, this was an opportunity that many could not refuse. Whatever their reasons may have been, thousands of families and single men left behind everything they knew to set off on what many referred to as the “grand adventure.”

The route west for most of these adventurers was the Oregon Trail, 2,000 miles of hardship and heartache that started in Missouri and ended in Oregon’s Willamette Valley. It began as a series of unconnected trails used by Indians, fur traders, and missionaries. Joel Walker is commonly credited as the first settler to make the entire trip with his family, in 1840. The first large group set out on the Oregon Trail in 1843, when a wagon train with 120 wagons, 800 people, and 5,000 cattle made the long five month journey. By 1847 Mormon settlers were on the move headed towards Salt Lake City, and the following year the discovery of gold in California sent a flood of fortune seekers west. Over the next three decades military and trading posts sprang up along the trail to protect and supply the travelers, and shortcuts and spur routes branched off the original trail.

Most emigrants traveled in small groups, electing a leader or sometimes hiring an experienced wagon master. These small wagon trains were usually composed of extended families or neighbors who made the trip together from places like Ohio, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Iowa, and Missouri. They formed clans that worked together, bartering and sharing their meager supplies and their hardships, and when they made it to the end of their long journey, they formed small tight-knit settlements.

Most wagon trains set out from Independence, Westport, or St. Joseph, Missouri, where many of the local citizens made fortunes equipping the pioneers, often at greatly exaggerated prices. Settlers needed enough supplies to make the trip, and to live on once they arrived in Oregon until they could raise a crop. They loaded food, farming implements, tools, personal possessions, and whatever else they could cram into their wagons. Once they left Missouri behind them, places where they could restock their supplies were few and far between. Many quickly learned that they were much too heavily overloaded, and the trail was strewn with chests, musical instruments, cast iron cook stoves, books, and whatever else could be thrown away to lighten the load and help the overworked oxen pull the wagons.

To be sure they made it across the high mountains before winter set in, the wagon trains had to leave by late April or early May. A lazy person would not attempt the hard journey west. The wagons were too bumpy to ride in comfort, so most people walked. The average trip lasted from 150 to 180 days, depending on luck and the weather.

Everyone had to work for the survival of all. Men and boys hunted for game to feed the wagon train, women and children herded the livestock on foot and gathered firewood and water. At night larger wagon trains formed into a circle, with their livestock inside to keep them from straying.

Though Hollywood has tried to convince us that Indian attacks were commonplace, in reality most Indian encounters consisted of bartering trinkets, tools and blankets for food. The emigrants were paranoid about Indian attacks, but they soon found that the great majority of Indians they met were more interested in trading than making war. There were indeed violent clashes, but they were not common. One study estimates that 362 emigrants and 426 Indians were killed in battles on the entire length of the Oregon Trail between 1840 and 1860. Most of these encounters were small skirmishes that were caused by paranoia, retaliation for crimes, or theft. Some Indians stole emigrants’ cattle or an occasional horse, creating confrontations that resulted in bloodshed. Though there were a handful of attacks on wagon trains, the usual clash consisted of a brief engagement that was over almost as quickly as it started.

The Indians were brilliant military strategists, and they did not attack circled wagon trains as we have all seen in films, riding fast and firing over their ponies heads. They knew the settlers were heavily armed and had the advantage of cover in such a battle. Most attacks were against a single wagon or two, or a rider away from the main wagon train. As time went on and the Indians saw their land being invaded and as resentment and suspicion grew from the misdeeds of some emigrants, their attitude changed and they became more inclined to defend their lands against white encroachment.

More dangerous than the Indians were the hardships of life on the Oregon Trail itself. Accident and disease killed one out of ten emigrants. Cholera took a terrible toll, as did smallpox, and dysentery. It has been reported that there was a grave every 80 yards for the entire length of the route. The pioneers were farmers and small townsmen, and most were unfamiliar with firearms and how to handle them safely. More probably fell to unfortunate accidents than ever died from Indian guns or arrows. Crossing rivers was always dangerous, and hundreds perished in the Snake River and other streams along the way. Many more drowned once they reached the Columbia River Gorge in Oregon .

The emigrants occasionally had to be judge, jury, and executioner among their own. One report tells of a murder that happened along the trail in 1852, when a young pioneer killed a bully named William Pierce. Though his motive may have been desperation, murder was still murder, and a quick trial was held and the young man was sentenced to death. Six guns were loaded, three with bullets and three with blanks, and the firing squad executed the young man and buried him alongside his victim. It is said that everyone in the wagon train mourned the unfortunate young man, who was well liked, but that justice had to be served.

Sometimes the rigors of life on the Oregon Trail brought out the worst in people. Exhaustion, illness, overcrowded conditions, differing personalities, and stress led to short tempers that sometimes lashed out. While most emigrant bands were close knit and had the same goals, there were those who would take advantage of others’ hardships. There are tales of hungry travelers paying exorbitant fees for food or water they desperately needed. There were many reasons to quarrel if one needed a reason. Religious emigrants clashed with those who broke the Sabbath. Sometimes those who were eager to make time had conflicts with more cautious members of their party who did not travel fast enough. Politics, religion, family disputes, morals, and the treatment of livestock all could and did cause disputes that ended in arguments, fights, wagon trains breaking up, and in one extreme case a family actually cutting their wagon in half so two feuding brothers could go their separate ways!

The stories of these brave pioneers are told at five different centers in Oregon that sit along the route the emigrants traveled in their search toward a new life. The easternmost of these centers is the National Historic Oregon Trail Interpretive Center in Baker City, Oregon. Situated on Flagstaff Hill overlooking a well preserved segment of the Oregon Trail, the Interpretive Center uses life sized displays, videos, audio recordings, and exhibits to help visitors understand what it was like to be a pioneer on the Oregon Trail .

Displays include life-sized dioramas of wagon trains, with the words of pioneers coming from hidden speakers. Using diary excerpts and letters home, we hear what it is like to cross swollen rivers, trudge for weeks under a blazing sun, and the grief of losing a loved one who fell victim to accident or illness. Different voices share the misery of bad times, the triumph of making it past natural obstacles like the Rocky Maintains and the Snake River, and the elation of finally making it to that long waited goal of the Oregon Territory.

Scenes of everyday life on the Oregon Trail are depicted - Indians who watched the never-ending stream of people pass through their land and change their world, other Indians trading with emigrants for food, drovers herding livestock, a mother crying at the grave of her child, and men fighting to free a stuck wagon. Inside the Center’s 150 seat theater, visitors can watch a video about the Oregon Trail , or listen to a costumed interpreter share stories about the experiences of those who came west.

There are several hands-on exhibits where visitors can immerse themselves a bit into life on the Oregon Trail . The Center’s grounds include a pioneer encampment, complete with wagons and costumed interpreters. Just downhill from the main building is another living history site, the lode mine, which illustrates the importance of mining in the development of the Oregon Territory. The mine exhibits include mining structures, ore carts, and tools.

The Interpretive Center includes 4.2 miles of trails through the sagebrush to original ruts left by emigrant wagons as they passed by Flagstaff Hill. The Center’s buildings and trail system are barrier free for accessibility to those with physical limitations. The primary trail system has a 5% slope in parts, with an elevation difference from the Center’s main building to the wagon ruts of 372 feet. Care must be taken along the trail – this is a harsh land, with summer temperatures sometimes exceeding 100 degrees, and winter temperatures that fall below zero. There are no water stations or shade along the trail, so visitors are advised to dress appropriately and take plenty of water. Visitors are also cautioned to be aware that ticks are found in the area, and they should check themselves after a visit. Scorpions and rattlesnakes are also found here, so care is needed.

The road to the Center is very steep, and while the parking lot can accommodate RVs with a total length of 49 feet, driving up the steep and winding road, with no shoulders, is not for the faint of heart. It might be better to park an RV in town and drive a tow vehicle. The Oregon Trail Interpretive Center is located about six miles north of Baker City off Interstate 84. The road from the highway to the base of Flagstaff is narrow in some places and fairly steep in places. The Center is open daily except Christmas and New Years Day. Summer hours (April 1 to October 31) are 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Winter hours are 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. For more information, call 800-523-1235, or visit their web site at www.or.blm.gov/nhotic.

Other Oregon Trail Centers are located at Blue Mountain Crossing near La Grande, at the Tamastslikt Cultural Center near Pendleton, at the Columbia Gorge Discovery Center in The Dalles, and at the End of the Oregon Trail Interpretive Center in Oregon City. Each offers a different perspective on the experiences of the men and women who made the arduous journey west to open a new land.