The Oregon Trail, part 1
Leaving Minden heading north on Highway 10 the road takes us across one of the great rivers of American history, the Platte River. The Platte, famously described as “a mile wide and an inch deep”, was the superhighway of its’ day. Running almost due east across the length of Nebraska, the Platte River drainage provided the fastest, easiest route into and across the Rocky Mountains. The existence of an Indian trail crossing the Rockies was first discovered by the Astor party, which used the network of trails to cross the Rockies in 1811 as they headed back east after founding Fort Astor on the Columbia River in present day Oregon. Since there were so few settlers and trappers at the time, the trail was not exploited until 1834 when Benjamin Bonneville, financed by the Astor Company, led an expedition west along the Platte to Oregon Country. Famed author Washington Irving wrote about the expedition and people in the east became aware that a feasible path to Oregon existed. The wave of emigrants was on. In 1843 an estimated 1,000 emigrants hit the trail and in the ensuing years, drawn west by tales of a veritable Garden of Eden in the Northwest and later the lure of gold, an estimate 500,000 people traveled the trail until its’ eventual demise after 1869 with the completion of the transcontinental railroad.
A piece of rope that has unraveled on both ends is a good way to visualize the Oregon Trail through Nebraska and Wyoming. Emigrants started out from various cities along the roughly 200 miles stretch of the Missouri River between Independence, Missouri, on the south and Council Bluffs, Iowa, on the north. The various trails came together along the Platte River at Fort Kearney in central Nebraska, and essentially became one superhighway for the next thousand miles until crossing South Pass and reaching Fort Bridger. There the trail splits with the Oregon Trail heading northwest and the California Trail heading southwest. I am going to follow the trail from present day Kearney, Nebraska, to Casper, Wyoming, where I will turn north to Billings following the Bozeman Trail (which was developed later as the path to the Montana gold fields.) So, following Horace Greeley’s historic advice, “Go West, Young Man, go West!” we’re off.
The Platte River is not a single channel, but rather a braid of channels as it traverses the flat plains of central Nebraska. It’s important to put the great emigration of the middle 1800’s in context of the time of year in which the travelling occurred. Most emigrants had to leave the Missouri River by mid-April as soon as the ground was firm enough for wagon travel. Leaving later created the very real possibility that fall snows would make crossing the Blue Mountains in Oregon incredibly dangerous, if not impossible, towards the end of the journey. The actual trip usually took between four and five months to complete. This meant that the placid Platte River that I see today would have been a raging torrent for most of the pioneers as they set out; flush with spring snow melt, subject to frequent floods, and running deep and fast. The Oregon Trail is actually an umbrella title for a collection of trails than ran along both the north and south sides of the Platte through most of Nebraska, only coming together after the juncture of the Platte’s two major tributaries just east of present day North Platte, Nebraska. The South Platte rises out of the Colorado Rockies north of Denver; the North Platte rises in northern Colorado but heads due north into Wyoming before turning south east. The North Platte is route that the Oregon Trail follows into Wyoming. The various routes come together as the road leaves the South Platte and climbs up out of that valley and crosses a plateau before descending into the North Platte, heading northwest into Wyoming. This is where our pictorial story begins.
Travelling west from North Platte, Nebraska, on Highway 30 along the South Platte River we reach Oglalla, NE, where, like the pioneers, we turn northwest and climb up out of the South Platte valley and across a rolling plateau for about 20 miles before descending into the North Platte valley.
This was really the first test of the pioneers as previously the road had been relatively easy to travel. The trail descends to the North Platte at Ash Hollow, where the hill was too steep for wagons to descend so the pioneers had to brake the wheels of the wagons, tie ropes to them, and winch them down the hillside. This is the view that the pioneers had looking down into Ash Hollow and the North Platte River from the top of the bluff.
The trail then crossed the river and followed along the north side, some distance north of the actual river bed due to the need to be away from the widespread wanderings of the river during floods. The land is becoming more rugged, with bluffs framing the south side of the river bottom and rolling hills on the north. This view is looking south, about one hundred miles northwest of the river junction.
Suddenly my pulse starts to quicken, much like I’m sure that the emigrants perked up, because on the horizon is one of the first of the great “markers” along the Oregon Trail. Jailhouse Rock and Courthouse Rock begin to loom on the south, across the river. Courthouse Rock was first noted in the journals of explorer Robert Stuart in 1812 and the rock formations were christened due to the resemblance to a courthouse and, after about four weeks on the trail, this was the significant marker. Most surviving pioneer journals note the sight of this landmark with awe and excitement (remember that the emigrants had never seen this kind of environment.) The trail continues and soon the second significant geological monument appears. One of the iconic symbols of the Oregon Trail, Chimney Rock can be seen for miles. Not for the first time I ponder on the fact that it was about 20 minutes from the first time that I saw it to the visitor center while it would have taken the pioneers two to three days for the same journey.
The bluffs that have been forming the southern horizon are now getting a little more rugged sprinkled with trees, and a bit higher. Now named the Wildcat Hills, they stretch off into the west. Continuing northwest on Highway 29 the third of the great Nebraska landmarks stretches across the horizon. The rock formation, usually referred to as Scottsbluff, was actually called Scott’s Bluffs by the pioneers because the rock formation is actually an approximately eight mile long extension of the Wildcat Hills that juts out north of the hills.
As you get closer the mass separates into two distinct sections, north (below right) and south (below left), with the North Platte river running close to the base of the northern bluffs. These pictures were taken standing outside of the Lunch Box at the rv park where we stayed for the night.
Now days the pointed rock formation at the southern end of the northern bluffs is specifically called Scott’s Bluff and the visitor center is at the base. You can actually drive up to the top of the north bluffs on a narrow road through three narrow tunnels (I just barely made it, the limit on the length of a vehicle is 26 feet and the Lunch Box is 24 feet long). The views were spectacular.
In views from the top, to the south are the Wildcat Hills and the visitor center; to the north, across the river, is the town of Scottsbluff. These two pictures were taken from the same spot, a viewpoint on top of the northern bluffs.
Continuing northwest on Highway 26 out of Scottsbluff I am continually reminded of the importance of Wyoming’s energy reserves. Virtually every 15 minutes I pass a coal train headed east. Each train stretches for about a mile, and the train traffic is constant.
About 75 miles further up the road we come upon one of the great centers in the history of the West, Fort Laramie.
Fort Laramie was actually the third fort constructed on this site along the Laramie River about a mile south of where it flows into the North Platte. Fort William was a small fort (100 feet by 80 feet) made out of cottonwood logs built in 1834 by traders seeking to capitalize on the growing buffalo hide trade. It was succeeded in 1841by a larger fort named Fort John. This was a major stopping point for travelers on the Oregon Trail, a place to rest, resupply, and get ready for the arduous journey ahead. In 1849 the US Army bought Fort John and officially named it Fort Laramie. For the next 40 years Fort Laramie was the military headquarters for the Northern Plains as well as the transportation and communication hub for the central Rocky Mountain region. The Oregon Trail, Pony Express, and transcontinental telegraph all passed through Fort Laramie. The fort was never actually enclosed with a stockade. It was too large and never really in danger of attack. The end of the Indian Wars lead to the end of Fort Laramie as it was no longer needed. The last cavalry unit left the fort in 1883 and the government officially terminated the fort in 1889. A sophisticated and somewhat luxurious lifestyle (especially for officers) evolved along the banks of the river in its’ latter years. Above is a map of the fort and, to give a sense of the scale, the area marked parade ground and that where “visitor center and museum” is printed are each larger than a football field. My picture tour starts in the lower left at the “Calvary Barracks” and goes counter clockwise around the central fields. Several of the buildings have been restored and furnished with period pieces.
The Calvary Barracks sit at the northwest corner of the complex and were built in 1874 to accommodate the increase in troops required by the Indian Wars. The men slept on the second floor while the first floor held the kitchen, mess room and store rooms. This is the largest building in the fort.
Next is the post trader’s store. The adobe section on the left dates from 1849, the addition on the right (last used as a post office) was added in 1852. The Surgeon’s House (left) and Burt House (right) were built as housing for high ranking people on the post.
To the south is “Old Bedlam”, the oldest structure in Wyoming. Now restored, it was named “Old Bedlam” because it was originally used for junior officers’ quarters and they apparently made a lot of noise. The building has been restored to its’ use during the 1880’s when the right side was officers’ quarters and the left side was the commandant’s office and quarters.
The officer’s quarters were two rooms on the first floor. On the left is the sleeping room and on the right the living area.
The commandant’s office and dining room.
By 1887 Fort Laramie resembled a prosperous Victorian town. Trees and grass had been planted around the interior, gas lights illuminated the boardwalks that connected the various buildings, and very comfortable quarters were built for senior officers. On the south end of the parade ground stands a house built in 1870 that originally was the post commander’s house but was later turned into a duplex for officers’ families.
One of the duplexes was open for viewing and it had a simple floor plan reminiscent of duplex townhouses today. A hall opens up from the front door and runs straight through to the back door. Opening off to the left in succession is a living room, dining room and kitchen. Upstairs are two large bedrooms.
Out back down the bank runs the Laramie River, small in stature but a reliable year-round source of water.
Continuing to walk now along the eastern side of the parade ground the ruins of the administration building (built in 1885) stand silently above the river and then the post jail comes along.
The jail is actually a two story structure built into the side of the river bank. The top floor is two rooms. The jail captain’s room is on the left and the guards’ room on the right.
The entrance to the lower level is found by walking around and down to the bottom back of the structure. The jail itself is one large room with no heat or water and two small isolation cells in one corner (back left). A bucket served as a toilet.
Trying to give a sense of the size of the fort, here’s a picture from the southeast corner looking northwest to “Old Bedlam” and on to the hills above.
Finally, as I drive away I stop and take virtually the opposite picture of the fort from the hills above looking down to the southeast. You are seeing the backs of “Old Bedlam” and the other buildings along “Officer’s Row”.
Heading back towards Highway 26 I have to cross the North Platte River and stop to see another key development in the history of the west. As I have mentioned before, while the river seems placid now that was not always the case. An important point in the history of Fort Laramie was the construction of this bridge across the North Platte in 1875. It cost $15,000 to build and was used until 1958. Here are views from the south and the north.
The bridge is nearly 400 feet long, much longer than today’s actual flowing water. However, remember that this bridge was built before dams were constructed on the upper North Plate for flood control and so it needed to be long in order to accommodate the rise and fall of the river.
A mile later we hit Highway 26 and turn left, continuing our journey up the North Platte. Shortly the valley widens a bit and we see our first glimpse of the challenges ahead, the front range of the Rocky Mountains rising above the plains. From now on the emigrants never had mountains out of their sight on the road to Oregon. They knew that the first third of the journey, the easiest third, was done and now the challenge began…
An author’s note: Several of you have commented on the beautiful blue skies and apparently good weather that I’m experiencing while back in Oregon it’s pouring down rain. I am certainly not complaining but note that during the visit to Fort Laramie, which was in the morning, it was 36 degrees and the wind was howling. I was freezing my patootie off! There’s a price to be paid for those brilliant blue skies…
Next up: The Oregon Trail continues with one of the most meaningful stops of this entire journey
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