101-694: The Salt Lake Cutoff is one of the many shortcuts (or cutoffs) that branched from the California , Mormon and Oregon Trails in the United States. It led northwest out of Salt Lake City , Utah and north of the Great Salt Lake for about 180 miles (290 km) before rejoining the California trail near the City of Rocks , Idaho. From there Oregon Trail travelers could easily travel down
202-553: A December crossing of the Sierra Nevada mountains over Walker Pass 35°39′47″N 118°1′37″W / 35.66306°N 118.02694°W / 35.66306; -118.02694 on California State Route 178 ) in the southeast Sierra, an arduous route used by almost no one else. Trying to find a different route, Chiles led the rest of the settlers in a pack train party down the Oregon Trail to where it intersected
303-614: A combined length of over 5,000 mi (8,000 km). By 1847, two former fur trading frontier forts marked trailheads for major alternative routes through Utah and Wyoming to Northern California. The first was Jim Bridger 's Fort Bridger (est. 1842) in present-day Wyoming on the Green River , where the Mormon Trail turned southwest over the Wasatch Range to the newly established Salt Lake City, Utah . From Salt Lake
404-780: A divide into the Big Basin drainage and followed a series of streams like Thousand Springs Creek in what is now Nevada to the Humboldt River valley near today's Wells, Nevada . They blazed a wagon trail down the Humboldt River Valley and across Forty Mile Desert until they hit the Carson River . Here instead of immediately attempting to cross the Sierra by following the Carson River as it came out of
505-505: A faster, easier, and cheaper way to bring European converts to Salt Lake City. Almost 3,000 Mormons, with 653 carts and 50 supply wagons, traveling in 10 different companies , made the trip over the trail to Salt Lake City. While not the first to use handcarts, they were the only group to use them extensively. The handcarts were modeled after carts used by street sweepers and were made almost entirely of wood. They were generally six to seven feet (183 to 213 cm) long, wide enough to span
606-596: A few deaths. However, the fourth and fifth companies, known as the Willie and Martin Companies , respectively, had serious problems. The companies left Iowa City, Iowa , in July 1856, very late to begin the trip across the plains. They met severe winter weather west of present-day Casper, Wyoming , and continued to cope with deep snow and storms for the remainder of the journey. Food supplies were soon exhausted. Young organized
707-471: A fur trading company at which U.S. trappers , mountain men and Indians sold and traded their furs and hides and replenished their supplies they had used up in the previous year. A rendezvous typically only lasted a few weeks and was known to be a lively, joyous place, where nearly all were allowed—free trappers, Native Americans, native trapper wives and children, travelers, and later on, even tourists who would venture from even as far as Europe to observe
808-531: A group of Church members from Mississippi. At this point, the now larger company took the established Oregon Trail toward the trading post at Fort Bridger . Young met mountain man Jim Bridger on June 28. They discussed routes into the Salt Lake Valley and the feasibility of viable settlements in the mountain valleys of the Great Basin. The company pushed on through South Pass, rafted across
909-582: A militia that would force them out if they failed to meet the May deadline. To try to meet this deadline and to get an early start on the trek to the Great Basin, the Latter-day Saints began leaving Nauvoo in February 1846. The departure from Nauvoo began on February 4, 1846, under the leadership of Brigham Young. This early departure exposed them to the elements in the worst of winter. After crossing
1010-440: A narrow wagon track, and could be alternately pushed or pulled. The small boxes affixed to the carts were three to four feet (91 to 122 cm) long and eight inches (20 cm) high. They could carry about 500 pounds (227 kg), most of this weight consisting of trail provisions and a few personal possessions. All but two of the handcart companies successfully completed the rugged journey, with relatively few problems and only
1111-589: A new home for the church in the Great Basin and crossed Iowa. Along their way, some were assigned to establish settlements and to plant and harvest crops for later emigrants. During the winter of 1846–47, the emigrants wintered in Iowa, other nearby states, and the unorganized territory that later became Nebraska, with the largest group residing in Winter Quarters, Nebraska . In the spring of 1847, Young led
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#17327658336601212-488: A prayer dedicating the land to the Lord. Ground was broken, irrigation ditches were dug, and the first fields of potatoes and turnips were planted. On July 24, Young first saw the valley from a "sick" wagon driven by his friend Wilford Woodruff . According to Woodruff, Young expressed his satisfaction in the appearance of the valley and declared, "This is the right place, drive on." In August 1847, Young and selected members of
1313-430: A rescue effort that brought the companies in, but more than 210 of the 980 emigrants in the two parties died. The handcart companies continued with more success until 1860, and traditional ox-and-wagon companies also continued for those who could afford the higher cost. After 1860, the church began sending wagon companies east each spring, to return to Utah in the summer with the emigrating Latter-day Saints. Finally, with
1414-526: Is now called the Carson River across the Carson Range that is east of what is now called Lake Tahoe —previously seen but not explored by Fremont from a peak near what is now called Carson Pass . They made a winter crossing of the Carson Range and Sierra Nevada in February 1843. From Carson pass they followed the northern Sierra's southern slopes, to minimize snow depth, of what is now called
1515-646: Is the 1,300-mile (2,100 km) long route from Illinois to Utah on which Mormon pioneers (members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints ) traveled from 1846–47. Today, the Mormon Trail is a part of the United States National Trails System , known as the Mormon Pioneer National Historic Trail . The Mormon Trail extends from Nauvoo, Illinois , which was the principal settlement of
1616-760: The Bear River by following experienced trapper Thomas "Broken-hand" Fitzpatrick on his way to Fort Hall . Near Soda Springs the Bear River swung southwest towards the Great Salt Lake and the regular Oregon Trail headed northwest out of the Big Basin drainage and into the Portneuf River (Idaho) drainage to Fort Hall on the Snake River . About half of the party elected to attempt to continue by wagon to California and half elected to go to Oregon on
1717-538: The Columbia River as recommended by the Hudson's Bay Company trappers at Fort Hall. As early as 1837, John Marsh , who was the first American doctor in California and the owner of the large Rancho Los Meganos , realized that owning a great rancho was problematic if he could not hold it. The corrupt and unpredictable rulings by courts in California (then part of Mexico) made this questionable. With evidence that
1818-640: The Great Salt Lake , they traveled west across the Big Basin through the rough and sparse semi-desert north of the Great Salt Lake. After crossing most of what would become the state of Utah and passing into the future state of Nevada, they missed the head of the Humboldt River and abandoned their wagons in Nevada at Big Spring at the foot of the Pequop Mountains . They continued west using their oxen and mules as pack animals eventually finding
1919-577: The Green River , and arrived at Fort Bridger on July 7. About the same time, they were joined by 12 more members of the sick detachment of the Mormon Battalion. Now facing a more rugged and hazardous trek, Young chose to follow the trail used by the Donner–Reed party on their journey to California the previous year. As the vanguard company traveled through the rugged mountains, they divided into three sections. Young and several other members of
2020-668: The Green River —the chief tributary of the Colorado River . After 1832, the fur traders often brought wagon loads of supplies to trade with the white and Native American fur trappers at their annual rendezvous usually somewhere on the Green River. They returned to the Missouri River towns by following their rough trail in reverse. The future Oregon/California wagon trail had minimal improvements, usually limited to partially filling in impassable gullys, etc. By 1836, when
2121-601: The Humboldt River and followed it west to its termination in an alkali sink near present-day Lovelock, Nevada . After crossing the difficult Forty Mile Desert they turned to the south on the east side of the Sierra until they reached the Walker River draining east out of the Sierra Nevada Mountains. They followed the Walker westward as they ascended over the rugged Sierra Nevada mountains roughly in
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#17327658336602222-483: The Humboldt River . By following the crooked, meandering Humboldt River Valley west across the arid Great Basin, emigrants were able to get the water, grass, and wood they needed for themselves and their teams. The water turned increasingly alkaline as they progressed down the Humboldt, and there were almost no trees. "Firewood" usually consisted of broken brush, and the grass was sparse and dried out. Few travelers liked
2323-736: The Latter Day Saints from 1839 to 1846, to Salt Lake City, Utah , which was settled by Brigham Young and his followers beginning in 1847. From Council Bluffs, Iowa to Fort Bridger in Wyoming, the trail follows much the same route as the Oregon Trail and the California Trail ; these trails are collectively known as the Emigrant Trail . The Mormon pioneer run began in 1846, when Young and his followers were driven from Nauvoo . After leaving, they aimed to establish
2424-539: The Malad River in 1849 and later. An estimated 10,000 to 15,000 California- or Oregon-bound immigrants a year passed through Salt Lake City between 1849 and 1852. Thousands more followed every year before 1869 and the Transcontinental Railroad completion. California Trail The California Trail was an emigrant trail of about 1,600 mi (2,600 km) across the western half of
2525-638: The Malheur River in eastern Oregon which he then followed across Oregon to California. Another mixed party on horseback of U.S. Army topographers, hunters, scouts, etc. of about 50 men in 1843–1844 led by U.S. Army Colonel John C. Frémont of the United States Army Corps of Engineers and his chief scout Kit Carson took their exploration company down the Humboldt River, crossing Forty Mile Desert and then following what
2626-817: The Mexican–American War . After the discovery of gold in January 1848, word spread about the California Gold Rush . Starting in late 1848 until 1869, more than 250,000 businessmen, farmers, pioneers and miners passed over the California Trail to California. The traffic was so heavy that in two years the new settlers added so many people to California that by 1850 it qualified for admission as the 31st state with 120,000 residents. The Trail travelers were added to those migrants going by wagon from Salt Lake City to Los Angeles, California in winter,
2727-604: The Mississippi River , the journey across Iowa Territory followed primitive territorial roads and Native American trails. Young originally planned to lead an express company of about 300 men to the Great Basin during the summer of 1846. He believed they could cross Iowa and reach the Missouri River in approximately four to six weeks. However, the actual trip across Iowa was slowed by rain, mud, swollen rivers, and poor preparation, and it required 16 weeks – nearly three times longer than planned. Heavy rains turned
2828-614: The Mormon Trail from Fort Bridger over the Wasatch Range to Salt Lake City and back to the California Trail. In Salt Lake they could get repairs and fresh supplies and livestock by trade or cash. The Mormons were trying to establish new Mormon communities in Utah and needed almost everything then. The trail from Fort Bridger to Salt Lake City and over the Salt Lake Cutoff was about 180 miles (290 km) before it rejoined
2929-599: The Oregon-California Trails Association (OCTA). Maps put out by the United States Geological Survey (USGS) show the network of rivers followed to get to California. The beginnings of the California and Oregon Trails were laid out by mountain men and fur traders from about 1811 to 1840 and were only passable initially on foot or by horseback. South Pass , the easiest pass over the U.S. continental divide of
3030-530: The Platte and North Platte rivers was chosen to avoid potential conflicts over grazing rights, water access, and campsites with travelers using the established Oregon Trail on the river's south side. The Quincy Convention of October 1845 passed resolutions demanding that the Latter-day Saints withdraw from Nauvoo by May 1846. A few days later, the Carthage Convention called for establishment of
3131-642: The Portneuf River (Idaho) valley to the British Hudson's Bay Company 's Fort Hall (est. 1836) on the Snake River in present-day Idaho. From Fort Hall the Oregon and California trails went about 50 miles (80 km) southwest along the Snake River Valley to another "parting of the ways" trail junction at the junction of the Raft and Snake rivers. The California Trail from the junction followed
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3232-670: The Raft River valley portion of the California Trail to return to the Oregon Trail. It provided a way to stop in Salt Lake City (the only significant city on the trail then) for repairs, fresh supplies, fresh livestock, etc. In later years it was used by tens of thousands of pioneers and miners going east and west on their way to or from the future states of California , Oregon , Utah, Idaho , Montana , Nevada or Washington . Samuel J. Hensley, returning to California in
3333-621: The Ruby Mountains in Nevada before getting to the Humboldt River Valley California trail. The severely water-challenged Hastings Cutoff trail across the Great Salt Lake 's salt flats rejoined the California Trail about 7 miles (11 km) west of modern-day Elko, Nevada . The party led by Hastings were just two weeks ahead of the Donner Party but did successfully get to California before snow closed
3434-640: The Salt Lake Cutoff (est. 1848) went north and west of the Great Salt Lake and rejoined the California Trail in the City of Rocks in present-day Idaho. The main Oregon and California Trails crossed the Yellow River on several different ferries and trails (cutoffs) that led to or bypassed Fort Bridger and then crossed over a range of hills to the Great Basin drainage of the Bear River (Great Salt Lake) . Just past present-day Soda Springs, Idaho , both trails initially turned northwest, following
3535-720: The Sweetwater , North Platte and Platte River Valleys connecting to the Missouri River . British fur traders primarily used the Columbia and Snake rivers to take their supplies to their trading posts. After 1824, U.S. fur traders had discovered and developed first pack and then wagon trails along the Platte, North Platte, Sweetwater and Big Sandy River (Wyoming) to the Green River (Colorado River) where they often held their annual Rocky Mountain Rendezvous (1827–1840) held by
3636-629: The first transcontinental railroad in 1869. Among the emigrants were the Mormon handcart pioneers of 1856–60. Two of the handcart companies, led by James G. Willie and Edward Martin, met disaster on the trail when they departed late and were caught by heavy snowstorms in Wyoming. Under the leadership of Joseph Smith , Latter Day Saints established several communities throughout the United States between 1830 and 1844, most notably in Kirtland, Ohio ; Independence, Missouri ; and Nauvoo, Illinois. However,
3737-529: The American River Valley down to Sutter's Fort located near what is now Sacramento, California . Fremont took the data gathered by his topographers and map makers in his 1843–1844 and 1846–1847 explorations of much of the American west to create and publish (by order of Congress) the first "decent" map of California and Oregon in 1848. The first group to cross the Sierra with their wagons
3838-854: The California Trail near the City of Rocks in Idaho. This cutoff had adequate water and grass, and many thousands of travelers used this cutoff for years. The "regular" California Trail from Fort Bridger via Fort Hall on the Snake River and on to the City of Rocks was within a few miles of being the same distance as going to Salt Lake City and on to the City of Rocks via the Salt Lake Cutoff. In April 1859, an expedition of U.S. Corp of Topographical Engineers led by U.S. Army Captain James H. Simpson left U.S. Army's Camp Floyd (Utah) (now Fairfield, Utah ) in central Utah to establish an army western supply route across
3939-599: The California Trail route were discovered and developed by American fur traders including Kit Carson , Joseph R. Walker , and Jedediah Smith , who often worked with the Rocky Mountain Fur Company and after 1834 by the American Fur Company and explored widely in the west. Canadian Hudson's Bay Company trappers led by Peter Skene Ogden and others scouted the Humboldt River off and on from about 1830 to 1840—little of their explorations
4040-512: The California Trail to rejoin their families in Utah. On September 15, 1848 they found the junction of Hensley's pack trail near the rock formation called the Twin Sisters. Thompson's group with wagons followed Hensley's pack trail back to Salt Lake City—converting it into a passable wagon road. Thompson's company traveled southeast into northern Utah, crossing Deep Creek near present-day Snowville, Utah . They found plentiful water and grass on
4141-467: The City of Rocks, Idaho—about 7 miles (11 km) north of today's Utah–Idaho border. This became known as the Salt Lake Cutoff and was about the same distance as the Fort Hall , Snake River , Raft River , City of Rocks route which it bypassed. On the Humboldt River portion of the California Trail route, Hensley met and talked with a party of former Mormon Battalion personnel consisting of 45 men and one woman under Samuel Thompson driving wagons east on
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4242-438: The Donner Party down by about two weeks—Hastings successfully navigated the rugged Weber Canyon in about four days. The Mormon Trail over the Wasatch Mountains followed roughly the same path as the Donner Party trail of 1846 but they built a much better trail with many more workers in 1847 to get to the Salt Lake valley with much less hassle—this was their main route to and from their Salt Lake communities. The Weber Canyon trail
4343-403: The East, after 1859 the Pony Express , Overland stages and the First Transcontinental Telegraph (1861) all followed this route with minor deviations. Once in Western Nevada and Eastern California , the pioneers worked out several paths over the rugged Carson Range and Sierra Nevada into the gold fields, settlements and cities of northern California. The main routes initially (1846–1848) were
4444-567: The Great Basin to California. Upon his return in early August 1859, Simpson reported that he had surveyed what became the Central Overland Route from Camp Floyd to Genoa, Nevada . This route went through central Nevada roughly where U.S. Route 50 goes today from Carson City, Nevada , to Ely, Nevada . From Ely the route is approximated today by the roads to Ibapah, Utah , Callao, Utah , Fish Springs National Wildlife Refuge , Fairfield, Utah to Salt Lake City, Utah (See: Pony Express Map and Pony Express auto route ) The Central Overland Route
4545-403: The Great Salt Lake Valley and the Great Basin, consulted with mountain men and trappers, and met with Father Pierre-Jean De Smet , a Jesuit missionary familiar with the region. Young also organized a vanguard company to break trail to the Rocky Mountains , evaluate trail conditions, find sources of water, and select a central gathering point in the Great Basin. A new route on the north side of
4646-420: The Humboldt River Valley passage. [The] Humboldt is not good for man nor beast ... and there is not timber enough in three hundred miles of its desolate valley to make a snuff-box, or sufficient vegetation along its banks to shade a rabbit, while its waters contain the alkali to make soap for a nation. At the end of the Humboldt River, where it disappeared into the alkaline Humboldt Sink , travelers had to cross
4747-447: The Humboldt River and how to get to it was known to only a few trappers. When trapping largely ceased in the 1840s due to a change in men's hat style that didn't use the felt from beaver 's fur there was a number of out of work fur trappers and traders who were familiar with many of the Indians, trails, and rivers in the west. In 1832, Captain Benjamin Bonneville , a United States Military Academy graduate on temporary leave, followed
4848-427: The Humboldt River and the rugged, hot and dry Forty Mile Desert across Nevada and over the rugged and steep Sierra Nevada by California-bound settlers. In the following years, several other rugged routes over the Sierra were developed. Pioneered by Lansford Hastings in 1846, the Hastings Cutoff left the California Trail at Fort Bridger in Wyoming. In 1846 the party, guided by Hastings, passed successfully through
4949-480: The North American continent from Missouri River towns to what is now the state of California . After it was established, the first half of the California Trail followed the same corridor of networked river valley trails as the Oregon Trail and the Mormon Trail , namely the valleys of the Platte , North Platte , and Sweetwater rivers to Wyoming. The trail has several splits and cutoffs for alternative routes around major landforms and to different destinations, with
5050-401: The Oregon Trail to Fort Bridger , the Chiles company enlisted mountain man Joseph R. Walker as a guide. Chiles and Walker split the company into two groups. Walker led the company with the wagons west toward California by following the Oregon Trail to Fort Hall, Idaho , and turning west off the Oregon trail at the Snake River , Raft River junction. At the head of the Raft River they crossed
5151-421: The Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Ocean drainages, was discovered by Robert Stuart and his party of seven in 1812 while he was taking a message from the west to the east back to John Jacob Astor about the need for a new ship to supply Fort Astoria on the Columbia River —their supply ship Tonquin had blown up. In 1824, fur trappers Jedediah Smith and Thomas Fitzpatrick rediscovered the South Pass as well as
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#17327658336605252-487: The Raft River to the City of Rocks in Idaho near the present Nevada-Idaho-Utah tripoint . The Salt Lake and Fort Hall routes were about the same length: about 190 miles (310 km). From the City of Rocks the trail went into the present state of Utah following the South Fork of Junction Creek. From there the trail followed along a series of small streams, such as Thousand Springs Creek in the present state of Nevada until approaching present-day Wells, Nevada , where they met
5353-410: The Russians, French and English were preparing to seize the province, he determined to make it a part of the United States. He felt that the best way to go about this was to encourage emigration by Americans to California, and in this way the history of Texas would be repeated. Marsh conducted a letter-writing campaign espousing the California climate, soil and other reasons to settle there, as well as
5454-399: The Saints were driven out of each of these settlements in turn, due to conflicts with other settlers (see history of the Latter Day Saint movement ). This included the actions of Missouri Governor Lilburn Boggs , who issued Missouri Executive Order 44 , which called for the "extermination" of all Mormons in Missouri. Latter-day Saints were finally forced to abandon Nauvoo in 1846. Although
5555-452: The Truckee Trail to the Sacramento Valley and after about 1849 the Carson Trail route to the American River and the Placerville, California gold digging region. Starting about 1859, the Johnson Cutoff (Placerville Route, est. 1850–1851) and the Henness Pass Route (est. 1853) across the Sierra were greatly improved and developed. These main roads across the Sierra were both toll roads so there were funds to pay for maintenance and upkeep on
5656-420: The best route to follow (the California Trail), which became known as "Marsh's route." His letters were read, reread, passed around, and printed in newspapers throughout the country, and started the first significant immigration to California. The trail ended at his ranch, and he invited immigrants to stay on his ranch until they could get settled, and assisted in their obtaining passports. After ushering in
5757-518: The church abandoned its settlements in Iowa. However, many church members from the eastern states and from Europe continued to emigrate to Utah, often assisted by the Perpetual Emigration Fund. In 1856, the church inaugurated a system of handcart companies in order to enable poor European emigrants to make the trek more cheaply. Handcarts, two-wheeled carts that were pulled by emigrants instead of draft animals, were sometimes used as an alternate means of transportation from 1856 to 1860. They were seen as
5858-403: The deadly Forty Mile Desert before finding either the Truckee River or Carson River in the Carson Range and Sierra Nevada that were the last major obstacles before entering Northern California. An alternative route across the present states of Utah and Nevada that bypassed both Fort Hall and the Humboldt River trails was developed in 1859. This route, the Central Overland Route , which
5959-499: The end of the war with Mexico , the land in which they settled became part of the United States. Each year during the Mormon migration, people continued to be organized into "companies", each company bearing the name of its leader and subdivided into groups of 10 and 50. The Saints traveled the trail broken by the vanguard company, splitting the journey into two sections. The first segment began in Nauvoo and ended in Winter Quarters , near modern-day Omaha, Nebraska . The second half of
6060-419: The experience of the 1846 travelers was widely known) that during a wet year, wagons could not be pulled across the Great Salt Lake Desert; it was too soft. In 1848, the Salt Lake Cutoff was discovered by returning Mormon Battalion soldiers and others from the City of Rocks (in the future state of Idaho) to the northwest of the Great Salt Lake and on to Salt Lake City . This cutoff allowed travelers to use
6161-419: The first Oregon migrant wagon train was organized in Independence, Missouri , a wagon trail had been scouted and roughed out to Fort Hall, Idaho . In July 1836, missionary wives Narcissa Whitman and Eliza Spalding were the first white pioneer women to cross South Pass on their way to Oregon Territory via Fort Hall. They left their wagons at Fort Hall and went the rest of the way by pack train and boats down
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#17327658336606262-497: The fur traders paths along the valleys of the Platte , North Platte and Sweetwater Rivers to South Pass (Wyoming) with a fur trader's caravan of 110 men and 20 wagons over and on to the Green River—the first wagons over South Pass. In the spring of 1833, Captain Benjamin Bonneville sent a party of men under former fur trapper and "now" explorer Joseph R. Walker to explore the Great Salt Lake desert and Big Basin and attempt to find an overland route to California . Eventually
6363-437: The future Truckee Trail Route across the rugged Forty Mile Desert and along the Truckee River to the foot of the Sierra. They got over the Sierra at Donner Pass by unloading the wagons and packing the contents to the top using their ox teams as pack animals. The wagons were then partially dis-assembled and then pulled by multiple teams of oxen up the steep slopes and cliffs. Some wagons were left at Donner Lake . Once on top,
6464-415: The games and festivities. Trapper Jim Beckwourth describes: "Mirth, songs, dancing, shouting, trading, running, jumping, singing, racing, target-shooting, yarns, frolic, with all sorts of drinking and gambling extravagances that white men or Indians could invent." Initially from about 1825 to 1834 the fur traders used pack trains to carry their supplies in and the traded furs out. Sections of what became
6565-399: The group for one year. On April 5, the wagon train moved west from Winter Quarters toward the Great Basin. The journey from Winter Quarters to Fort Laramie took six weeks; the company arrived at the fort on June 1. While at Fort Laramie, the vanguard company was joined by members of the Mormon Battalion , who had been excused due to illness and sent to winter in Pueblo, Colorado , and
6666-471: The journey took the Saints through the area that later became Nebraska and Wyoming , before finishing their journey in the Salt Lake Valley in present-day Utah . The earlier groups used covered wagons pulled by oxen to carry their supplies across the country. Some later companies used handcarts and traveled by foot. William Clayton , a member of the vanguard company, published the popular The Latter-Day Saints' Emigrants' Guide to help guide travelers on
6767-408: The more established Oregon Trail . The California-bound travelers (including one woman and one child), knew only that California was west of them and there was reportedly a river across most of the 'Big Basin' that led part of the way to California. Without guides or maps, they traveled down the Bear River as it looped southwest through Cache Valley , Utah. When they found the Bear River terminating in
6868-465: The most popular route was the Carson Route which, while rugged, was still easier than most others and entered California in the middle of the gold fields. The trail was heavily used in the summers until the completion of the first transcontinental railroad in 1869 by the Union Pacific and Central Pacific Railroads . Trail traffic rapidly fell off as the cross-country trip was much quicker and easier by train—about seven days. The economy class fare across
6969-469: The mountains they turned south, traveling east of the Sierra along what is now roughly the Nevada and California border—about where U.S. Route 395 in California is today. With scarce provisions, winter approaching and failing draft animals, by the end of 1843 they had traveled south almost 300 miles (480 km) on the east side of the Sierra before they abandoned their wagons near Owens Lake in eastern central California and proceeded by pack train to make
7070-464: The movement had split into several denominations after Smith's death in 1844, most members aligned themselves with Brigham Young . Under Young's leadership, about 14,000 Mormon citizens of Nauvoo set out to find a new home in the West. Following the succession crisis , Young insisted the Mormons should settle in a place no one else wanted and felt the isolated Great Basin would provide the Saints with many advantages. Young reviewed information on
7171-470: The party re-discovered the Humboldt River crossing much of present-day Nevada . After crossing the hot and dry Forty Mile Desert they passed through the Carson River Canyon across the Carson Range and ascended the Sierra Nevada . They descended from the Sierra via the Stanislaus River drainage to the Central Valley of California and proceeded on west as far as Monterey, California —the Californio capital. His return route from California went across
7272-460: The party suffered from a fever, generally accepted as a "mountain fever" induced by wood ticks. The small sick detachment lagged behind the larger group, and a scouting division was created to move farther ahead on the designated route. Scouts Erastus Snow and Orson Pratt entered the Salt Lake Valley on July 21. The main party entered the valley on July 22, camping that night near the modern-day First Encampment Park . On July 23, Pratt offered
7373-794: The passes and stranded the Donner Party in the Sierra. As recommended by a message from Hastings after he got through Weber canyon, another branch of the Hastings trail was cut across the Wasatch Range by the Donner Party. Their rough trail required clearing a very rough wagon trail through thick brush down Emigration Canyon to get into the Salt Lake Valley. To avoid cutting too much brush in some places they used multiple ox teams to pull wagons up steep slopes to get around brush loaded canyon sections. Cutting this rough trail slowed
7474-495: The period of organized emigration to California, Marsh helped take California from the last Mexican governor, thereby paving the way to California's ultimate acquisition by the United States. The first recorded party to use part of the California Trail to get to California was the Bartleson–Bidwell Party in 1841. They left Missouri with 69 people and reasonably easily reached the future site of Soda Springs, Idaho on
7575-483: The remaining wagons were reassembled and reloaded for their trip to Sutter's Fort ( Sacramento, California ). They were caught by early winter snows and abandoned their wagons near Emigrant Gap and had to hike out of the Sierra after being rescued by a party from Sutter's Fort on February 24, 1845. Their abandoned wagons were retrieved in the spring of 1845 and pulled the rest of the way to Sutter's Fort. A usable but very rough wagon route had finally been worked out along
7676-540: The roads. These toll roads were also used to carry cargo west to east from California to Nevada, as thousands of tons of supplies were needed by the gold and silver miners, etc. working on the Comstock Lode (1859–1888) near the present Virginia City, Nevada . The Johnson Cutoff, from Placerville to Carson City along today's U.S. Route 50 in California , was used by the Pony Express (1860–61) year-round and in
7777-475: The rolling plains of southern Iowa into a quagmire of axle-deep mud. Furthermore, few people carried adequate provisions for the trip. The weather, general unpreparedness, lack of experience in moving such a large group of people, and the much longer duration of the trip than anticipated earlier all contributed to the difficulties they endured. The initial party reached the Missouri River on June 14. It
7878-461: The route just as Hensley had told them. With some difficulty they crossed the Malad River and the Bear River still traveling south east. They then went to the tiny community of Ogden, Utah where they crossed the Weber River before traveling on to Salt Lake City. Ebenezer Brown, leading a party from the 1846 Mormon ship Brooklyn , followed them three weeks later and helped to further define
7979-443: The rugged, narrow, rock-filled Weber Canyon to get over the Wasatch Range . In a few places the wagons had to be floated down the river in some narrow spots and the wagons had to be pried over large rocks in many places. Passing the future site of Ogden, Utah and Salt Lake City, Utah Hastings party proceeded south of the Great Salt Lake and then across about 80 miles (130 km) of waterless Bonneville Salt Flats and around
8080-670: The rutted traces of these trails remain in Kansas , Nebraska , Wyoming , Idaho , Utah , Nevada , and California as historical evidence of the great mass migration westward. Portions of the trail are now preserved by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), and the National Park Service (NPS) as the California National Historic Trail and marked by BLM, NPS and the many state organizations of
8181-478: The same region crossed by Jedediah Smith in 1828. They were able to finish their rugged trip over the Sierra and into the future state of California by killing and eating many of their oxen for food. Everyone survived the journey. Joseph B. Chiles , a member of the Bartleson–Bidwell Party, returned east in 1842 and organized the first of his seven California-bound immigrant companies in 1843. Following
8282-430: The southern Sierra mountains via what's named now Walker Pass —named by U.S. Army topographic engineer, explorer, adventurer, and map maker John C. Frémont . The Humboldt River Valley was key to forming a usable California Trail. The Humboldt River with its water and grass needed by the livestock (oxen, mules horses and later cattle) and emigrants provided a key link west to northern California. One of several "parting of
8383-563: The summer by the stage lines (1860–1869). It was the only overland route from the East to California that could be kept partially open for at least horse traffic in the winter. The California Trail was heavily used from 1845 until several years after the end of the American Civil War; in 1869 several rugged wagon routes were established across the Carson Range and Sierra Nevada to different parts of northern California. After about 1848
8484-437: The summer of 1848, led a pack train of ten men on a quest to get back to the California Trail. After trying Hastings Route south of the Great Salt Lake and finding the salt flats too soft (heavy rains that year) for passage he returned to Salt Lake City and discovered a route, north of the Great Salt Lake. His newly blazed trail (cutoff) went from Salt Lake City back to the Oregon Trail and/or California Trail, rejoining it near
8585-469: The trail. Word spread quickly that a good road with good grass and water was known out of Salt Lake City back to the California or Oregon Trail. When the gold-crazy emigrants of 1849 heard of this new route to the California gold fields , many thousands detoured to Salt Lake City to get new supplies and livestock. In Utah, ferries charging a few dollars per wagon were established at the Weber, Bear River and
8686-693: The travelers down the Gila River trail in Arizona , and those traveling by sea routes around Cape Horn and the Strait of Magellan , or by sea and then across the Isthmus of Panama , Nicaragua , or Mexico , and then by sea to California. Roughly half of California's new settlers came by trail and the other half by sea. The original route had many branches and cutoffs, encompassing about 5,500 miles (8,900 km) in total. About 1,000 miles (1,600 km) of
8787-501: The trip, at a time when Chorpenning was using only the eastern segment (they reconnected with the main California Trail near present-day Beowawe, Nevada ). Greeley published his detailed observations in his 1860 book An Overland Journey from New York to San Francisco . In October 1860, the English explorer Richard Burton traveled the entire route at a time when the Pony Express was operating. He gave detailed descriptions of each of
8888-508: The vanguard company gathered, final supplies were packed, and the group was organized into 14 military companies. A militia and night guard were formed. The company consisted of 143 men, including three african americans and eight members of the Quorum of the Twelve , three women, and two children. The train contained 73 wagons, draft animals, and livestock, and carried enough supplies to provision
8989-460: The vanguard company returned to Winter Quarters to organize the companies scheduled for following years. By December 1847, more than 2,000 Mormons had completed the journey to the Salt Lake Valley, then in Mexican territory. Farming the uncultivated land was initially difficult, as the shares broke when they tried to plow the dry ground. Therefore, an irrigation system was designed and the land
9090-468: The vanguard company to the Salt Lake Valley , which was then outside the boundaries of the United States and later became Utah . During the first few years, the emigrants were mostly former occupants of Nauvoo who were following Young to Utah. Later, the emigrants increasingly included converts from the British Isles and Europe. The trail was used for more than 20 years, until the completion of
9191-575: The way stations in his 1861 book The City of the Saints, Across the Rocky Mountains to California . Samuel Clemens ( Mark Twain ) traveled the route in the summer of 1861 with his brother Orion on their way to Nevada's new territorial capital in Carson City, Nevada , but provided only sparse descriptions of the road in his 1872 book Roughing It . Mormon Trail The Mormon Trail
9292-564: The way. By 1849, many of the Latter-day Saints who remained in Iowa or Missouri were poor and unable to afford the costs of the wagon, teams of oxen, and supplies that would be required for the trip. Therefore, the LDS Church established a revolving fund , known as the Perpetual Emigration Fund , to enable the poor to emigrate. By 1852, most of the Latter-day Saints from Nauvoo who wished to emigrate had done so, and
9393-468: The ways" that split the Oregon and California Trails was eventually established at the Snake River and Raft River junctions in what is now Idaho. The Raft River, Junction Creek in the future states of Idaho and Utah and Thousand Springs Creek in the future states of Nevada and Utah provided the usable trail link between the Snake and Humboldt Rivers. After about 1832, a rough wagon trail had been blazed to
9494-470: The western United States of about $ 69 was affordable by most California-bound travelers. The trail was used by about 2,700 settlers from 1846 up to 1849. These settlers were instrumental in helping convert California to a U.S. possession. Volunteer members of John C. Frémont 's California Battalion assisted the Pacific Squadron 's sailors and marines in 1846 and 1847 in conquering California in
9595-649: Was about 280 miles (450 km) shorter and more than 10 days quicker, went south of the Great Salt Lake and across the middle of present-day Utah and Nevada through a series of springs and small streams. The route went south from Salt Lake City across the Jordan River to Fairfield, Utah , then west-southwest past Fish Springs National Wildlife Refuge , Callao, Utah , Ibapah, Utah , to Ely, Nevada , then across Nevada to Carson City, Nevada . (Today's U.S. Route 50 in Nevada roughly follows this route.) (See: Pony Express Map ) In addition to immigrants and migrants from
9696-624: Was about 280 miles (450 km) shorter than the 'standard' California Trail Humboldt River route. This Central Overland Route, with minor modifications was used by settler's wagon trains, the Pony Express , stagecoach lines and the First Transcontinental Telegraph after 1859. Several accounts of travel along the Central Overland Route have been published. In July 1859, Horace Greeley made
9797-423: Was apparent that the Latter-day Saints could not make it to the Great Basin that season and would have to winter on the Missouri River. Some of the emigrants established a settlement called Kanesville (present-day Council Bluffs) on the Iowa side of the river. Others moved across the river into the area of present-day Omaha, Nebraska , and built a camp called Winter Quarters . In April 1847, chosen members of
9898-417: Was flooded before plowing, and the resulting system provided supplemental moisture during the year. Salt Lake City was laid out and designated as Church headquarters. Hard work produced a prosperous community. In their new settlement, entertainment was also important, and the first public building was a theater. It did not take long, however, until the United States caught up with them, and in 1848, after
9999-496: Was judged too rugged for regular use without a lot of work—later done by Mormon workers on the first transcontinental railroad in 1868–1869. All of the Hastings Cutoffs to California were found to be very hard on the wagons, livestock and travelers as well as being longer, harder, and slower to traverse than the regular trail and was largely abandoned after 1846. It was discovered by some hurrying travelers in 1849 (before
10100-418: Was known. A few U.S. and British fur trappers and traders had explored what is now called the Humboldt River (named Mary's River by Ogden) that crosses most of the present state of Nevada and provides a natural corridor to western Nevada and eastern California. The Humboldt River was of little interest to the trappers as it was hard to get to, dead ended in an alkali sink , and had few beavers. The details of
10201-497: Was the Stephens–Townsend–Murphy Party of 1844. They departed from the Oregon Trail along the Snake River by following the Raft River to the City of Rocks in Idaho and then passed over the Big Basin continental divide and used a series of springs and small streams in what is now Nevada to get to the Humboldt River near where the town of Wells, Nevada is now. They followed the Humboldt River across Nevada and
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