The Oregon Trail, topic by topic.
Start with Oregon 101 for the whole story in one read, or pick a topic: the history, daily life and its dangers, the people and places along the way, and the Native nations whose homelands the trail crossed.
- Vol. I· Start here
Oregon 101
The whole story in one read: where the trail ran, who traveled it and why, daily life and dangers, the Native nations it crossed, and how it ended. The best place to start.
12 sections · ~12 min · 16 sourcesRead article - Vol. II
History
How the trail began and grew: fur traders and missionaries, the first wagon trains, the Great Migration of 1843, the gold rush years and the railroad that ended it all.
29 timeline eventsRead article - Vol. III
Daily life on the trail
Up at four, rolling by seven, walking all day. Food, shelter, children's and women's work, Sundays, music, and the diaries travelers kept.
8 sectionsRead article - Vol. IV
Dangers on the trail
What killed emigrants: cholera and other diseases, drowning, accidents, cold and hunger, and why attacks were far rarer than old movies suggest.
6 dangersRead article - Vol. V
People of the trail
How a wagon company worked, from elected captains and written rules to the jobs of guides, blacksmiths, doctors, cooks, hunters and scouts.
8 rolesRead article - Vol. VI
Notable figures
Biographies of the trail's best-known names, from Marcus and Narcissa Whitman and Jim Bridger to Chief Washakie and Ezra Meeker.
47 biographiesRead article - Vol. VII
Trail places
The trail's landmarks, forts and rivers from Independence to Oregon City, among them Chimney Rock, Fort Laramie, South Pass, the Snake River and Mount Hood. Each has its own page with its history, what you can see there today and the people connected to it.
24 placesRead article - Vol. VIII
Native Nations
The Pawnee, Lakota, Cheyenne, Shoshone, Ute, Cayuse, Nez Perce, and Walla Walla and Umatilla peoples: their history, leaders and treaties, and where each nation lives today.
8 nationsRead article - Vol. IX
Gear & supplies
What families packed for four to six months: wagon, oxen, flour, bacon, tools and medicine, with guidebook advice, prices and weights, and what got left by the trail.
15 itemsRead article
