Pioneered in 1821 by William Becknell, who departed from the Boonslick region along the Missouri River, the trail served as a vital commercial highway until 1880, when the railroad arrived in Santa Fe. Old Barlow & Sanderson Stage Station in Cimarron, New Mexico. Army Train Crossing the Plains by Harper’s Weekly, 1858. A number of significant sites exist along this route, including McNee’s Crossing, Point of Rocks, and the Rock Crossing of the Canadian River. The abandoned pueblo was used as a campsite by trail travelers and was often mentioned in their journals. Kit Carson Museum, Rayado, New Mexico courtesy Wikipedia. By this time, the trail was being frequently used with more than 2000 wagons, in caravans of about 50 departing each spring from Missouri. This is the site of the Pecos Pueblo, which was the easternmost pueblo visited by Francisco Coronado in 1541. I would love to say that your website is amazing! It is located on 17th Street and is open in the summer. In the beginning it was hardly a trail at all. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Table of Contents Acknowledgments Introduction 1. After the Civil War, a third Fort Union was completed, which included a garrison and traditional post, a regional quartermaster depot, and an arsenal on the site of the original fort. After independence, Mexico encouraged trade. There was a military camp at Rayado in the early 1850s to help protect this portion of the Mountain Route. Trading ranches and stage stations along the Cimarron Route included the Samuel B. Watrous Ranch House and Store, Barclay’s Fort Site north of Watrous, and the Sapello Stage Station, also known as Gregg Tavern Stage Station or Barlow & Sanderson Stage Station in Watrous. Santa Fe Trail Through Missouri The Santa Fe Trail was important in the early history of the State of Missouri. The Santa Fe Trail: Its History, Legends and Lore is by no means a complete history of the Santa Fe Trail. (Last Privacy Policy Update July 2020), Byways & Historic Trails â Great Drives in America, Soldiers and Officers in American History, Canyons of the Ancients National Monument, Colorado, Saugus Iron Works National Historic Site, Massachusetts. The book does provide a very thorough overview of the trail, some of the people who traveled it. A GeoTour is a tailored series of geocaches hidden at a destination's points of interest such as historic sites, museums, physical remnants and a varied landscape that makes up the legacy of the Santa Fe Trail. The site was also used as a campground, and a group of traders celebrated the Fourth of July here in 1831. © Kathy Weiser/Legends of America, updated October 2019. When the Mexican-American War began, travel and trading along the trail was restricted but, it was heavily used by the military for transportation of supplies from the Missouri River towns to the Southwest. On his first trip, Becknell loaded manufactured goods from Missouri onto a mule train to trade for furs, gold, silver, and other goods in New Mexico. This spot was considered to be the real entry into Mexico, and Mexican troops were sometimes sent this far to escort traders back to Santa Fe. The crossing of of Corrumpa Creek in Union County is 3.8 miles southwest of the Oklahoma state line. Many volumes would have to be written in order to fully cover a story that spans such a long period of time and such a large geographic area. The Mountain Route was longer but not quite as dangerous, with fewer warlike Indians and more water along the route. This branch traveled about 230 miles between Fort Larned and Bent’s Fort near present-day La Junta, Colorado, continuing to follow the Arkansas River before turning south through the Raton Pass to Santa Fe. Our cookies are delicious. Goods, ideas, and diverse cultural interactions traversed the Santa Fe Trail for nearly 60 years, and the mixing of cultures and ideas that followed created a unique experience that lives on today. © Kathy Weiser/Legends of America, updated July 2020. Men and women built empires from the Santa Fe Trail. The Santa Fe Trail New Mexico National Scenic Byway follows today’s highways and roads near the original Santa Fe Trail paths. The Santa Fe National Historic Trail GeoTour has over 70 caches placed in historic locations covering over 900 miles in length. The trail then continues to make its way to Watrous, where it joins with the Mountain Branch of the trail. The first successful venture to Santa Fe over the Santa Fe Trail was made by Captain William Becknell. If you continue to use this site we will assume that you are happy with it. It makes all of my monk friends very happy! Between these points, there were practically no settlements of white people, and, indeed, few permanent Indian towns. Bavaria, Kansas – Ranching on the Santa Fe Trail A long-closed high school in Bavaria, Kansas by Kathy Weiser-Alexander. The party of Santa Fe merchant J.W. We use cookies. White was attacked near here in 1849, and 11 graves are located at the site. Settled around 1844, it became the headquarters of the 1.75-million-acre Maxwell Land Grant in 1857. By 1850, a monthly stagecoach line was established between Independence, Missouri and Santa Fe, New Mexico. One of the most noted historic buildings on the Plaza is the Palace of the Governors. Your email address will not be published. During these days, the Sunflower State was known as "Bleeding Kansas", where settlers fought to make Kansas a "Free-State" or a "Slave State".Opportunists often raided settlements along the Santa Fe Trail and on September 15, 1856, a gang representing themselves as Free-Staters looted the store, stealing everything in his possession. Before Mexico won its independence from Spain in 1821, the Spanish banned trade between Santa Fe and the United States. The Santa Fe Trail: Its History, Legends, and Lore by David Dary is an extensive look at the long history of one of America's famous overland trails. Crossing Raton Pass was the hardest part of traveling the Mountain route. The Santa Fe Trail, in the days of its greatest fame, extended from Independence, Missouri, to Santa Fe, the capital city of the province of New Mexico. Wagon trains entered the plaza from the east after crossing the Cimarron River. After arriving in Santa Fe on November 16, 1821, and making an enormous profit, Becknell made plans to return, thus blazing the path that would become known as the Santa Fe Trail. People today can still travel a section of the road that those early settlers traversed or view the ruts carved by the heavy wagons. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading The Santa Fe Trail: Its History, Legends, and Lore. From these two paths, several other alternate routes formed to accommodate the numerous communities that sprang up along the way in order to provide goods, services, food, shelter and water to the many wagon trains passing through. In 1825, the United States obtained a right of way from the Osage Indians, which officially established the Santa Fe Trail as a national “highway.â In 1827, Independence, Missouri was founded and within a few years became the major outfitting point on the eastern end of the trail. The Santa Fe Trail goes through the brick streets of Trinidad, through quaint rural farm towns and the cities of Lamar, La Junta, and Las Animas, all of which have wonderful historic buildings that tell the stories of merchants, cattlemen, railroad developers, and miners. Jornada Del Muerto on the Cimarron Route of the Santa Fe Trail, photo courtesy National Park Service. In the prosperous days of the Santa Fe trade, it contained about 3,000 inhabitants. The Santa Fe Trail: Its History, Legends, and Lore A prize-winning historian of the Old West brings to life the people who laid down the Santa Fe Trail and opened commerce with Spanish America. In 1834, Bent’s Fort, a fur trade post on the upper Arkansas River was established near what is present-day La Junta, Colorado. William and Charles Bent, Ceran St. Vrain and Company led a party and wagons eastbound from Santa Fe, New Mexico in the late summer, traveled by way of Taos and Raton Pass to Bent’s Fort; then came down the Arkansas River to the Santa Fe Trail, opening the Bent’s Fort Santa Fe Trail. However, by his third trip, Becknell had found a passable wagon route, thus beginning the many wagon trains heading to the southwest. Credited as the “Father of the Santa Fe Trail,â Becknell continued to make multiple trips along the trail, profiting enormously on his daring travels. Soon, many traders, as well as the military, were traveling the route. Upstream it is sandy and hard to cross, while downstream, a deep and rocky canyon makes it impossible to cross. The trail then made its way to Rayado, 12 miles south of Cimarron. Dary begins with the history of the Spanish exploration of the New Mexico area, the establishment of Santa Fe as a focus for Spanish control over northern expansion, the effect of the Mexican Revolution against Spain, and the increasing interaction with and fear of the Anglos from the East. Source: See Santa Fe Trail Writing Credits. Santa Fe Trail In 1821, the land beyond Missouri was a vast uncharted region called home to great buffalo herds and unhappy Indians, angered over the continual westward expansion of the white man. Despite the hazards, the shorter route would end up carrying 75% of the Santa Fe Trail pioneers. It was also the site of several Indian raids on the caravans. Other trails that were connected to the Santa Fe Trail included the Old Spanish Trail, which linked Santa Fe to Los Angeles, and the El Camino Real, which connected  Santa Fe to Mexico City. If you continue to use this site we will assume that you are happy with it. Richens “Uncle Dick” Wootton established a toll road through the pass-through here in 1865, charging $1.50 for wagons, 25¢ for horses, and 5¢ for each head of stock. Guestbook for Santa Fe Trail kelley bKer (non-registered) I love everything about the Old West I enjoyed all the old photographs you have in your collection The byway leaves Springer on the east I-25 frontage road bound for Wagon Mound, the last major landmark on this stretch of the road. With him, were four trusted companions, who left Arrow Rock, on the Missouri River, near Franklin, Missouri on September 1, 1821. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Like others who had gone before him, the hardship of life on the Santa Fe Trail ended here at Bent's Fort. Long before a town was ever thought of, the Santa Fe Trail was established and its path met the north bank of the Arkansas River on the west edge of present-day Ellinwood. The pueblo was still inhabited when the Santa Fe Trail opened in 1821, but it was abandoned around 1838. The Cimarron Desert route was shorter and easier for the wagon parties than the mountainous Raton Pass, but travelers risked attacks by Native Americans in addition to shortages of water. One of the most significant sites along the route from Watrous to Santa Fe is Pecos National Historic Park in San Miguel County. Your email address will not be published. Although Jacob Fowler and Hugh Glenn were discovered trapping beaver streams north of Santa Fe in 1821, Captain William Becknell is credited with the establishment of the Santa Fe Trail, and as the first successful American trader to reach Santa Fe in 1821, thus receiving the … In 1849, with the discovery of gold in California, westbound emigrants, in increasing numbers, traveled the Santa Fe Trail to Bent’s Fort, then journeyed northward by trail along the base of the Rocky Mountains to Fort Laramie and beyond. The City of Santa Fe was founded about 1610, the exact date is unknown. Required fields are marked *. Franklin in Missouri sits at the eastern terminus of the Santa Fe Trail. Now a private ranch, it is open to the public. Both routes followed the same path from Missouri, traveling west to the Arkansas River and following the river into southwest Kansas. For many years, the only trading post between Independence, Missouri and Santa Fe, New Mexico was in Council Grove, Kansas, some 130 miles from Independence and over 650 miles from Santa Fe. I'm enjoying this read of the Santa Fe Trail as I lived very close to where the trail was in Southeastern Colorado. From Conquest to de Onate, 1492-1610 2. the Attraction of Santa Fe, 1610-1762 3. Today, Maxwell’s old has been restored. (Last Privacy Policy Update July 2020), Byways & Historic Trails – Great Drives in America, Soldiers and Officers in American History, Santa Fe Trail Site Map & Writing Credits, Canyons of the Ancients National Monument, Colorado, Saugus Iron Works National Historic Site, Massachusetts. Santa Fe Trail – Highway To the Southwest, Sources: See Santa Fe Trail Site Map & Writing Credits, Your email address will not be published. From before the founding of Santa Fe in 1610 to the dusty remnants that are still visible throughout the Midwest today, this book is an all-in-one guide to a cherished treasure of history. William Becknell blazes the Santa Fe Trail. McNees Crossing on the Santa Fe Trail in New Mexico, Santa Fe Trail & Route 66 in the Pecos River Valley, Ruins of the old mission at Pecos Pueblo, New Mexico. In 1850 a party of 10 men accompanying the express mail wagon on the Cimarron route were killed by Jicarilla Apache near here. Wagon Train on the Santa Fe Trail In 1821, the land beyond Missouri was a vast uncharted region called home to great buffalo herds and unhappy Indians, angered over the continual westward expansion of the white man. The book, THE SANTA FE TRAIL: Its History, Legends, and Lore, takes the reader on a journey through the historical development of the trail as a trade route from New Mexico to Missouri. lots of love and thanks! The famous trail of romantic western lore was established in about 1610 by Spanish settlers of Mexico who had explored western and southern regions of North America long before the French and English arrived. In 1880 a railroad reached Santa Fe, and the use of the Santa Fe Trail declined. Please keep it up!! Buildings constructed in the Pueblo, Spanish and Territorial styles ring the Plaza, reflecting the diverse cultural history of this historic place. The byway follows Moulton Street southeast to Second Street in. Reading the history of some of my ancestors, I can fill in more info on what the writer has not written in detail about specific people. William Becknell blazes the Santa Fe Trail, Civil War on the Santa Fe Trail: 1861-1865, Fighting the Comanche on the Santa Fe Trail, International Trade on the Santa Fe Trail, 1821-1846, The End of the Santa Fe Trail by Gerald Cassidy, about 1910, The Life & Mysterious Death of Samuel B. Watrous, The Mexican War and the Santa Fe Trail, 1846-1848, The Santa Fe Trail and the Railroad: 1865-1880, Santa Fe Trail – Exploration & Illegal Trade – Pre-1821. It began when crowds of people formed along the dirt streets of Franklin, Missouri, as a party of four men rode in from the West. This route was heavily used during and after the Civil War, and it was often mentioned by trail travelers. Two routes soon developed along the trail, the Mountain Route and the Cimarron Route, also called the Jornada Route. Though the shorter Jornada Route, also called the Cimarron Cutoff, provided less water, it saved the travelers ten days by cutting southwest across the Cimarron Desert to Santa Fe. So we loaded up the mobile motel and hit the road for some Santa Fe Trail, bits of Old West History and a little Route 66. Edward Dorris, a stagecoach driver, died of a sunstroke or a heart attack enroute to Bent's Old Fort, a Barlow and Sanderson stagecoach station in the 1860's. It became a water stop for stagecoaches and a freight stop on the Santa Fe Trail. Early in the spring of 1828, a company of young men residing in the vicinity of Franklin, Missouri having heard related by a neighbor who had recently returned the wonderful story of a passage across the great plains, and the strange things to be seen in the land of the Mexicans, determined to explore the region for themselves; making the trip in wagons, an innovation of a startling character, as heretofore only pack … The Santa Fe Trail Museum in the old Colfax County Courthouse in Springer, New Mexico by Kathy Weiser-Alexander. I'm enjoying this read of the Santa Fe Trail as I lived very close to where the trail was in Southeastern Colorado. Ocate Crossing in Mora County was a watering point and campsite. We use cookies. The founding of the Santa Fe Trail is one of the most significant contributions to the expansionist doctrine of Manifest Destiny, leading to the war with Mexico that occurred on January 29, 1822. Interstate 25 parallels the old road. In 1873, the Kanza Indians were removed from their reservation in Morris County to Oklahoma Territory, thus opening more land in the county for white settlement. The Santa Fe Trail ends in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Missouri had been a United States territory since 1812 and attained statehood in 1821; therefore, unlike the other four states along the trail, Missouri was already a state when the trail opened. Trade was limited again during the Civil War (1861-1865), but by the late 1860s, activity along the trail had resumed. The crossing is located on private land two miles south of US Highway 56. He uses first-hand accounts and contemporary records to give us a vivid recreation of a time and place crucial to America’s westward expansion. The byway then makes its way west out of Clayton on U.S. 56 past the Rabbit Ear Mountains, an important landmark on the trail. Ultimately, travelers reached the end of the trail, the Santa Fe Plaza. Reading the history of some of my ancestors, I can fill in more info on what the writer has not written in detail about specific people. Other sites along this stretch of the combined trail include Las Vegas Plaza, Tecolote, San Miguel del Vado, Apache Canyon, Kearny Gap, and Glorieta Pass. Founded primarily to protect the trail, the fort’s original structures had already deteriorated by the Civil War, and a fortification was built. The shorter route led through what was called Indian Territory, and a longer, but safer, "Mountain Route" through this prairie, at a place called Iron Springs in what is now southeastern Colorado. The Rock Crossing of the Canadian River, also in Colfax County, was used by Indians from early times as well as later by travelers on the Cimarron Route. The Santa Fe Trail is significant to the history of what became the State of Colorado. Today, part of the route has been designated as a National Scenic Byway. Council Grove, Kansas about 1875. From 1610, when the Spanish founded the city of Santa Fe, to the 1860s, when the railroad brought unprecedented changes: here is the full, fascinating story of the great Santa Fe Trail which ran between Missouri and Kansas and New Mexico--a lifeline to and from the Southwest for more than two centuries. Extensive use of the Santa Fe Trail ceased by 1880, but its legacy, lore, and influence live on. Though numerous dangers awaited him, Captain William Becknell was determined to make the trip through waterless plains and war-like Indians to trade with the distant Mexicans in New Mexico. When legal trade began in 1821, over half of the land now comprising Colorado was under Mexican ownership; the other half was unorganized territory. By 1872, the Santa Fe Railroad was completed to the Colorado border and the days of the Santa Fe Trail as a main transportation route were over. The many smaller trails merged again along the Las Vegas-Santa Fe Corridor into New Mexico. The Santa Fe Trail was a 19th-century route through central North America that connected Franklin, Missouri with Santa Fe, New Mexico. Indians used the road for free. The Santa Fe Trail National Scenic Byway picks up south of Raton on U.S. 64 and runs through Cimarron. From before the founding of Santa Fe in 1610 to the dusty remnants that are still visible throughout the Midwest today, this book is an all-in-one guide to a cherished treasure of history. Constructed in 1610, the Palace of the Governors served for 300 years as the seat of the Spanish, Mexican, and American territorial government in New Mexico. Lucien Maxwell built the Aztec Mill, which survives as the Old Mill Museum in Cimarron. This point became a favorite camping place along the trail where wagon trains often stopped and soldiers and traders rested. The Santa Fe Trail, in the days of its greatest fame, extended from Independence, Missouri, to Santa Fe, the capital city of the province of New Mexico. This rock crossing, which is still visible, was named for a young trader, Robert McNees, who was killed here by Indians in 1828. In New Mexico, there were two main routes — the Cimarron Cutoff, and the Mountain Route. Santa Fe Trail Map The next year, motivated by financial problems, he became the “Father of the Santa Fe Trail” when he organized a trading party that crossed the Great Plains to New Mexico. Before Mexico won its independence from Spain in 1821, the Spanish banned trade between Santa Fe and the United States. On September 1, 1821, Becknell left Franklin, Missouri with four trusted companions, and after arriving in Santa Fe on November 16, and making an enormous profit, he made plans to return, thus blazing the path that would become known as the Santa Fe Trail. Trails to Santa Fe, 1762-1807 Bavaria, Kansas is an unincorporated community and near ghost town located about nine miles southwest of Salina. At Fort Larned, Kansas the trail split into two branches. Established in about 1610 by Don Pedro de Peralta, the Plaza has long stood as the commercial, social, and political center of Santa Fe and would have teamed with carts, goods, livestock, traders, and townspeople during the 19th century at the height of the Santa Fe Trail. When the war ended in 1848, trading resumed and considerable military freight continued to be hauled over the trail to supply the southwestern forts. The City of Santa Fe was founded about 1610, the exact date is unknown. Required fields are marked *. Another notable marker, Point of Rocks, is north of U.S. 56 about 22 miles east of Springer in Colfax County. In 1821, the land beyond Missouri was a vast uncharted region called home to great buffalo herds and unhappy Indians, angered over the continual westward expansion of the white man. Before Mexico won its independence from Spain in 1821, the Spanish banned trade between Santa Fe and the United States. It is the oldest extant public building in the United States and now is part of the Museum of New Mexico. The byway follows Moulton Street southeast to Second Street in Raton, first known as Willow Springs. The Fort Union National Monument in Mora County is near the junction of the Cimarron and Mountain routes. Santa Fe Trail Summary Description (See Below). Along the Mountain Route, which entered New Mexico from Colorado, significant sites include the site of the Lucien Maxwell House, Ocate Crossing, and Fort Union National Monument. Trading ranches included Kozlowski’s Stage Station, Pigeon’s Ranch, and Johnson’s Ranch Site. The Santa Fe Trail: Its History, Legends, and Lore - Kindle edition by Dary, David. The Santa Fe Trail, which linked east to west between 1824 and 1875, passed through Baldwin City. Our cookies are delicious. Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for The Santa Fe Trail : Its History, Legends, and Lore by David Dary (2000, Hardcover) at the best online prices at … New Mexico Highway 406 intersects McNees Crossing, where the trail forded the North Canadian River. General Stephen Watts Kearny’s Army of the West crossed here in 1846 and camped nearby. He is the author of fourteen previous books, including Cowboy Culture, The Santa Fe Trail: Its History, Legends and Lore, and The Oregon Trail: An American Saga. Download it once and read it on your Kindle device, PC, phones or tablets. Springer, located six miles west of where the trail crossed the Canadian River, is home to the Santa Fe Trail Museum, housed in the 1882 Colfax County Courthouse. Stone marker of the route of the Santa Fe Trail, an important trade route running between Missouri and what is now New Mexico in two branches. Between these points, there were practically no settlements of white people, and, indeed, few permanent Indian towns. The Cimarron Route entered New Mexico from the Oklahoma panhandle north of present-day Clayton. Your email address will not be published. The Santa Fe Trail: Its History, Legends, and Lore by David Dary is an extensive look at the long history of one of America's famous overland trails. The Santa Fe Trail Its History, Legends, and Lore David Dary. In July of 1850, the first government-sanctioned mail delivery route was inaugurated between Independence, Missouri, and Santa Fe, New Mexico using the Cimarron Cutoff branch of the Santa Fe Trail.The monthly stage also carried passengers and baggage for a one-way summer fare of $100 for the three and-a-half week trip. Fort Union was a major military post on the Santa Fe Trail during the period from 1851 to 1891, and for a time it was the largest American military post in the Southwest. 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