Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 Page 5 Page 6 Page 7 Page 8 Page 9 Page 10 Page 11 Page 12 Page 13 Page 14 Page 15 Page 16 Page 17 Page 18 Page 19 Page 20 Page 21 Page 22 Page 23 Page 24 Page 25 Page 26 Page 27 Page 28 Page 29 Page 30 Page 31 Page 32 Page 33 Page 34 Page 35 Page 36 Page 37 Page 38 Page 39 Page 40 Page 41 Page 42 Page 43 Page 44 Page 45 Page 46 Page 47 Page 48 Page 49 Page 50 Page 51 Page 52 Page 53 Page 54 Page 55 Page 56 Page 57 Page 58 Page 59 Page 60CherokeeTrail, southern route BridgerTrail B o z e m a n T r a i l MormonTrail Lander cutoff M ain route of Oregon/California/Mormon Trail Greenwood - S ublette cutoff Fort Reno 1866–1868 Fort Caspar/ Platte Bridge Station 1859–1865 Fort Bridger 1843–1890 Fort Laramie 1834–1890 Fort Fetterman 1867–1882 Fort Phil Kearny 1866–1868 South Pass Devil's Gate Lombard Ferry Register Cliffs Parting of the Ways Independence Rock Split Rock Emigrant trails, landmarks, and forts 26 Fort Laramie, originally named Fort William after William Sublette, was established in 1834 as a trading post for furs and goods. In 1849 the U.S. Army purchased the fort to safeguard the increasingly busy pioneer trails. Over the next few decades Fort Laramie became a diplomatic meeting location to settle the disputes between the emigrants and the Native Americans. The fort was abandoned in 1890. In 1938 Fort Laramie became a historic site under the National Park Service. The painting to the left (by Alfred Jacob Miller) is of Fort Laramie as it looked prior to 1840. The Oregon/California/Mormon Trail played an important role in westward expansion from 1834 to 1869 when the First Transcontinental Railroad was completed. It became the first wagon- accessible route from Missouri to the Pacific coast. About 11,500 emigrants used the trail to reach the Oregon territory from 1834 to 1848. After the discovery of gold in California in 1848, an estimated 250,000 emigrants used the various branches of the trail to reach California. In Wyoming several cutoffs from the main trail developed, reducing the distance to Fort Hall (see map below) where the trail branched off to California. From 1846 to 1868, members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints used the trail to reach Fort Bridger, where the Mormon Trail branched off to the Salt LakeValley. The Bozeman Trail was used between 1864 and 1868 as a route to the gold fields of Montana. Because the trail cut through important Native American hunting grounds, several major battles occurred between Native Americans and the U.S. Army. Jim Bridger and a group of miners started the Bridger Trail as an alternative route to Montana. Independance, Missouri Unorganized territory Oregon territory Utah territory New Mexico territory Fort Hall Minnesota territory California Present day Wyoming Oregon/California/Mormon Trail and its branches, with 1850 states and territories Data Go Interactive