Forts Along the California and Oregon Trails by Zina Abbott

The following is from my Author Notes in Pearl, my most recent romance, which is a wagon train story set in 1858. Entire books have been written about each of these places mentioned, so this is a very brief summary:

         Pioneers on the Oregon and California Trails—unless individual trains in which they traveled took a cutoff—passed by four major trading forts.

Fort Kearney

          Fort Kearney was a military installation established in 1848 to protect travelers on the Great Platte River Road. It was located about one-sixth of the way to either Oregon or California. Wagon trains moving west were able to resupply, trade trail-weary livestock for fresh, and letters could be sent back to the United States.

Fort Laramie

         Fort Laramie began in 1834 as a fur trading post. It was bought by the U.S. Army in 1849. As pioneer traffic to the west increased, it provided security, a trading post for supplies, and a place for repairs. It was the major stop between Fort Kearney and Fort Bridger.

 Fort Bridger 1840s

         Fort Bridger began as a trading post. It was on the trail to Salt Lake City, plus wagon trains bound for Oregon and California often made the relatively small detour to reach the fort for supplies and repairs. It was bought by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in 1855, although the sales documents and powers of attorney involved were challenged by Jim Bridger. With the belief that the coming U.S. Army had been sent to exterminate the church and its people, the same church burned and abandoned the fort in 1857. 

 

Fort Bridger 1858

    Fort Bridger was taken over by the U.S. Army. By 1858, construction on the fort had begun and a sutler’s store run by William A. Carter was established. He ran it until his death in 1881, at which time his wife, Elizabeth, took over supplying both military men stationed at the fort and travelers alike. The sutler also ran the post office.

 

Fort Hall

         On the banks of the Snake River, Fort Hall was a trading post built in 1834 by Nathaniel Jarvis Wyeth. In 1858, it was located in Oregon Territory. In February 1859, when Oregon became a state, it was part of Washington Territory. Initially, Fort Hall’s owners did not wish to be a supplier for travelers bound for Oregon or California, but it was soon forced into that role as it became a regular stop on both trails. It became one of the most important stopping places along the trails.

 

 

Pearl, Book 16 in the Prairie Roses Collection, is set in 1858 and follows both the Oregon and California Trails.It is currently for sale as an ebook and at no additional cost with a Kindle Unlimited subscription. It will shortly be available in print.

To find the link to the book description and purchase options, please CLICK HERE.

 

FORT KEARNEY By Cheri Kay Clifton

 Writing about the historical Old West is in my blood!  Why? Because I was born near the Oregon Trail in Kearney, Nebraska.

As a young girl, I became interested in the history of nearby Fort Kearny after which my hometown was named and equally fascinated to read about the soldiers, pioneers, and Native Americans who helped create the history of America's growth westward.

Fort Kearny was founded in 1848 along the Platte River and named after then Colonel and later General Stephen W. Kearny.  As an interesting side note, the "e" was added to Kearny by postmen who consistently misspelled the town's name.  Also one should not confuse Fort Kearny with the historic Fort Phil Kearny located in Wyoming and named after Kearny's nephew, Maj. Gen. Philip Kearny.

 

General Stephen W. Kearny

 Despite its lack of fortifications, Ft. Kearny served as a way station, sentinel post, supply depot and message center for 49ers bound for California and emigrants traveling to California, Oregon and the Pacific Northwest.  Numbering in the hundreds of thousands, those brave pioneers crossed the continent searching for economic opportunity, and who associated land ownership and farming with freedom. 

  

Throughout most of its 23-year history, the outpost consisted mostly of wooden buildings surrounding a central parade ground without fortified walls.  Throughout the decades of its use until the completion of the transcontinental railroad, the buildings became slightly more permanent, changing from adobe and sod structures to the wooden frame buildings. 

 

   As the first U.S. Army post on the Oregon Trail, it grew rapidly into an important trail stop. The fort accumulated large stores of goods for travelers, with the directive of selling them at beneficial cost to the emigrants. The commander of the fort was authorized to sell goods at cost to emigrants, and in cases of hardship, to give goods to them for free.  In 1850, the fort acquired regular once-a-month mail service with the arrival of a stagecoach route between Independence, Missouri and Salt Lake City.  It was the first regular mail service established along the trail. By the 1860's the fort became a significant freighting station and home station of the Pony Express.

 Although it was in the heart of lands inhabited by Native Americans, and was near the center of hostile action in the 1860's, no direct attack was ever made on the fort.  However, in the summer of 1864, the irritation of the Native Americans at the encroachment by white settlers culminated in violent attacks on wagon trains along the Platte and the Little Blue River.  During this time, soldiers from Fort Kearny began escorting wagon trains and the fort became a center for refugees fleeing from attacks.

The construction of the Union Pacific Railroad across Nebraska starting in 1867 largely marked the end of the need for a fort to protect and supply wagon train emigrants. Following the completion of the transcontinental railroad in 1869, the U.S. Army issued an order for abandonment of the post in May, 1871.

Fort Kearny State Historical Park

In 1960, Nebraska designated the land where the outpost once stood as Fort Kearny State Historical Park.  Archeological exploration has located the building sites that are now marked with interpretive signs. Replicas of the palisade and blacksmith shop were built. An interpretive center presents audio-visual programs and museum displays. The park's 40 acres also acts as a recreational area, providing hiking trails, camping, picnicking and boating.

 Fort Kearny played a vital role in the settlement of the American West. I feel fortunate to have spent part of my childhood living nearby and thus, developing a love for our western heritage and more importantly a love of writing about it.

 The fort's history was the inspiration for writing Book 1 of the Wheels of Destiny Trilogy, Trail To Destiny, which takes place along the Oregon Trail.

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EZRA MEEKER - PIONEER AND PROMOTER OF THE OREGON TRAIL By Cheri Kay Clifton

Before I tell you about Ezra Meeker (1830-1928), I would like to explain why I found his biography so interesting.

I was born in Kearney, Nebraska, located near the historic Oregon Trail. My hometown was named after Fort Kearny (spelled without the “e”), the first Army post located on the Oregon Trail that offered the emigrants a safe resting area and a chance to resupply, obtain fresh stock and send letters back to the States.

From the time I was a young girl, I was fascinated by the history of the pioneers who followed the Trail traveling in their Conestoga wagons over 2000 miles across the rugged western frontier. My continued passion for those pioneers, soldiers and Native Americans who helped create the history of America’s growth westward led me to write Book 1 of my Trails of Destiny Trilogy, entitled Trail to Destiny.

In 1852, Ohio-born farmer, Ezra Meeker, along with his young wife and infant child set out on for the Oregon Territory, where land could be claimed and settled on. Traveling by ox-drawn wagon, they endured countless hardships along the Oregon Trail on their journey, but after nearly six months, they survived their trek across the continent. After living in the Puget Sound region, they finally settled in what is now Puyallup (which he founded) in 1862.

Throughout his life, Meeker had many successes and yes, failures. He had been an adventurer, farmer, surveyor, longshoreman, merchant, community leader, civic builder, the richest man in the state by growing, believe it or not, hops for the beer industry, miner and writer. He'd made millions and he'd lost millions.

But in his 70’s, he still had dreams. He believed the Oregon Trail, and the sacrifice of those who had died along it, were being forgotten. Amid considerable publicity as one of the last survivors of the pioneers who had blazed the Trail west, between 1906 and 1908, Ezra retraced his 1852 journey. The Trail in some places had all but disappeared, replaced by farms and towns. He searched out where he had traveled and sought to have historical markers erected. 

Remnants of the wagon ruts can still be seen.

I was privileged to have seen and touched this memorial

while researching the Trail.

He took his ox team and wagon across the nation to publicize his cause, stopping in front of the White House where he met President Theodore Roosevelt. He traveled the Trail again several times in the final two decades of his life. In 1910, he and his oxen participated in the Tournament of Roses Parade in Pasadena, California. In the succeeding years, he traveled the Trail route by ox-driven wagon, a Pathfinder automobile, and at age 93, in 1924, by airplane attempting to further his cause for federal recognition and funding to memorize the Oregon Trail. Thus, he became the only know pioneer to have crossed the prairie on the Oregon Trail ox-drawn wagon, automobile … and airplane!

Meeker died short of his 98^th birthday on December 23, 1928, in Seattle, and was taken home to Puyallup for burial beside his wife, Eliza Jane, who had died during 1909, in Woodbine Cemetery.

Meeker’s work has continued through the activities of such groups as the Oregon-California Trails Association. OCTA is the pre-eminent guardian and promoter of the inspirational story of the 19^th century westward migration, which is unique in world history. The non-profit organization is dedicated to the preservation and protection of the overland emigrant trails, namely the three major historical trail routes to Santa Fe, Oregon and California.  

May all the trails my readers travel be both safe and happy!

FORT KEARNY - Army Post along the Oregon Trail

Writing about the historical Old West is in my blood!  Why? Because I was born near the Oregon Trail in Kearney, Nebraska. As a young girl, I became interested in the history of nearby Fort Kearny after which my hometown was named and equally fascinated to read about the soldiers, pioneers, and Native Americans who helped create the history of America's growth westward.

Fort Kearny was founded in 1848 along the Platte River and named after then Colonel and later General Stephen W. Kearny.  As an interesting side note, the "e" was added to Kearny by postmen who consistently misspelled the town name.  Also one should not confuse Fort Kearny with the historic Fort Phil Kearny located in Wyoming and named after Kearny's nephew, Maj. Gen. Philip Kearny.

General Stephen W. Kearny

Despite its lack of fortifications, Ft. Kearny served as a way station, sentinel post, supply depot and message center for 49ers bound for California and emigrants traveling to California, Oregon and the Pacific Northwest.  Numbering in the hundreds of thousands, those brave pioneers crossed the continent searching for economic opportunity, and who associated land ownership and farming with freedom. 

Throughout most of its 23-year history, the outpost consisted mostly of wooden buildings surrounding a central parade ground without fortified walls.  Throughout the decades of its use until the completion of the transcontinental railroad, the buildings became slightly more permanent, changing from adobe and sod structures to the wooden frame buildings. 

 As the first U.S. Army post on the Oregon Trail, it grew rapidly into an important trail stop. The fort accumulated large stores of goods for travelers, with the directive of selling them at beneficial cost to the emigrants. The commander of the fort was authorized to sell goods at cost to emigrants, and in cases of hardship, to give goods to them for free.  In 1850, the fort acquired regular once-a-month mail service with the arrival of a stagecoach route between Independence, Missouri and Salt Lake City.  It was the first regular mail service established along the trail. By the 1860's the fort became a significant freighting station and home station of the Pony Express.

 Although it was in the heart of lands inhabited by Native Americans, and was near the center of hostile action in the 1860's, no direct attack was ever made on the fort.  However, in the summer of 1864, the irritation of the Native Americans at the encroachment by white settlers culminated in violent attacks on wagon trains along the Platte and the Little Blue River.  During this time, soldiers from Fort Kearny began escorting wagon trains and the fort became a center for refugees fleeing from attacks.

The construction of the Union Pacific Railroad across Nebraska starting in 1867 largely marked the end of the need for a fort to protect and supply wagon train emigrants. Following the completion of the transcontinental railroad in 1869, the U.S. Army issued an order for abandonment of the post in May, 1871.

Fort Kearny State Historical Park

In 1960, Nebraska designated the land where the outpost once stood as Fort Kearny State Historical Park.  Archeological exploration has located the building sites that are now marked with interpretive signs. Replicas of the palisade and blacksmith shop were built. An interpretive center presents audio-visual programs and museum displays. The park's 40 acres also acts as a recreational area, providing hiking trails, camping, picnicking and boating.

Fort Kearny played a vital role in the settlement of the American West. I feel fortunate to have spent part of my childhood living nearby and thus, developing a love for our western heritage and more importantly a love of writing about it.

The fort's history was the inspiration for writing Book 1 of the Wheels of Destiny Trilogy, Trail To Destiny,which takes place along the Oregon Trail. 

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