Santa Fe Trail

The Santa Fe Trail was a trade route for 60 years!

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Unlike the emigrant trails that took travelers west to Utah, Oregon, and California, the Santa Fe Trail mainly handled commercial traffic. Wagon trains loaded with trade goods took from six weeks to two and a half months to cross (National Park Service, 2013).

 

For most of its route, the Santa Fe Trail crosses the vast prairie of the Great Plains region (Aber and Aber, 2013). For this project, we focus on the High Plain region. Here, the trail diverged into the Mountain and Cimarron routes. When travelers reached Dodge City, they had to decided which trail to take based on rain fall that year. The Mountain Route was known to have reliable water along the way, but was longer and more difficult. Along the Cimarron Route, Point of Rocks in Morton County was a distinctive landmark that was an important spot for water.

 

Another interesting fact for this region, Comapny E, the Mormon Battalion passed along this portion of the trail in 1846 following President Polk's request for assistance during the Mexican-American War. This was considered the longest infantry march of all time, the battalion walked from Council Bluff, Iowa to San Diego, California (Aber and Aber, 2013).