During the 19th century, hardy pioneers used the Oregon Trail to migrate to the Pacific Northwest. The five- to six-month journey spanned 2,170 miles west through territories that became the states of Missouri, Kansas, Nebraska, Wyoming, Idaho, Oregon, and Washington. However, the journey west was not necessarily a smooth one. According to some statistics, about one-tenth of the emigrants perished along the way. After the completion of the transcontinental railroad in 1869, traffic along the Oregon Trail declined. Yet, the trail was used until modern highways were constructed parallel to large portions of the trail during the 1890s.
The Oregon Trail
focuses on the period of 1840-1859, when approximately 52,000 pioneers moved to Oregon, and nearly five times that opted to move to California or Utah.