Menu Close

Who was the first group to travel the Oregon Trail?

Who was the first group to travel the Oregon Trail?

The first person to follow the entire route of the Oregon Trail was Robert Stuart of Astoria in 1812-13. He did so in reverse, traveling west to east, and in the process discovered the South Pass, so named because it was south of the pass Lewis and Clark followed over the Continental Divide.

Who were the first to arrive in Oregon?

People have lived in the land of Oregon for thousands of years. When the Europeans first arrived in the land, there were numerous Native American tribes. Some of the major tribes included the Nez Perce, the Chinook, the Klamath, the Paiute, the Molalla, and the Cayuse.

Who explored the Oregon Territory?

British explorer James Cook explored the Oregon Coast in 1778 in search of the Northwest Passage. Beginning in the late 1780s many ships from Britain, America, and other countries sailed to the Pacific Northwest to engage in the region’s emerging Maritime Fur Trade business.

Can you walk the Oregon Trail today?

The 2,000-mile Oregon Trail was used by pioneers headed west from Missouri to find fertile lands. Today, travelers can follow the trail along Route 66 or Routes 2 and 30.

What was the greatest cause of death on the Oregon Trail?

cholera
Death was rampant on the Oregon Trail. Approximately one out of every tenth person who began the trip did not make it to their destination. These deaths were mostly in part to disease or accidents. Diseases ranged from a fever to dysentery, but the most deadly disease was cholera.

Why did settlers go to Oregon?

Some Americans went to Oregon in the very early 1800s because they wanted to participate in the fur trade. People went to Oregon hoping to claim land and to settle in the fertile Willamette Valley. These people hoped to farm in this region. Other people went to Oregon for the adventure of going to new places.

Who had Oregon before the US?

The Oregon Country was originally claimed by Great Britain, France, Russia, and Spain; the Spanish claim was later taken up by the United States. The extent of the region being claimed was vague at first, evolving over decades into the specific borders specified in the U.S.-British treaty of 1818.

Why did the United States want Oregon?

The Western Frontier was the last great place to be settled by the U.S., and U.S. Citizens wanted that land to be theirs. The land was optimal for farming and had plenty of space to spread out from the over populated cities. U.S. Congressional Map on states that had formed from the Oregon Treaty.

How many died on the Oregon Trail?

Combined with accidents, drowning at dangerous river crossings, and other illnesses, at least 20,000 people died along the Oregon Trail. Most trailside graves are unknown, as burials were quick and the wagon trains moved on.

Does Oregon Trail still exist?

Although the original Oregon Trail led weary travelers from Independence, Missouri, to where Oregon City is located today, now, the Oregon Trail starts in Provincetown, Massachusetts, and doesn’t end until Cannon Beach, Oregon, turning it into a full cross-country trip.

What was the most feared disease on the Oregon Trail?

While cholera was the most widely feared disease among the overlanders, tens of thousands of people emigrated to Oregon and California over the course of a generation, and they brought along virtually every disease and chronic medical condition known to science short of leprosy and the Black Death.

How did they treat cholera on the Oregon Trail?

Emigrants treated the sick with pain medications such as camphor, the oil of the Asian camphor tree, and laudanum, a bitter-tasting, addictive tincture made from opium, but victims often died within a matter of hours— healthy in the morning and dead by noon.

Who was the original inhabitants of Oregon Territory?

Originally inhabited by Native Americans, the region that became the Oregon Territory was explored by Europeans first by sea.

Where did a thousand Pioneers go on the Oregon Trail?

A thousand pioneers head West as part of the Great Emigration. The first major wagon train to the northwest departs from Elm Grove, Missouri, on the Oregon Trail. Although U.S. sovereignty over the Oregon Territory was not clearly established until 1846, American fur trappers and missionary groups had been living in the region for decades.

When did Oregon become part of the United States?

On February 14, 1859, the territory entered the Union as the U.S. state of Oregon within its current boundaries.

What was the territory of the Oregon Treaty?

The territory consisted of present day Washington, Oregon, Idaho, and British Columbia. The green area under the British-America Boundary became the major disputed area with the coined term “54-40 or Fight” by the U.S. to push their claims to the boundary. The map below shows how the land ended up after the Treaty of Oregon.