The Oregon Trail - west of Hastings, NE - Wagon Roads and Trails on Waymarking.com

The Oregon Trail was a 2,170-mile east-west, large-wheeled wagon route that connected the Missouri River to valleys in Oregon. When first laid by fur traders and trappers in the early 1800s, the trail was only passable on foot or by horseback. Wagon trails eventually reached all the way to the Willamette Valley in Oregon, at which point what came to be called the Oregon Trail was complete. Used by a quarter million travelers, the trail was continually improved with better road beds and the addition of bridges and ferries. Use of the trail declined as the first Transcontinental Railroad was completed in 1869.

The other historical marker nearby describes the Pony Express, which made use of the Oregon Trail.

Road of Trail Name: Oregon Trail State: Nebraska County: Adams Historical Significance: Major route for settlers and goods from east to west in the mid-19th century. Years in use: 50 How you discovered it: This waymarker played a lot of "Oregon Trail" back in the early PC days... Book on Wagon Road or Trial: The Oregon Trail: A New American Journey by Rinker Buck ISBN-13: 978-1451659177 Website Explination: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oregon_Trail Why?: Used by settlers moving from east to west, particularly into Oregon; at first a footpath, eventually the entire length was suitable for wagons. Directions: North side of Highway 6, eight miles west of Hastings, Nebraska.

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