The Applegate Trail ~Southern Route to Oregon~
Posted by: Groundspeak Premium Member TheBeanTeam
N 44° 03.644 W 123° 05.836
10T E 492209 N 4878622
The death of two sons on the Columbia River prompted the search for an alternate route to Oregon. The Applegate Trail is also considered to be part of the California Trail.
Waymark Code: WM99G
Location: Oregon, United States
Date Posted: 03/21/2006
Published By:Groundspeak Premium Member TheBeanTeam
Views: 83

Marker Text:

In 1846, Jesse Applegate and fourteen others from near Dallas, Oregon, established a trail south from the Willamette Valley and east to Fort Hall. This route offered emigrants an alternative to the perilous “last leg” of the Oregon Trail down the treacherous Columbia River.

The first emigrants to trek the new “Southern Road” left with the trailblazers from Fort Hall in early August 1846. With Levi Scott acting as guide, while Jesse Applegate traveled ahead to mark the route, the hardy emigrants blazed a wagon trail through nearly 500 miles of wilderness arriving in the upper Willamette Valley in November. Emigrant travel continued along the Applegate Trail in later years and contributed greatly to the settlement of southern Oregon and the Willamette Valley.

Emigrant Trails

The Applegate Trail spit into two routes in the northern Umpqua Valley. The eastern route, established in 1846 by Jesse Applegate, Levi Scott, Moses “Black” Harris and twelve others from Polk County, Passed through Cottage Grove, Creswell, Eugene, and Junction City-It is approximated today by River Road and Highway 99. The western route, an ancient Kalapuya Indian trace and a Hudson’s Bay Company “trapper’s trail” until the 1840s, was most widely used alternate route, Known also as the “California Trail,” it became a wagon road in the late 1840s. Today, Territorial Road closely follows this historic trail.

Historic Topic: Pioneer

Group Responsible for placement: Historical Society

Marker Type: City

Region: Willamette Valley

County: Lane

Web link to additional information: [Web Link]

State of Oregon Historical Marker "Beaver Board": Not listed

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Recent Visits/Logs:
Date Logged Log User Rating  
NW_history_buff visited The Applegate Trail  ~Southern Route to Oregon~ 04/20/2018 NW_history_buff visited it
scalawags visited The Applegate Trail  ~Southern Route to Oregon~ 08/06/2014 scalawags visited it
HappyFrog (& gang) visited The Applegate Trail  ~Southern Route to Oregon~ 07/14/2008 HappyFrog (& gang) visited it
MapLady visited The Applegate Trail  ~Southern Route to Oregon~ 01/03/2007 MapLady visited it

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