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Routes

Upper California Crossing

The Upper Crossing of the South Fork of the Platte apparently went by several names including "Laramie Crossing," "Goodale's Crossing," "Morrell's Crossing," and later "Julesburg" or "Overland City," although Julesburg came to…

Majors on the Platte River Road

Alexander Majors of the firm of Russell, Majors & Waddell termed the Fort Kearny route the best natural road on the continent and believed it the best in the world.

Hockaday Contract for the Benefit of the Army

In April, 1858, the Postmaster General entered into two new contracts applying to the South Pass route. The first, with George Chorpenning, provided for semi-monthly, twenty-day trips between Salt Lake City and Placerville; the…

Three Elements of Brown’s Policy

Brown's writings indicate that he was interested in this aggressive movement on behalf of the South. Three elements entered into his policy: the question of emigration, the problem of the Pacific railroad, and…

Brown’s Defense of the Butterfield Route

Brown now undertook to justify his action, which seemed unlawful, and which had earned for him the hostility of the Northern press, of the contractors, and of the residents of upper California. He…

Postmaster Brown and Southern Politicians

With the passage of this act, the matter went to Postmaster General Aaron V. Brown. Brown was a Tennesseean sympathetic with Buchanan's policies, a leader in the councils of the Democrats, and a…

Post Route as Future Railroad Route

[Benton] had his eye on the Pacific railroad, which he thought he was about to establish on his central route. The overland mail, he said, "will give the Central route a development, a…

1861 Mail Appropriation

Despite all the sound and fury, however, the Post Route Bill enjoyed surprisingly good progress and early in February reached the upper house. In it was a provision for daily mail between California…

Annulment of Chorpenning’s Contract

On May 11, 1860, the postmaster general annulled George Chorpenning's contract for carrying the mail from Salt Lake City to the west coast, and awarded it to the Central Overland California Pike's Peak…

Post Office as Road Builder

Washington, Jefferson, and other forward-thinking politicians had wanted to create a system of decent highways to promote settlement as well as postal service and weave the frontier into the fabric of the mother…

Missionaries to Oregon in 1836

South Pass, July 4, 1836. The annual pack train of the American Fur Company, commanded by Thomas Fitzpatrick; a considerable outfit, seventy-odd engages, upwards of four hundred horses and mules.…

Jason Lee and Oregon in 1834

He met the Flatheads and Nez Perces at Ham's Fork. There is no way of knowing whether disgust or despair moved him chiefly, there is no way of knowing how…

First Trip Along the Platte River

In order to reach the interior West, the last untouched fur country in the United States, William Ashley had revolutionized the trade when the Arikaras and Blackfeet forced him away from the Missouri.…

Mile 238: The Narrows

“According to our maps, “the Narrows” was the next place of interest. It is mainly notable because, at this point on the Little Blue, the emigrants seemed to forget all…

Mile 937: Avenue of Rocks

About nine miles west of Emigrant Gap, the Oregon Trail wound through a narrow gap between two ragged ridges of sandstone and shale rocks, upended strata we now would call…

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About

Scott AlumbaughIn early March 2020, I decided to bikepack the length of the Pony Express Trail in Summer 2021, following the Pony Express Bikepacking Route, a nearly all off-road route created by Jan Bennett. You can learn more here >

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