BAKER CITY, Ore. – Happy National Oregon Day! We visited the Oregon Trail in Baker City where history can still be seen, literally.
Trail ruts were imprinted on the soil in the mid-1800s when the pioneers made their way from Missouri to Oregon. The wagon road stretched over 2,100 miles from Missouri to Oregon’s Willamette Valley. Pioneers made their way west due to their economy’s decline, the mining opportunities in the West and how cheap it was to purchase land in Oregon.
The road took the pioneers through deserts, mountains and endless prairies. Oregon Park Ranger, Casey Tyler, says the trail emigrants would sometimes have to leave their belongings behind to lighten their wagon.
“It takes you actually a full year to get ready for this because you have to buy a wagon, you have to buy 50 pounds of bacon, 50 pounds of rice, 50 pounds of cracked corn,” he explained.
The worst part was they were only able to carry a few belongings and supplies necessary to survive the next six months.
This wasn’t an easy trip. Anyone who was willing to make the trip had to start traveling during spring to make it before the winter season. During the summer months the water sources dried up, oxen died and families suffered from dehydration and starvation.
Here’s a fun fact: Taylor says one of the trail’s most famous pioneers, Ezra Meeker, was an Ohio native who made that trip several times by wagon, train, automobile and airplane!
The Oregon Trail Museum in Baker City is currently closed due to renovations and have yet to release an opening date. The trails are free and open to visit at any time of the day if you want to take a walk around the historical area.
For more information you can visit https://www.blm.gov/learn/interpretive-centers/national-historic-oregon-trail-interpretive-center
