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The concept of Manifest Destiny inspired thousands of people to "go west" and carve a new life out of the rugged Oregon territory. |
The End of the Overland Oregon Trail
A wise teacher, Karen Johnson, once said she shows students a bit of old rope when she discusses the Oregon Trail. Both ends are frayed, showing the many threads that bind together to form the rope. "The Oregon Trail is like this rope. The trail began where you began, and it ended where you ended, but in the middle was the common journey that bound everyone together."
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Many sites claim to be the "End of the Oregon Trail," and for many that holds true — for those who ended there. But the end of the overland trail was in The Dalles. The Dalles is the eastern portal to the Columbia River Gorge, and once you've traveled through the gorge you understand how the great mountains, thick forests, verticle basalt clliffs and fast-flowing river created barriers to travel. Oregon trail emigrants arrived with wooden wagons on wooden wheels, pulled by oxen, and carrying all their worldly possessions. The only practical means to transport the wagons was by raft, and eventually by steamboat, to travel the last 80 miles downriver to the Willamette, and then into the Willamette valley.
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| Look for the Oregon Trail markers along the road |
Oregon Trail Maps for travelers
Tell Tale signs you are on the Oregon Trail
Oregon Trail Emigrants
Oregon California Trail Association
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