One of the most important chapters in American history comes into focus in Wyoming’s second-largest city.
From its earliest use in 1841 until 1869, when the transcontinental railroad was completed, over 500,000 westward-bound pioneers, including many immigrants and Christian missionaries, journeyed along the Oregon Trail by wagon and horseback to begin a new life in the American West. The trip took at least 140 days and spanned nearly 2,200 miles of rugged land.
Along the way they passed through the states of Missouri, Kansas, Nebraska, Wyoming and Idaho before reaching Oregon, which in the earliest years was disputed territory with Britain. Offshoots included the Mormon Trail, which was traveled by Brigham Young and adherents of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to settle Utah. Even the short-lived Pony Express routed through these parts.
Casper is home to the National Historic Trails Interpretive Center, an excellent museum that also happens to have free visitor admission. Everyone from history buffs to the road tripper with only a passing interest in the subject will find the exhibits informative since this history is seldom taught in schools today.
The story of the trail continues at Fort Caspar, which stands at what was once a strategic crossing point along the North Platte River. The reconstructed fort resembles how the fortification would have looked in the early 1860s before trail journeys were supplanted by…
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