The Many Faces of the Trail

The river guided movement across the plains for generations. Animals first made paths along it and to and from it, and humans followed, with the earliest travelers leaving little trace and sometimes climbing the tall bluffs to look far across the plains. Later, men seeking wealth used the river as a guide as fur traders moved between the fur-rich mountains to the west and markets in the east, carrying beaver, other furs, and eventually buffalo robes, usually with only a few horses or mules and little lasting impact on the land. After South Pass was discovered and wagons could travel through the Rocky Mountains, the land changed more as farmers headed for fertile land in Oregon's Willamette Valley with families and friends to settle there. When news of gold reached the eastern states in 1848, thousands went west, with few families among the many men who expected to get rich quickly in California and then return home. Others moved west for religious reasons: the earliest wagons were those of missionaries, with the Marcus Whitman party the first, and later Mormons fled persecution in the east by taking the lesser-traveled trail on the north side of the Platte River. Over time the route also carried the Pony Express, stagecoaches, railroads, automobiles, and airplanes, while the bluffs continued to serve as a landmark for both residents and travelers following the river.

Gering, Nebraska · United States