Up the long hill to the south, now Wornall Road, ran the Santa Fe Trail. Out of Westport, Missouri in the 1840s and 50s came hundreds of men, oxen, horses, mules, and wagons loaded with trade goods, heading for Santa Fe, New Mexico. By 1846 the trail carried a million dollar trade. More important than the fortunes made and lost on this great trade route were the wagonmasters, bullwhackers, mule skinners, traders, soldiers, and glory-seekers who, as the ruts of the trail deepened, strengthened the ties between the United States and the territory to the southwest.
