Fort Smith-Santa Fe Trail

Dim traces southwest of this point mark an overland trail that connected the river ports of Fort Smith and Van Buren, Arkansas, with Santa Fe, a trade and travel center since 1609. Josiah Gregg, a Santa Fe trader, pioneered this road and first passed this point on March 15, 1840. Many gold seekers later used his route from the summer of 1849, when worldwide fever drew them to California. In the days before barbed wire, the Gregg Route was regularly traveled by military parties, hunters, and traders.

Washburn, Texas · United States