How Was the Oregon Trail Started?

For the early inhabitants of the United States, settling in the Pacific Northwest meant braving the arduous 2,000 mile trek across the country on the Oregon Trail. Without the Oregon Trail, the West would be elusive.

  1. Thomas Jefferson

    • President Thomas Jefferson implanted the idea of westward expansion into the American consciousness. In 1803, he commanded an exploratory team westward to find "the most direct and practicable water communication across this continent for the purpose of commerce," according to a letter he wrote to Meriwether Lewis that is cited on the website Discovering Lewis and Clark. Thus, the groundwork was laid for the Lewis and Clark Expedition, which facilitated all further westward expansion of American settlers on the Oregon Trail.

    John Jacob Ascot and Robert Stuart

    • After the success of Lewis and William Clark, German-born adventurer John Jacob Ascot founded the American Fur Co. in 1808 and headed westward to find new supply routes. In 1813, according to Paul Johnson in his book "A History of the American People," Ascot's partner Robert Stuart determined that the entire route was completely accessible, opening up the west for any settler with a wagon, and word spread throughout St. Louis, Missouri.

    The "Great Migration" of 1843

    • The first westward migration en masse left from Independence, Missouri, in 1843. Led by Dr. Marcus Whitman, 1,000 settlers made the long journey to start a new life in the fertile valleys of Oregon. This "Great Migration" was the first of an annual exodus that saw tens of thousands move west in search of a better life.