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Oregon-California Trails Association

4 hours ago

Cochise County - Arizona Trails ... See MoreSee Less

Cochise County - Arizona Trails

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Doug Hocking presents at the OCTA Southern Trails Annual Meeting in Tombstone. The Trails across Cochise CountyDiscover your Trail. The Oregon-California Tr...

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Oregon-California Trails Association

23 hours ago

OCTA Spring 2023, News From the Plains - ... See MoreSee Less

OCTA Spring 2023, News From the Plains

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Please continue to turn in your volunteer hours, mileage, expenses paid by you and not reimbursed, time traveling to meetings (including the San Diego Symposium), research, etc. We are attempting to ...

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Oregon-California Trails Association

1 day ago

The diary of Margaret Frink, published by her husband after her death in January 1893 at 73 under the title "Journal of the Adventures of a Party of California Gold-seekers," gives us a unique and detailed look at what life was like for an overland emigrant going to California during the Gold Rush. Her travels in 1850 brought her from Martinsville, Indiana to Sacramento, California. Her party covered 2,418 miles in 162 days (over 5 months) and unlike most others at the time, did so with horses instead of oxen. Join us in our weekly posts as we follow Mrs. Frink and her party west across the continent as they set off seeking a better life.If you wish to follow along in greater detail, her diary is readily available online for free. It is worth a full read.If you wish to see a summary of the life of Margaret Frink, please visit the NPS article located here: https://www.nps.gov/articles/000/margaret-frink.htm#FindYourPark #californiatrail #MidwestNPS #martinsvilleindiana #sacramento Photo from NPS Collection ... See MoreSee Less

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Oregon-California Trails Association

1 day ago

Happy Monday from the top of the world. (Photo credit: Kevin Marcus) ... See MoreSee Less

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Oregon-California Trails Association

3 days ago

#30 of 160 – Lucretia Marshbanks – March 15.Lucretia Marshbanks was one of the first black women to venture to the Black Hills of South Dakota. She was a cook, boarding house manager, hotel owner, and ranch owner. This determined and enterprising woman left such an impact on the area that a character in the HBO series Deadwood was inspired by her.Born enslaved Lucretia was gifted to her half-cousin, Ann Marchbanks. Lucretia’s father was a product of an all-too-common situation, the child of an enslaved woman and her white enslaver. Ann traveled with her husband to California during the gold rush and they brought Lucretia with them. There Lucretia saw the possibilities economic opportunity in the West for a black woman before returning to the East.By 1876, she had heard of Custer’s gold discovery in the Dakota Territory and traveled to the famous gold mining town of Deadwood. She had experience with cooking and got a job as the kitchen manager in the Grand Central Hotel. Soon, the hotel was known for the cooking of “Aunt Lou.” Lucretia worked various jobs in the area including managing the boardinghouse of the Father De Smet Mine.She was considered by many to be the finest cook in the Black Hills. She once baked a mincemeat pie that a man enjoyed so much, he bought her a silk dress when he struck it rich in 1881. She is wearing this dress in the professional photograph taken of her later that year. Lucretia purchased a boarding house in Sawpit Gulch in 1883 and named it Rustic Hotel. A few years later she decided to move out of the city. She sold the hotel, purchased cattle, and began ranching in the valley between Beulah and Sundance, Wyoming. Over the years, Lucretia expanded her holdings to include an additional 240 acres under the Homestead Act.#160of160 #Homesteading #FindYourPark #BlackHomesteadersProject #WomensHistoryMonth ... See MoreSee Less

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Oregon-California Trails Association

4 days ago

OCTA E-News for Friday, March 17, 2023 - ... See MoreSee Less

OCTA E-News for Friday, March 17, 2023

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2023 OCTA Spring Symposium Journey West from St. Joseph Symposium March 30 - April 2, 2023 St. Joseph, Missouri

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Oregon-California Trails Association

4 days ago

It is Friday with the Donner/Reed party. Help has arrived, but how can you rescue people who have no strength to walk?“...not bound to them by any tie of blood or kindred, nor having any hope of reward, except the grand consciousness of doing a noble act, makes his conduct shine more lustrously...”Friday with the Donners:March 12, 1847: On the other side of the mountains, The Second Relief ended.At the Donner tents, according to McGlashan based on a statement by Nicholas Clark:“All this time Mrs. Tamsen Donner was tortured with fear and dread, lest her children had perished in the dreadful storm on the summits. At last, Clark yielded to her importunities and decided to visit the cabins at Donner Lake and see if there was any news from beyond the Sierras. Clark found the children at Keseberg’s cabin and witnessed such scenes of horror and suffering that he determined at once to attempt to reach California. Returning to Alder Creek, he told Mrs. Donner of the situation of her children and says he informed her that he believed their lives were in danger of a death more violent than starvation. He informed her of his resolution to leave the mountains and taking a portion of the little meat that was left, he at once started upon his journey. John Baptiste accompanied him. [...] Mrs. Tamsen Donner did not dare to leave her husband alone during the night but told Clark and Baptiste that she should endeavor to make the journey to the cabins on the following day.”The Third Relief arrived at Starved Camp, according to Thornton, based on Eddy:“The next day, at 4 o’clock, they arrived at the camp of those whom Mr. Reed had been compelled to leave. The fire at the Starved Camp had melted the snow down to the ground, and the hole thus made was about twelve or fifteen feet in diameter, and twenty-four feet deep. As the snow continued to melt, they made steps by which they ascended and descended. ... After supplying these emigrants with food, Messrs. Oakley, Starks, and Stone were left to lead them on to Bear River valley and to carry out Mrs. Graves’ babe and two other children.”According to McGlashan:“When these members of the third relief reached the deep, well-like cavity in which were the seven Breens, the three Grave’s children, and Mary Donner, a serious question arose. None of the eleven, except Mrs. Breen and John Breen, were able to walk. A storm appeared to be gathering upon the mountains, and the supply of provisions was very limited. [...] When it was found that nine out of the eleven people must be carried over the snow, it is hardly to be wondered at that a proposition was made to leave a portion of the sufferers. It was proposed to take the three Graves children and Mary Donner" ... This scene is described in the manuscript of Honorable James F. Breen:“Those who were in favor of returning to the settlements, and leaving the Breen’s for a future relief party (which, under the circumstances, was equivalent to the death penalty), were to answer “aye”. The question was put to each man by name, and as the names were called, the dreadful “aye” responded. John Stark’s name was the last one called, because he had[...] strongly opposed the proposition for abandonment, and it was naturally supposed that when he found himself in so hopeless a minority he would surrender. When his name was called, he made no answer until someone said to him. “Stark, won’t you vote?” [...] When he was thus directly appealed to, he answered quickly and decidedly. “No, gentlemen, I will not abandon these people. I am here on a mission of mercy, and I will not half do the work. You can all go if you want to, but I shall stay by these people while they and I live.” [...] No one can attach blame to those who voted to leave part of the emigrants. It was a desperate case. Their idea was to save as many as possible, and they honestly believed that by attempting to save all, all would be lost. But this consideration--and the further one that Stark was an entire stranger to everyone in the camps, not bound to them by any tie of blood or kindred, nor having any hope of reward, except the grand consciousness of doing a noble act--makes his conduct shine more lustrously in the eyes of every person who admires nature’s true and only nobility.”McGlashan quotes from a manuscript by John Breen:“Stark was finally left alone. To his great bodily strength and unexcelled courage, myself and others owe our lives. There was probably no other man in California at that time, who had the intelligence, determination, and what was absolutely necessary in that emergency, the immense physical powers of John Stark. He was as strong as two ordinary men. On his broad shoulders, he carried the provisions, most of the blankets, and most of the time some of the weaker children. In regard to this, he would laughingly say that he could carry them all, if there was room on his back, because they were so light from starvation.”March 13, 1847: Over the pass at Starved Camp, just west of the Pass, the survivors set out down the mountain, according to Eliza Farnham in her book California In-Doors and Out, based on her conversations with Mrs. Breen:“...by morning they were all, except the poor infants, so much refreshed and strengthened, that it seemed possible to set out; indeed, it was an imperative necessity to move, as the supplies that had been brought were very slender, and were already materially reduced. They had snow-shoes, and sank deep--almost to the belly at every step. [...] The poor mother bore her baby, and the little orphan was taken by turns. One source of exquisite suffering, was the dreadful condition of their feet. They had been so often frosted, that, in several cases, every trace of the integuments had disappeared, and the unsheathed, lacerated flesh left its bloody mark at every step on the snow. This was torture to the poor mother’s heart. But she had to urge her little ones onward, painful though it was to them and herself. Their road often lay along the slopes of hills, where a single false step would have precipitated them fifty or a hundred feet, but feeble as they were, they went on without accident, sometimes two, sometimes five miles, a day...”March 15, 1847: The Third Relief continued down Yuba Bottoms, according to Eddy as told to Thornton:“The next morning, they resumed their journey, and came up with Mr. Starks, with Patrick Brinn and family, and others, who were the eleven persons that remained alive of the fourteen whom Mr. Reed had been constrained to leave. They at the same time met Messrs. Glover, Coffemymeir, Mootrey, and Woodworth, who had halted to prepare dinner. After the meal was taken, these gentlemen set out for the Mule Spring. Toward the close of the afternoon, Mr. Woodworth’s party encamped at the last crossing of Yuva river. At night Messrs. Eddy, Foster, Thompson, and Miller came up, bringing with them the children with whom they had left the Mountain Camp. John Baptiste and Clarke were also with them. Here they encamped in the snow.”Photo: Attributed to Alexander Ritchie (American, 1782-1862). "Portrait of General John Stark." Oil on canvas, 30 x 25 inches. John Scull Stark is the hero of this week's story as he single-handedly rescued members of the Breen, Graves, and Jacob Donner families from Starved Camp. According to H. H. Bancroft, Stark was county judge of Napa Co. from 1850-51, he was a member of the legislature in 1851-1856, and Stark served as sheriff of Napa Co. for six years. Mr. Stark died instantaneously of a heart attack while pitching hay from a wagon in 1874. John and Mary Jane Stark had 11 children.Sources: https://www.donnerpartydiary.com, John Scull Stark (1817 - 1874) - Genealogy (geni.com)#FridaysWithTheDonnerParty ... See MoreSee Less

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Oregon-California Trails Association

4 days ago

https://youtu.be/ZEldizrxdQ0 ... See MoreSee Less

Where did the west begin?

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Where did the west begin? It depends on the year you ask the question. In 1805 you could say it started here, at the Boonslick in Howard County Missouri. ...

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Oregon-California Trails Association

5 days ago

For your summer trails trip planning . . .New year, new seasonal exhibits!Be sure to stop by the Fort Laramie Visitor Center as we have new exhibits and museum objects on display. 2023 marks the 155th anniversary of the 1868 Treaty of Fort Laramie, which is part of the theme of these new exhibits. #findyourpark (Image Description: Museum exhibits in the Fort Laramie visitor center, includes a tabletop case with items inside, and a miniature treaty scene with historical figure cutouts. NPS Photo: C.Rohe) ... See MoreSee Less

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Oregon-California Trails Association

6 days ago

Well, we didn't know about National Nap Day, but thought everyone would enjoy learning about "nooning" on the trails.Happy #NationalNapDay! Will you celebrate by taking a nap? During the years of travel on the Emigrant Trails, most wagon trains would dedicate about an hour of each day to "nooning". Typically "nooning" was a short break to rest, eat lunch, and water and feed your animals. However, during hotter days of the year, emigrants might take a longer daytime break and opt to travel in the evenings instead when it was cooler. It is very likely that during these longer daytime breaks, a fair share of naps were taken by the pioneers. For more information about emigrant life, check out https://www.nps.gov/articles/000/traveling-emigrant-trails.htmImage- Three living history volunteers can be seen "nooning" in the shade of their covered wagon in 1971. NPS ... See MoreSee Less

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Featured Products

Bruff's Wake: J. Goldsborough Bruff & the California Gold Rush, by H. L James $24.95
The Oregon Trail Revisited, by Gregory M. Franzwa $24.95
In Pursuit of a Dream (DVD) $20.00
Reading, Writing and Riding Along the Oregon-California Trails (An Educational Activity Book), by William E. Hill $8.95