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OCTA > 2015 Emigrant Trails Hall of Fame Selectees

Emigrant Trails Category: 2015 Emigrant Trails Hall of Fame Selectees

Howard Driggs

Howard Driggs

Gregory Franzwa

Gregory Franzwa

William Henry Jackson

William Henry Jackson

Merrill Mattes

Merrill Mattes

Ezra Manning Meeker

Ezra Meeker

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Oregon-California Trails Association

46 minutes ago

For the months of October and November, on Frontier Fridays we'll highlight the quotes displayed on the stone walls lining the outdoor plaza of the California Trail Interpretive Center.“Take the regular wagon track and never leave it.” – James Clyman to the Donner Party 1846 This quote comes from the 1928 book James Clyman, American Frontiersman, 1792-1881, edited by Charles L. Camp. The book can be viewed on the Internet Archive at https://archive.org/details/jamesclymanameri01cali/page/228/mode/2up.This quote comes from the 1928 book James Clyman, American Frontiersman, 1792-1881, edited by Charles L. Camp. The book can be viewed on the Internet Archive at https://archive.org/details/jamesclymanameri01cali/page/228/mode/2up. Like William Sublette (see our Facebook post from October 8), James Clyman answered the ad calling for trappers to head west in 1823 and traveled with Sublette and Jedidiah Smith. He became a well known explorer of routes to Oregon and California. In April, 1846, he and Lansford Hastings (and others) left California en route back east to the States to lead a group of 25 people wanting to return there. On May 22 they reached a point near present-day Halleck, NV and debated continuing by way of Fort Hall or trying John Fremont's route south to the Great Salt Lake. Hastings argued in favor of this because of his recent publication that advocated for that route from Fort Bridger and ultimately convinced the group to go that way.On June 27, Clyman wrote, "we met numerous squad of emigrants untill we reached fort Larrimie whare we met Ex govornor [Lilburn W.] Boggs and party from Jackson county Mi[ss]ourie Bound for California and we camped with them several of us continued the conversation until a late hour." The editor of the book referenced above then writes, "James Clyman knew James Frazier Reed, one of the leaders of the Donner subdivision, having served with him in Jacob Early's company in the Black Hawk War. In Montgomery's 'Biographical Sketch of Clyman,' introductory to a transcript of Clyman's diaries in the Bancroft Library, Clyman is quoted as follows: 'We met Gov. Boggs and party at Fort Laramie. It included the Donner Party. We camped one night with them at Laramie. I knew Gov. Boggs, had got acquainted with him at St. Louis. Had known Mr. Reed previously in the Sauk war. He was from Springfield Illinois.... 'Mr. Reed, while we were encamped at Laramie was enquiring about the route. I told him to 'take the regular wagon track [by way of Fort Hall] and never leave it – it is barely possible to get through if you follow it – and it may be impossible if you don't.' Reed replied, 'There is a nigher route, and it is of no use to take so much of a roundabout course.' I admitted the fact, but told him about the great desert and the roughness of the Sierras, and that a straight route might turn out to be impracticable.' ... See MoreSee Less

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Oregon-California Trails Association

23 hours ago

Zoom Event Tonight! 5 PM PST/ 8 PM ESTRegister here: tinyurl.com/TheCarlin13Charlie Dodge will present on The Carlin 13; Chinese immigrants, some of the oldest settlers in Carlin, whose graves were accidentally disturbed in 1996. After being studied for 21 years, they were given a traditional Chinese re-burial in 2018 - an effort spearheaded by a current Chinese citizen in Carlin. The Carlin 13 gives insight into the treatment of the Chinese at the time of their death, and how traditional Chinese burial and funerary practices have evolved through time and immigration. Organized by the Southern Trails Chapter of the Oregon-California Trails Association for their Third Thursday History night. ... See MoreSee Less

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Oregon-California Trails Association

1 day ago

“This is so hard.” These words characterized the perspective of an 11-year-old boy I will call John, traveling by wagon and mules on the historic Hastings Cutoff before the recent Oregon-California Trails Association Convention in Elko.With 29 other seventh and eighth grade students, all wearing clothing of the emigrant period, this adolescent was learning real life lessons on a six-day trek along 64 miles of the Hastings Cutoff between Silver Zone Pass and U.S. Highway 93. Walking alongside five mule-drawn covered wagons, the students braved northeastern Nevada’s arid country, a ferocious wind-driven rain and hail storm, and the unexpected responsibilities of setting up camp, cooking, and caring for their animals.Read more about Dave Vixie and his students at the Elko Daily. ... See MoreSee Less

Historic Hastings Cutoff scene of today’s lessons

elkodaily.com

ELKO — “This is so hard.” These words characterized the perspective of an 11-year-old boy I will call John, traveling by wagon and mules on the historic Hastings Cutoff before

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Oregon-California Trails Association is at Hansen Wheel & Wagon Shop.

2 days ago

This authentic 1850s-era wagon is being restored to become part of an exhibit in Boone County, Arkansas that will tell the story of the Baker-Fancher Party, most of whom died during the Mountain Meadows Massacre on September 11, 1857. Their wagon train to California originated in Boone County. ... See MoreSee Less

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Oregon-California Trails Association is at Hansen Wheel & Wagon Shop.

3 days ago

OCTA is partnering this week with Knowledge Tree Films and Sunrunner Media to create a short documentary about Hansen Wheel and Wagon Shop near Mitchell, South Dakota. We're working with proprietor Doug Hansen to tell the evolutionary story of the wagons and stagecoaches popularly used in the 19th century American West. A special thank you to the South Dakota Humanities Council for providing a grant to cover production costs. #OregonTrail #CaliforniaTrail #trails #OCTA #SouthDakota #SouthDakotaHumanitiesCouncil #Mitchell #KnowledgeTree #SunrunnerMedia ... See MoreSee Less

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Oregon-California Trails Association

7 days ago

E-News for Friday, October 15, 2021 - https://mailchi.mp/indepmo/e-news-for-monday-july-5082578 ... See MoreSee Less

E-News for Friday, October 15, 2021

mailchi.mp

OCTA HQ received this request last week. Please follow up by tomorrow (Saturday, October 15) if you would like to send a short video about your thoughts on Will Bagely's impact on western history. Dea...

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Oregon-California Trails Association

7 days ago

For the months of October and November, on Frontier Fridays we'll highlight the quotes displayed on the stone walls lining the outdoor plaza of the California Trail Interpretive Center.“Today we are to leave this place and home and friends and start upon a long journey, even to the land of gold. ‘Tis hard to say the last goodbye even though we know, or at least think, ‘tis for the better.” – Delia Thompson Brown 1860Delia Thompson Brown left Huntley, Illinois (near Chicago) on May 7, 1860 with her husband and several children to go to California. Upon their arrival in Salt Lake City on July 17, they chose to follow the Central Overland Trail from there to Carson City, Nevada. The Central Overland Trail was surveyed by James H. Simpson for the army but was developed into a route which would be used by emigrants, stagecoaches, the Pony Express, and the Overland Telegraph Company.Delia wrote, while still in Illinois, "Today we are to leave this place and home and friends and start upon a long journey, even to the land of gold. ‘Tis hard to say the last goodbye even though we know, or at least think, ‘tis for the better.” A transcript of her diary is held in the collections of the Nevada Historical Society and portions of it from Salt Lake City onwards were published in West from Salt Lake: Diaries from the Central Overland Trail, edited by Jesse Peterson. Delia's writing focuses most on commentary from daily life along the trail, with less particulars about mileage and landmarks. ... See MoreSee Less

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Oregon-California Trails Association

1 week ago

"...think of it: men, women, and children, forsaking their homes, bidding farewell to all the endearments of society, setting out on a journey of over 2,000 miles, upon a route where they have to make their own roads... undergoing every diversity of pain from agues, chills, sprains and bruises... exposed to every variety of weather. In sickness they have no physician; in death there is no one to perform the last sad offices." -Illinois Congressman John WentworthDuring the early years of travel on the Oregon and California Trails, public opinion was split on whether the emigrants were crazy or if they were heros. US Representative from Illinois, John Wentworth thought those risking their lives for a better life were heros. What do you think of these early westerners? #TrailTuesday #MidwestNPS #FindYourPark ... See MoreSee Less

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Oregon-California Trails Association

2 weeks ago

New Oregon Trail game to try out on Indigenous People's Day. ... See MoreSee Less

A New Spin On A Classic Video Game Gives Native Americans Better Representation

www.npr.org

A new version of the classic '80s video game Oregon Trail tries to represent the lives of Native Americans more accurately — no more braids or bows and arrows. But you can still die of dysentery.

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Oregon-California Trails Association

2 weeks ago

"Hi! How are you?" OCTA NW Chapter members greeted each other yesterday during their first in-person gathering in over two years. Chapter president Sallie Riehl presided over a social gathering and a board meeting on Saturday October 6 at Borst Park in Centralia, Washington. Other members attended by Zoom, and all enjoyed a presentation by Christopher Chapman, who recounted his recent bicycle trek along the Oregon Trail with humor and joy. Everyone hopes for more safe, in-person meetings and trail activities in the coming year. ... 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

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