What's Left of the Oregon Trail in Idaho?
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 1 พ.ค. 2023
- Let's look at what's left of the Oregon Trail in Idaho. We'll pick up traces of the trail from the Wyoming border and follow it through Montpelier, Soda Springs, to the Fort Hall Replica in Pocatello.
#history #idaho #oregontrail
I lived in Ashland, Oregon - the old trail went right past my rural home. One day, walking downhill from where my house stood, I found an old wooden wagon wheel - it was a chore to drag it uphill and home - but I prized it for years...
Sweet memories and appreciation.
Nice. I flew over Ashland once on a clear day and got a great view of it!
That is so awesome.
@@adriannurse1502 Yep. I couldn’t see the Rockies, but the clouds ended when we got to Oregon. I saw a trail in the dirt, and thought to myself, “It can’t be.” It was!
@@5roundsrapid263 I can't imagine what it must have felt like.
Learning about the old west is my favorite era of history to learn about.
Yeah I lived in the Gold Country near Grass Valley , Colma, you can still see all the old buildings you can see where Sutter's Mill found gold pretty much what built California in 1849, the neat part was the worst part of the gold mining was t
the strip mining my God they did a lot of damage oh my Lord if you have a chance go to the Gold Country of California it's incredible all the original buildings of the old west still there, and the environment damage,
@@user-bl6ne3hc6nman I’m jealous that’s actually so sick
@Aidan 27 there's still miners up in them hills,, I saw a family real ruff looking , not shave kids in raggedy clothes ,pay with their gold findings at a Denys, they brought out a scale and payed for breakfast,, you believe that,
In Wisconsin where I live, I noticed that all the towns (not counting little unincorporateds) were exactly 15 miles apart going east-west on the highways. North-south had no real rhyme or reason, but east-west towns were 15 miles on the dot. I wondered if this was because 15 miles were about how far a wagon train could go in a day.
A lot of the reason for that was because of the railroad company’s. The Water and Fuel depots were spaced in a way to provide it to trains.
Transcontinental Railroad towns.
Not sure it is related, but f.e. Pony Express stations tended to be 10-15 miles apart as that is the distance you could ride a horse quickly until you needed to swap to a 'fresh' horse. Such stations would be a natural place to settle around.
I thought the spacing of towns was related to the section lines as described in the Northwest Ordinance.
Wow ! That’s is awesome news Jacob ! I’m from Green Bay and I’ll have to find out exactly why that was !!!
In my younger days (1977) I did a 7 day hike on the Oregon trail. I did also find some artifacts that I still have today. I look forward to more stories about the old west... 🤠🌵🌵🌵🇺🇲
Curious…What kind of things did you find?
Right there with ya man… I remmber the 70s and thst grand trip we took and seeing those ruts in the ground.
We were in the highest inflation ever! Gas lines… bad bad times!
What kind of artifacts? What a treasure, and what amazing these people were.
Lies
So you’re a looter? Weird flex…
Lots of history channels doing voice over videos of still images and such but not many with a host giving tours of real places. Looking forward to seeing more videos like this, well done!
Thanks. I look forward to brining you more such videos. I wish I could make every video on location, but as of now funds won't allow it. I hope future success with this channel will allow me to go further afield.
I drove the Oregon Trail and filmed a documentary about it in case any of you are interested.
You may:
1. Attempt to ford the river
2. Caulk the wagon and float it across
3. Wait to see if conditions improve
4. Get more information
What is your choice?
Option 5; Die of dysentery.
The greatest history lesson in the form of a challenging game.
I prefer to chevy the river.
You've died of Dysentery
@@Full_Otto_Bismarck I typically dodge it
I have recorded wagon ruts from the Oregon trail all over southern Idaho as part of my work (Cultural Resource Historian). Indeed, the South Alternate through Owyhee County runs through my back yard. Lots of pristine ruts remain in Owyhee County and elsewhere. I'm not as familiar with the southeastern Idaho ruts, though I did do some work around Soda Springs. Thank you for sharing!
That's great to know! I'm going to complete my masters in history this year and I've thought about entering the field as a public facing historian. A cultural resource historian sounds like an interesting and rewarding career.
Love your video, my 3rd great grandfather is buried outside of Glenn's Ferry Idaho on private property. He died in 1877 and is buried by a 14 year old girl at the front entrance of a landowners property. He died of a fever at a stagecoach station during a Indian attack. I wasn't able to visit his grave in 2017.
Wow. Thanks for the story, that's real history
I love that you know some details of that.
Hey there are some laws in many states that allow for descendants of people buried on private property visiting rights. You might want to look into it. My property has an old cemetery that holds ancestors of some local denizens that I am legally required (and only too happy) to allow them to visit.
Which tribe of Indians?
As a red blooded Aussie male the thought of non alcoholic beer gives me nightmares. 😋🇦🇺
There should be a yearly competition event of people trying to complete the hill with ox pulled covered wagons just like back in the trail day.
That would be a nice family event for the area.
That would be interesting to watch for sure. The Oregon/California Trail museum in Montpelier once wanted to do that on or around Big Hill, but there are access issues with all the private property around the site.
@@historysavvy it would be cool to see if us modern people could get it done. I’m sure it’s a lot to workout now with all the laws and property lines etc but it could bring in money for everyone.
Sounds like chuckwagon races with a hill involved
Humbug, Malarkey, Hogwash
I had read Rinker Buck's Oregon Trail where he bought a covered wagon and 3 mules and followed the Oregon Trail to Oregon. I then followed his itinerary in my pick up truck in May of 2021, driving from my home in Southern Idaho to St. Joseph, Missouri. I followed the trail as Rinker described in his book replicating the trail. Most of the trail is now highways. Some parts of the trail have been turned into farm lands and private property, so Rink and I both followed the roads running as close as possible. Rink was able to roll over original parts of the trail that are still on public lands and still had wagon ruts. I stayed on the highways all the way back through Kansas, Nebraska, Wyoming, South Eastern Idaho, and I stopped at my house as I've been theough I84 all the way to Portland already. We have parts of thr Oregon Trail through Southern Idaho with ruts and wheel scars still in the dirt. Nearby is the Sticker House where the Striker family built their house and established a stop over for the hundreds of thousands of travelers cross west.
Love to relive history and road trips to historic places.
By coincidence I have just been read his book & it's very good... loved the way he mixes in the historical journeys of some settlers
Great book, I enjoyed it as well!
My Ancestor Albert Kelly and the Kelly Family traveled this same path to the Willamette Valley. He then settled in Portland, OR where he is commemorated forever at a park called "Albert Kelly Park" which still exists today.
Really interesting video! It’s cool to see what remains of the Oregon trail. Thanks for sharing!
Thank you for the nice comment!
The remains gave me dysentery
I visited part of the Oregon trail several years ago. It’s an awesome experience to be able to stand and observe wagon tracks that still are quite visible. You can almost see the pioneers on the trail.
always thought of the HUNDREDS of unmarked graves along this trail and the trail to CA
pepperony and chease
I went to the old fort when I was a kid in the late 1950, there was still an orchard there then and a vegetable cellar, the tracks in the sage brush were still there, pretty fun back then,
Nice to see people reminding us of our heritage.
There is still remnants on the Naches pass branch of the Oregon Trail. Use to ride motorcycles at the Naches pass and there you can still find remnants of wagon wheels, odd parts of broken equipment. Small bottles etc.
Wonderful presentation, thanks. I like hearing the breeze, great landscape photography. I hope you had fun working on the show.
Many thanks!
I'm a new yorker, but I'm fascinated by this part of history. Thanks for posting.
My great great grand daddy was a scout on the oregon trail in 1845. We is Irish folk. Ended up mining gold and we still do.
Amazing how tough people where back then!
I quite literally live right next to the Oregon trail (it is about 50 feet north of my back yard)....unfortunately though, the wagon wheel ruts here have long since been paved over, and the Oregon Trail is simply known as State Highway 20/26. It is always cool to see the trail's remnants in more untouched locations.
I love history! Thank you for sharing
Thanks for the kind comment!
Great video! Very interesting and well told. I got to walk on the Oregon Trail near Baker City, Oregon at the National Historic Oregon Trail Interpretive Center. That's a great place to visit.
Yes at BAKER CITY the Oregon trail interpretive center very informative and great displays they also have some books of the diaries of the early pioneers well worth the reading ⛏️🇺🇸
I didnt realize parts of Idaho had so much desert wilderness fauna and no trees
South western Idaho is Owyhee County. Sparsely populated and just high desert scrub brush land. It's just a continuation of Northern Nevadw state scrub brush desert. South Central Idaho is full of high desert with lots of black volcanic rocks. We have everything in Idaho.
Very interesting video, impressed that you had an English speaker read from the diary. Amazed that you have only drunk alcohol free beer. But I suppose that if you have only just drank Diet Coke instead of the real thing then you wouldn’t know the difference. I have subscribed 👍
yeah SE Idaho is highland desert but you really like in pocatello it is just a 15 minute drive to one of the steepest ski hills in the country and pines and forest.
Yeah in Eastern Wa as well.
@@floridaman4073 more like the middle of WA
I’ve walked some of the Santa Fe Trail in western Oklahoma and SE Colorado. Amazingly it’s still quite visible. Deep ruts
Another historic route I would like to cover.
@@historysavvy go to Campo CO, and head south, you will probably see it. ( But the locals can tell you where it is)
Fantastic video! Loved the history and footage! The movie “1883” has got me obsessed with all things related to the Oregon Trail!
This was both fascinating, and odd that it showed up randomly on my You tube feed. I've read several books lately about the early settlement of the more rugged areas near where I live. The Ottawa Valley in Ontario, Canada. The tie-in here is the connection with the Hudsons Bay Company. I never knew that they ventured down into what is now the USA. Or even that that area was once considered British territory, (at least by the HBC). The Columbia River does seem to make a more natural border. Back in my own area the fur traders and lumberers wanted "settlement roads" into the forest, but only to facilitate their own business, and they likewise discouraged actual settlers. Thank you for a very well done and educational video.
Just stumbled upon this vid/channel and I like your style. You're a very lucky man to have never had alcoholic beer and I'm happy and proud of you for it, it may mean nothing to you but to my family and I its a huge deal and honestly quite jealous. Thank you for the education, I look forward to more cool vids!
THIS vid is/was INTERESTING…! Your delivery kept this info alive;I liked the way you disclosed the details. THANK YOU…. 👍🏼😃‼️
And thanks for the nice comment!
This looks like a new channel and I like watching TH-cam videos like this where knowledgeable historians go to visit less-known yet still notable places and provides a brief description about them. Makes travelling a lot more interesting. Make more of these videos please and keep up the good work. 👍
Thanks for the great comment. I would love for all my videos to be on location and I plan on making as many as I can, but with limited funds and resources it's not feasible at this time. So even when I post videos in other styles I hope you'll stick around for the videos like these!
Fantastic documentary! You have a real eye for history, this was very informative and enjoyable :)
Who of us would be willing to make this trip today? I came from Mormon pioneers, so this is all very interesting to me. Life went on. Babies were born, people died, many walked the entire way. No thanks! I respect the people who came out west, glad they were already here when I was born.
Good historical video. Thanks.
Phenomenal video. Incredible history, and very well presented. I love to learn about these topics, and to just get absorbed into this type of vibe. Great stuff!! Subbing.
Great video. Willamette is pronounced will-lam-it. Lots of native names here in Oregon. Umpqua gets folks too Ummm-qua. I walked large parts of it here in Oregon where the wagon ruts are still visible.
Whatever
Never had anything other than alcohol free beer? I got mad respect for that. Really great video, keep up the great work. Greetings from the east coast
I-80 and I-84 pretty much parallels Oregon Trail. I liked Three Rivers Crossing in lower central Idaho. Also, There is a place in SE WY where the wagon wheels left deep grooves in the rock. It's a state park there named Guernsey State Park. Nice park. There is also the Santa Fe Trail, which is more of a highway with people moving both ways on the trail for trade. It breaks off from the Oregon trail in eastern Kansas.
Well this post made me a new subbie as I am a history buff. Awesome!!!
Very informative, thanks. I hope you continue, I'd like to see more.
Enjoyed this video very much! Thank you!
This is fantastic, thank you for making it.
Cool video, my fathers side of the family settled in willamette Valley in 1845. The we’re on the lost wagon train on the Meek cut off. The stories from 7 generations ago are still be kept alive in my family. The family was the Lloyd’s. 3 generation made the journey from Missouri. So it is really nice to see the very trail that they would have journeyed on. Part of the family migrated to the Washington territory when it opened up, and some of us are still here. What a legacy to learn about. Keep the videos coming.
thanks for an interesting historical video . Would really like to visit parts of the trail
Excellent video, well done!
This was a great video! I really like what you're doing, and have been very happy to subscribe to your channel. 👍
Great video! Would love to see more on the Oregon Trail!!
Thanks! I certainly do want to do more! As soon as time and money allows.
Thank you. That was very educational.
Thanks for the history!
Thank you for the great video. For years I could never remember the name of that computer game, it was fun.
Interesting video. Thanks for getting out there with a camera and doing the yards. Subbed. 👍
Glad someone decided to take a look at this now I really wish someone would do the entire thing so it can be preserved so many videos of the Appalachian trail and very little of the Oregon Trail in it’s current condition
I read a book about a pioneer who as a child traveled to Oregon on the trail and when he had gotten much older he took the trail back east. He left a trail of monuments. It was a good book.
That's right. I think he did it a couple of times. He lived to a ripe ol' age.
Loved this Ty so much
That was truly cool and informative.
Thank you for sharing this. My family came to Oregon in 1853 and settled the town of Gaston and cleared land in Yamhill County and Washington County. It is a dream of mine to travel a part of the trail that they came on from Independence MO to their claim land in Oregon. Your documenting some of it helps me see what they might have seen.
I love this stuff!!
THANK YOU,GREAT JOB.
Never been there and I can’t thank you enough for the tour
For all you Google Earth and western history fans, (not related to the Oregon Trail) if you go to the western OK panhandle about 8 miles north of Boise City and zoom in, you can easily trace out 50 miles of deeply rutted Santa Fe Trail tracks that clearly remain in the unplowed regions south of the mostly dry Cimarron River... Also, I have a 90 year old book "Ox-Team Days On The Oregon Trail" about Ezra Meeker, who traveled the Oregon Trail in 1852. Much later in 1906-08, he re traveled it backwards by wagon to encourage towns to set up historic markers for the trail. Traveling the "route" by automobile, train and airplane (in 1924) before he passed away in 1928 at the age of 97. Wikipedia has a great article on him, the latter years VERY interesting...It is Staggering, the difficulties and hardships endured by those who ventured out on that journey...
I plan on doing a video about him. He published a book I acquired a copy of sometime back.
@@historysavvy Cool, It was amazing for him to live long enough to see what he did, in the final couple decades of his life...
It really gives you a sense of the rush of technology, to think of a guy who traveled the Oregon Trail flying over the same route in an airplane.
@@--KP- An interesting note on your comment, at the 1893 Columbian Expo in Chicago, visitors marveled at the state of technology displayed at that huge event without a clue that the Horseless Carriage days were just beginning and the flying machine was "just around the corner"... My dad, in his teens, made two trips to southern California on the brand new Route 66 in the mid 1920s, when much of it was still dirt road...
great job with this video!
Outstanding video! My wife and I celebrated my graduation from OSU (with a degree in early American history) by driving west to see Custer National park, the Little Bighorn battlefield, and on west through to Oregon and down the coast to Temecula-where we stayed with friends-I was born in Oakland in 1964. We then stayed in Tombstone and, out of all our 3-week trip, I fell in love with Idaho and Oregon. We almost moved out to Portland in 1995-the year we made the trip-but for sheer beauty, Idaho was my personal favorite. Thanks for sharing this video. Well done sir! 🫡👍🏼❤️
Thank you!
Thank you for this video
What a nice surprise to see your face appear on my TH-cam recommendations today! Cool stuff brotha!
Thanks! Glad to know TH-cam is recommending me to the right people!
My daughter and I saw a section of the Oregon Trail on the South Pass In Wyoming not far from Lander. We rode our bicycles from Jackson Hole to Thermopolis Wyoming in 2001. On the Tour De Wyoming
Wow @ time stamp 3:44 that really is a steep hill! Such a pretty area but so deceiving. I wouldn’t have wanted to be part of any of those travelers back in those days. This is an incredible close up view of this treacherous trail, you’ve done an amazing job on this video!
Anyone else more interested in history now than when in middle or high school?
I’m very familiar with a spur section off the main trail in Idaho, found a ox shoe as a teen on it that still has the nails in it, a testament to just how dry some of the trail routes were that it looks like it could still be nailed back on.
Thank you I loved it 🇺🇸❤️
Great video!
Growing up in the PNW, I remember taking a field trip to part of the Oregon Trail in either middle or elementary school. So fun and interesting!!!
I am from Washington state and I travel for work. I love stopping by Oregon trail spots and just taking in its history. The spot in baker city, Oregon is awesome! My 3rd great grand parents and their family traveled the trail from Massachusetts in 1868. My 1st cousin 3x removed wrote a book about their travels and early life in walla walla.
Interesting stories of people that are long gone from this life !! Forgotten heroes
My family, the Alexander Peirce Trimble family, traveled the Oregon Trail in 1853 from Henry co, Iowa to the Williamette valley. Then in 1870 traveled it back to Texas. Thank you for the fine video.
I think my ancestors went from Missouri to northern Idaho. Crazy how they went a major length of this trail.
Great job now time for a beer!
Very well done 👍
Nicely done.
Your presence narrating the video was really enjoyable. I’ll be back!
Awesome video
Love your content
Great video.
as a viewer from alberta, canada simply love this video !!!! we had smaller trails across the canadian prairies, nothing like the grandaddy Oregon trail.
That's interesting! Were they running at about the same time or later in the 19th century?
@@historysavvy quite a bit later from about 1880 to 1920. Canada wasn't even a country yet in the oregon's trail heyday.
Nice job. I usually don't watch all the way till the end. This one I did...
My Dawson, Dodson, Noland family ancestors came over that very ground to the Willamette Valley in 1844, 1846, 1847, 1852, and 1853 respectively.
We need more videos like this one. Plz update more.
When I was a kid you could still see ruts from the wagon wheels. Can you see them anymore?
You can indeed. they are generally pretty difficult to discern on the ground, but from the air, they are easier. You can see them in the drone footage I included of Big Hill in the video.
Hey Man. I truly like your video. Very informative since I have never been there. I think that if the people that make comments have never been there they should go and then make comments later. Just a thought. Take care bro
You can see the crossing over the Snake River, the wagon ruts and some more at the Museum in Glenns Ferry ID at the 3 Island State Park.
fun fact: If all the people that DIED traveling along the Oregon Trail- back "in the day" - were buried along the entire route,
there would be a grave every 50 yards. from start to finish . . .
Thank you for the video. When I was at school in about 1964 I did a project about the Oregon trail. I can’t remember what I said about it, but I do remember reading a kids book about a family on the trail. Oh, I went to school in Wellington, New Zealand! We spent quite a bit of time learning about the US. This was the last year of primary school. Our teacher was one that demanded obedience. His first statement to us was that he intended to strap all of us at least once during the year. I lasted two weeks. He was a very fair man and I really enjoyed that year and probably learned the most in that year at school that I ever did. I even got the class to put money in for a Christmas present! I ramble on, apologies. All the best from Sydney Australia 🇦🇺
No worries! I appreciate the lively comment! I've lived outside of the US a few years but I've never chatted with anyone about what parts of US history they learn in their own schooling so this was new to me. I'm sorry to report that I don't think American kids learn anything about NZ or AUS history except the ANZACs in WWI. When I traveled through Australia a few years ago and did some back country hikes in southern Victoria, I was struck at how similar the history of that area was to that of the American west.
@@historysavvy thank you for the reply. I think my education was well “rounded” as they used to say. There was also quite a lot of American influence in my home. My parents were great friends with American Marines as they had a beach house near one of the camps. There were two camps near Wellington where Marines trained before fighting in the Pacific at places like Guadalcanal. They also thought that the turning point was the Battle of the Coral Sea. When I was about ten years old there was commemoration and we had a whole lot of Marines and their wives visit us. One of them gave me a couple of 1921 silver dollars. I still have them. When I was young my whole family were members of the NZ American Association. Through this I got to the Ambassador’s residence, visit the America aircraft carrier on R&R from Vietnam and to 4th of July balls. Times have changed a bit. All the best from Sydney Australia
When my family traveled through the west a number of years ago the highway we were driving on followed the route of the Oregon Trail. There were circular signs on the roadside proclaiming "Historic Oregon Trail 1856." And the back of the Stinker Gas Station sign read "This road under construction... Since 1856" So I know it's still out there under four lanes of concrete.
Yes there is I am from a town called La Grande in northeast Oregon. There are markers and a museum for the oergon trail.
4:00 wow an amazing testament by Margaret A Frank, AND the footage of her Jeep really brings it all home.
Interesting video
Good show. Precise map of exactly where you are would help.
Excellent point. Thank you.
I live in the same county where the California gold rush started eldorado county plenty history here pony express trail close by me.
i live in tuolumne county , hi almost neighbor , butterfield stage and postal trail rout went through here . also part of the trail network.
That's another part of western history I want to cover. Utah has a recreated way station and one can still see the ruins along other parts of the route.
was "lucky' enough to pull a hand cart over these hills when I was younger, i'll never forget the great appreciation I had for basic everyday things after a week of trek.
one of the best examples of wagon tracks I saw was at a rest area at about mile mark 335 on hwy 84. There is steep grade they had come up from the snake River.