Everything about The Great Platte River Road totally explained
The
Great Platte River Road was the convergence point for the
Trapper's Trail, the
Oregon Trail, the
Mormon Trail, the
California Trail, the
Pony Express route, and the military road from
Fort Leavenworth to
Fort Laramie across
Nebraska. The Road was utilized primarily from 1841 to 1866. Currently regarded as a sort of
superhighway of its times, the road has been referred to as "the grand corridor of America's westward expansion."
About
Robert Stuart, an explorer with the
Pacific Fur Company, was one of the first European Americans to explore the potential for the Road in the 1810s. Eventually the Road started in several places along the
Missouri River, including (from north to south)
Omaha,
Council Bluffs,
Nebraska City,
St. Joseph and
Kansas City. Each of these separate routes came together near
Fort Kearny in the middle of the
Nebraska Territory. From there the Road traversed the north side of the river. In the years of 1849, 1850 and 1852 traffic was so heavy along the Road that virtually all feed was stripped from both sides of the river. The lack of food and the threat of disease made the journey along the Road a deadly gamble. 250,000 travelers followed the Road along the
South Platte River during its peak years of 1841 to 1866.
One of the most treacherous stretches of the Road was O'Fallon's Bluffs near
Sutherland. There the
North Platte River cut directly against the bluff and made it necessary to travel a narrow roadway over the bluffs. Deep sand that caught wagon wheels and threats of attacks by marauding bands of
Native Americans presented challenges. Referred to in many pioneer traveler journals, during the years 1858 to 1860, there was a trading post, stage station and Post Office near O’Fallon’s Bluff. By 1866, troops sent to protect the wagon trains from ambush near O’Fallon’s Bluff had established Fort Heath nearby. In 1867, the O’Fallon’s railroad siding, depot and Post Office were built north of the river opposite the bluff. Located there were a trading post and saloon.
Later the Great Platte River Road was used by the
Pony Express, eventually becoming an important freight and military route. When the
First Transcontinental Railroad across Nebraska was completed in 1867 travel on the trail declined.
Roadside settlements
The ranches and towns that settled alongside the Road provided
outfitters from Missouri River towns places to sell their wares, and gave pioneers resting areas along the route. The following settlements appeared east to west along the Great Platte River Road in the Nebraska Territory.
Conjoining routes
Trails, rails and highways that have used the Great Platte River Road include:
Trapper's Trail
Oregon Trail
California Trail
Mormon Trail
Pony Express
First Transcontinental Railroad
Lincoln Highway
U.S. Route 30
Interstate 80Further Information
Get more info on 'Great Platte River Road'.
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