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CHECK OUT OUR CLASSROOM FAMILIES

THE CARSON FAMILY

THE JACKSON FAMILY

THE BLUERIDGE FAMILY

THE OAKLEY FAMILY

WESTWARD HO PROJECT

GETTING READY TO GO
It took roughly $800-$1,000 to obtain a proper outfit (wagon, food, clothing, etc.) and enough supplies to
live a whole year without planting or harvesting a crop. Some families saved for three to five years before
being able to begin their trip west.

What was the Oregon Territory?
MAPS OF OREGON TRAIL
ALL ABOUT THE OREGON TRAIL
AMERICAN WEST The Oregon Trail site is done by the people who did a PBS documentary about the OregonTrail. Find fantastic facts about weird wagons, a $100 drink of water, being buried alive, or read the full diaries of people like Narcissa Whitman. Visit historic sites all along the trail. Welcome to the Westward Expansion!
Westward Expansion

Why did some people want to travel to Oregon?
WHAT WAS THE OREGON TRAIL
Call of the West-summarizes reasons pioneers headed west
WHY SHOULD WE GO WEST

PEOPLE OF THE OREGON TRAIL
Western Pioneers, Frontiermen,
Mountainmen and Fur Traders
True Trail Stories
PEOPLE OF THE WEST
Cowboys-describes famous cowboys as well as lifestyles and other factual information
Pioneers and Frontiersmen-biographies of famous pioneers, frontiersmen and fur traders
Famous pioneers
Pioneer families
WOMEN PIONEER
MORE WOMEN PIONEER
PIONEERS
WESTERN PIONEER
KIT CARSON
JOHN FREMONT

What was a covered wagon?
Prairie Schooners-get a diagram and facts about these wagons used on the Oregon Trail
Some wagon trains painted their wagon canvas covers a bright red or blue. This way the individual
wagons would know to which group of wagons they belonged.

What was a wagon train?
WAGON TRAIN

WHAT WOULD YOUR FAMILY BRING?
Provisions for the Trail
WAGON PROVISIONS
Packin the wagon
SUPPLIES
TYPES OF SUPPLIES
POWER
Packing the Wagon-what you should and shouldn't bring on the Oregon Trail
Fine china was packed in barrels of flour and cornmeal. This packing technique was designed to prevent
     family heirlooms from being destroyed during the journey. In theory this was a great idea, but there was
     one serious drawback--usually, the travelers had to eat the flour and cornmeal during the trip, and most of
     the dishes ended up breaking anyway and had to be discarded along the trail.
EXCEL SUPPLY LIST

When was the best time to start the trip?
JUMPING OFF

How far would you travel in a day?
WAGONTRAINS
Wagon Trains-describes life on a wagon train
A day in the Life
Crossing the Frontier: Photographs of the Developing West-contains photos, lesson plans and other resources about the west
The Santa Fe Trail-an account of life on the Santa Fe Trail
LANDMARKS
LANDMARKS ON THE TRAIL
Fantastic Facts About the Oregon Trail

What were the dangers and difficulties for the trip?
Life and Death on the Oregon Trail
Problems of Illness, Stress, Privacy, and Traveling
Hardships
Oregon Trail- learn about the hardships endured along the route and the supplies the pioneers took with them
Of the known deaths along the Oregon Trail, cholera was the leading cause. The present day state of
     Nebraska was the deadliest state for cholera. Ninety-six percent of all cholera deaths occurred by the
     time the emigrants reached South Pass. The disease "cholera" was first reported in the United States
     during the years of 1832-1834. St. Louis lost a tenth of its population to this disease. Many pioneers
     thought that by going west they might be able to escape this disease. But as one emigrant diary read,
     "The road from Independence to Fort Laramie is a grave-yard. "Another emigrant put the number of
     burials at 1,500 to 2,000 at this point on the trail, while yet another put the death total at around 5,000.
BURIED ALIVE
DANGERS ON THE TRAIL
SNAKE BITES

What kind of clothes did the people wear?
Overland Trail Dress
WAGONTRAIN WEAR
The pioneers walked the Oregon Trail, but have you ever thought how many shoes were worn out by the
     time they reached Oregon?
          According to the diary of May Ellen Murdock Compton, a 1853 emigrant, she started from
          Independence with ten brand new pairs of shoes and wore all of them out except the last pair. She
          saved this pair for the Oregon Country by walking barefoot over the last miles of her journey.
IMAGE
1852 was the "Year of the Bloomer," although few women emigrants wore this new fashion item. The
     bloomer offered a woman the chance to become more practical in regard to attire during their overland
     journey. Mariett Foster Cummings chose to wear bloomers to avoid the mud. Eliza Ann McAuley and her
     sister dressed in the height of fashion as they wore bloomers with light calf-skin top boots for wading
     through mud and sand. Most women preferred skirts

What would you eat?
PIONEER AND INDIAN RECIPES
Cooking: Along the Trail
Food: Suggested Menu for a Week
Food on the Oregon Trail

WHERE WOULD YOU GO TO SCHOOL?
SCHOOL DAYS

WHAT WOULD YOU DO ALL DAY?
What Kids Did On the Western Frontier

How would you build a fire if you didn’t have any wood?
Buffalo Chips and Pioneers

What chores would you have to do?
Children's Chores
Women were considered young ladies when they reached the age of 13 or 14, and it was common for a
15 year old woman to be married. The average age for a woman to get married during the mid-1800's
was 20, and the average age for men to be married was 25.

In many wagon train groups, once every couple of weeks the women spent a full day doing the wash. As
     one emigrant woman wrote, "Camilia and I both burnt our arms very badly while washing. They were red
     and swollen and painful as though scalded with boiling water. I do not see that there is any way of
     preventing it, for everything has to be done in the wind and sun."

Could you have fun on the trip?
GAMES
TOYS

Would you see any wild animals?
Fish and Wildlife on the Oregon Trail: Then and Now

Could you send a letter or receive one?
Communication
Pioneers had what they called a "Roadside Telegraph." Pioneers would write messages on anything that
     was available to communicate with other wagon trains. "Anything available" meant cloth scraps, animal
     skulls, rocks, bark, leaves, etc. Some places were "Prairie Post Offices" meaning there were a number of
     messages that had been left at that spot for others.

The end of the Trail This site lets you read pioneer diaries and emigrant biographies. Find a diagram of prairie schooner, provisions (things pioneers needed) and prices, and answers to questions people ask a lot, like "What is the Oregon Trail?"

OREGON TRAIL EXTRAS