Days 3,4 - Blue Springs MO to Casper WY

Day 3

Day 4

Table of Contents

	Google Map Track Log
	YouTube Video
	Independence Courthouse Square, Independence MO
	Alcove Spring, near Marysville and Blue Rapids, KS
	Smith-Simonton Site, south of Hastings NE
	California Hill, west of Brule NE
	John Hollman Grave, Oshkosh NE
	Amanda Lamme Grave Marker, Bridgeport NE
	Rebecca Winters Grave, Scottsbluff NE
	The Bedlam Ruts, Fort Laramie WY (A-9)
	Lucinda Rollins Grave, Guernsey WY (A-12)
	Elevation Changes During the Day
	Comments
	Other Blogs About This Trip

Google Map Track Log

YouTube Video

Independence Courthouse Square, Independence MO

Alcove Spring, near Marysville and Blue Rapids, KS

Alcove Spring has been called the most significant historic site on the Oregon Trail within the State of Kansas. The scenic spring was a popular campsite, mentioned in many emigrant journals. Also at about this location, emigrants left the tallgrass prairie of eastern Kansas and entered the shortgrass plains. Access to this privately owned site is provided by the Alcove Spring Historical Trust.

Smith-Simonton Site, south of Hastings NE

In this vicinity on Aug. 7, 1864, a war party ambushed a small train of Denver-bound freight wagons on the Oregon Trail, killing five teamsters and mortally wounded a sixth.

Look for an interpretive sign at the fence line; do not enter private property.

California Hill, west of Brule NE

Deep ruts are carved into California Hill, where wagons pulled up out of the Lower California Crossing of the Platte River. The site, owned by the Nebraska State Historical Society, is open to public visitation. Free.

Directions:

Drive about 1/2 mile on gravel road, Road West MN. There is a pedestrian pass-through in the fence line. Enter the pasture and walk to the ruts.

John Hollman Grave, Oshkosh NE

Emigrant John Hollman died in 1852, possibly of cholera. His original gravestone still marks his resting place; a Nebraska State Historical Society sign tells of death on the trail.

Historical Marker

It has been estimated that at least 20,000 persons died on the overland trail, between 1842 and 1859. This averages ten graves per mile over the 2,000 mile trail. Of the hundreds who died while crossing Nebraska, only seven identifiable graves remain.

Most trail graves had crude wooden or animal-bone markers. A very few had formal stones or iron wagon wheel rims. The nearby grave of John Hollman, like others in Western Nebraska, was marked by a roughly fashioned local rock. Though most of the others have disappeared, Hollman's still stands, its crude lettering giving his name and that he died in June 1852.

Many overland travelers died from accidents, while a few were killed by Indians. The great majority died from disease. Asiatic cholera was the main killer, coming up the Mississippi from New Orleans. Parties crossing Missouri spread it across the Plains. It is not known how John Hollman died, but 1852 was a very bad cholera year and numerous deaths were recorded in this vicinity. Wagon ruts are still visible in parts of Garden County. Local rock formations were commented upon by many diarists. These remain today as a part of our historical heritage. The adjacent directional stone marker has been moved from its original site.

Amanda Lamme Grave Marker, Bridgeport NE

Historical Marker

On June 23, 1850, twenty-eight-year-old Amanda Lamme, a California-bound emigrant, died of cholera and was buried near here in what is now private pastureland. She was the wife of M.J. Lamme of Boone County, Missouri, and mother of three daughters. The monument that marks her grave was erected in 1912. It was incorrectly engraved with the name Amanda Lamin.

Between 1842 and 1859 an estimated 20,000 emigrants, about five percent of the total, died along the overland trails. Cholera in 1849, 1850, and 1857 caused many adult deaths. Few children died from this. Malaria, smallpox, measles, and dysentery took a toll of children and adults alike.

Although wagons moved slowly, people were sometimes crushed beneath the wheels. Drownings were common at river crossings. Accidental shootings were frequent because many travelers were unfamiliar with the use of firearms. Contrary to movie and television portrayals, few emigrants were killed by Indians. The risk of death probably was about the same for the emigrants as for the people who stayed at home.

Rebecca Winters Grave, Scottsbluff NE

Fifty-year-old Rebecca Winters, a Mormon emigrant, died of cholera near here while on her way to Utah in 1852. Her resting place is marked with an iron wagon wheel rim that was inscribed with her name when she died.

A monument, Nebraska Historical Society Sign, and a wayside exhibit commemorate the site and interpret the Mormon emigration.

Historical Marker

Rebecca Winters, daughter of Gideon Burdick, a drummer boy in Washington's army, was born in New York State in 1802. She was a pioneer in the Church of the Latter Day Saints, being baptized with her husband Hiram in June 1833.

Membership in the Church brought persecution in Ohio, Illinois and Iowa. In June 1852 the family joined others of their faith in the great journey to Utah. It was a pleasant trip across Iowa through June, but in the Platte Valley the dread cholera struck. Rebecca saw many of her friends taken by the illness, and on August 15 she was another of its victims. She was buried on the prairie near here with a simple ceremony.

A close friend of the family, William Reynolds, chiseled the words, "Rebecca Winters, Age 50" on an iron wagon tire to mark the grave. The family continued on with the wagon train and settled in Pleasant Grove, Utah.

Burlington Railroad surveyors found the crude marker and changed the right-of-way to save and protect the grave. In 1902 a monument was erected by Rebecca's descendants. Rebecca Winters is a symbol of the pioneer mother who endured great hardships in the westward movement.

The Bedlam Ruts, Fort Laramie WY (A-9)

The Bedlam Ruts (west of Fort Laramie National Historic Site) are a fine stretch of wagon ruts and swales that visitors can walk. The trail segment is on undeveloped public lands jointly managed by the Bureau of Land Management and the National Park Service.

On-site interpretive signs tell the story. Setting is natural and quiet.

Historical Marker

The Journey West Continues

"We proceeded (westward from Fort Laramie) and encamped outside the boundaries of Uncle Sam." So wrote Dr. J.S. Shepard in 1851 as he began the second leg of his journey west. "To leave Fort Laramie was to cast off all ties with civilization. It was an alien land." he noted.

The emigrants' elation at reaching the "civilization" of the Fort after 650 miles of monotonous, difficult overland travel was soon tempered by the realization that even more troublesome trail conditions lay ahead over the final two-thirds of the journey. "Here come the ascent of the Rocky Mountain." wrote an apprehensive Comelius Conway at mid-century.

To lighten their loads many travelers cast off thousands of dollars worth of food and equipment. This was especially true of the "49ers" who, in their hast to reach the gold fields, often invested little effort in planning their trip. Joseph Berrien reached Fort Laramie early, May 30, 1849, yet still referred to is as "Camp Sacrifice" because of the large quantities of abandon gear and foodstuffs he saw nearby.

Between 1849 and 1854 an annual average of some 31,000 overlanders passed through or near this fort on their journey to Oregon, California, or Utah. Most passed on a trail marked by the ruts before you. Wagons travel near the Platte River, just to the north was difficult due to seasonal high water and progressively more difficult terrain.

Lucinda Rollins Grave, Guernsey WY (A-12)

Lucinda Rollins Grave is the burial place of an 1849 emigrant. A white concrete monument, visible from Deep Rut Hill, marks her grave. The original headstone that was once encased in the monument was stolen by vandals. From the monument, look back toward Deep Rut Hill to see a long stretch of wagon swales descending toward the river.

Day 4

Elevation Changes During the Day