Civil War
The Santa Fe Trail in Missouri
Presented by:
Mary Collins Barile
Publish Date:
May 13, 2010
Presentation Length:
52 minutes 25 seconds (52:25)
Description:
For 19th century travelers, the Santa Fe Trail was an indispensable route stretching from Missouri to New Mexico and beyond. The section from St. Louis to Westport, known as "The Missouri Trail," offered migrating Americans their first experience with the West. Anyone who wanted to reach Santa Fe first had to travel the width of Missouri. In The Santa Fe Trail in Missouri, Mary Collins Barile offers an introduction to Missouri's section of the trail, providing an account of its historical and cultural significance. Barile shares how the route evolved from Indian paths, trappers' traces and wagon roads and how the experience of traveling the Santa Fe Trail varied even within Missouri. The book highlights the origin and development of the trail, offers a brief description of what travelers could expect to find in frontier Missouri and describes some of the major people associated with the trail.
