Growing up on the north Oregon coast, I was surrounded by places and artifacts of historical significance. And as so often happens when we have something of value virtually sitting in our back yards, I didn’t really avail myself of the opportunities to learn much about the regional history. Fortunately, it’s never too late to appreciate history, and so today I set out for Oregon City, Oregon and The End of the Oregon Trail Interpretive Center, conveniently located near the designated end of the Oregon Trail.
Wikipedia tells us that the Oregon Trail was laid by fur trappers and traders from around 1811 to 1840 and was a 2,000 mile long east-west wagon route that led from Independence, Missouri to the Willamette Valley in Oregon. I was all set to learn about the early Oregon settlers and pioneer life and Conestoga wagons, so you can imagine my dismay when I arrived to find that the museum was being renovated and would not open for another month.
All was not lost, however. I was advised that there was a self-guided tour along the walkways around the grounds, and so I set out to self-guide my way through history. Here is what I determined about the end of the Oregon Trail.
Aquamarine was probably a popular color for the mid-1800 model prairie schooners. Other popular colors were probably brown (like wood) and gray (like weathered wood). Purple did not come into vogue until the 1960s, by which time the Volkswagen bus had replaced the prairie schooner as the pioneering vehicle of choice.
Fencing was a favorite sport among the early Oregon settlers. Instead of using blunt-tipped epee swords, however, the pioneers used sharp-edged axes, as popularized by Abraham Lincoln back in Illinois (before he became president, of course. After he became president, Lincoln resorted to speeches and such to get his work accomplished. One might say he traded his sharp axe in for a sharp wit. But this post isn’t about Lincoln. In fact, Lincoln turned down offers for the job of secretary of the Oregon Territory and even governor of the Oregon Territory. True story).
Elk (or wapiti), one of the largest species of deer, were prevalent in Oregon in the 1800s, and continue to roams the Pacific Northwest forests to this day. Apparently they were tamer back in the pioneering days, and so early settlers erected signs advising youngsters not to climb on the elk. After centuries of being climbed on, elk have now developed huge antlers and strong front leg kicks that deter that type of treatment, so precautionary signage has virtually disappeared.
After their arduous journey across the nation, Oregon settlers were glad to find ample parking for their covered wagons once they arrived in Oregon City. Pavement was pretty scarce along the Oregon Trail, and parallel parking was counter-intuitive to their usual habit of circling the wagons, but they soon got the hang of it.
I’m really glad I had this opportunity to guide myself through this historic landmark. I’m not sure I could have picked up on so many details had I not been left to my own devices. I am considering offering my services to the interpretive center as a tour guide once their museum opens up again. I don’t know… do you think they would find my version of history too corny?
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