1. The Oregon Trail Between 1840 and 1860 an estimated 53,000 people trekked the 2000 mile journey along the Oregon Trail in search of a better life.

2. Jumping Off From all walks of life, all ages, and all backgrounds they gathered in the spring at cities along the Mississippi River called “jumping off places”. These cities were so named because emigrants were literally leaving or jumping off of American territory. Independence, Missouri was by far the busiest of all these cities.

3. Along The Way Though the journey was long and grueling and many people lost their lives along the way the trail itself provided many wondrous sites for the emigrants to see. The next series of slides show some of those sites.

4. Independence Rock

5. Courthouse Rock and Jail Rock

6. South Pass

7. Prairies

8. Oregon After six long months and many hardships the emigrants at last saw the sight they had been longing to see…..

9. Oregon