While camping at Three Island Crossing State Park in Glenns Ferry, Idaho, I visited the Oregon Trail History & Education Center. Many pioneers traveling on the Oregon Trail crossed the Snake River on their way west at this site. Settlers learned to overcome the emotional and physical obstacles they encountered along the Trail with resilience and perseverance.

Near the center’s entrance, you’ll pass a couple wagons beneath a shelter. A reader board refers to them as “Motor Homes Without Motors.” They had to be lightweight, yet sturdy enough to survive the 2,000-mile journey across the country. The wagons carried many tools and treasures, but more importantly, the hopes and dreams of settlers looking for a better way of life.

This visitor center’s interactive and informative displays impressed me. I liked how it highlighted this area from different perspectives in the past and present.

Crossing the Snake River

Pioneers used this route until 1869, when Gus Glenn constructed a ferry crossing two miles upstream. This display describes Ferryman Gustavus (Gus) P. Glenn. He was a colorful local, known as a rugged individualist.

Glenn married a Native American woman named Jenny and turned down the possibility of marrying a Euro-American when more settlers moved into the area. He noted, “She was good enough for me then and she’s good enough for me now.”

The original Oregon trail began in Independence, Missouri, and ended in Oregon City, Oregon. This map shows the various routes settlers traveled west after the Louisiana Purchase in 1803.

Native Americans in Oregon Trail History

Several of the displays featured artifacts related to the lives of Native Americans. One of the first displays shows the hunting and gathering way of life experienced by Indians of the Snake River Plain.

Indigenous people have lived in this area for thousands of years. The local environment is challenging, but they learned how to be resilient.

The figure shown below is of a woman with a digging stick.

Native peoples often dug up and collected camas bulbs.

Bulbs, seeds, and other food items were ground with stone mortars and pestles.

People wove baskets for different purposes. The photograph in this display case shows a tightly woven basket used for carrying water.

People used loosely woven baskets to gather things like roots and berries.

This display shows a spear and net used for catching salmon.

Once horses became available to Native people, hunting and trading practices changed dramatically. Horse ownership became a status symbol, with wealthier people collecting large herds of horses.

I liked this quote from the local Northern Paiute tribe.

This display shows a cutaway view of a teepee and describes the many hardships Native Americans endured on reservations.

Settlers moving into the West

Other displays in this center focus on settlers moving west as part of their “Manifest Destiny.” This 19th century belief stated that American settlers were destined by God to claim lands across North America. Its purpose was “to expand its dominion and spread democracy and capitalism across the entire North American continent.”

Unfortunately, that often meant forcing Native Americans off their ancestral lands. Thousands died from starvation and disease after being forcibly marched to distant reservations.

The U.S. population rose dramatically from 5 million people in 1800, to over 23 million by 1850.

Newspapers described an easy route with “no obstruction in the whole route.” Journals of those who traveled the route described a far different situation where “hills ware dreadful steep” and “the desert is very hard on the poor animals.”

I found this packing list interesting. If travelers lost the ox pulling their wagons, they abandoned many items shown on this list beside the road.

Since the oxen used along the route were so valuable, travelers would do anything they could to save them. This scene shows three people trying to pull a downed ox to its feet.

This is a typical covered wagon, shown with the back down as food is prepared.

These two cases show some toys and tools of children traveling the trail. They were expected to help with chores, but also had time to play games, go fishing or target shooting, and to collect wildflowers.

At first, relationships between Natives and settlers were friendly. They traded valuable items. Native peoples helped them along the route. “The Indians helped us a great deal, raking over the carts, swimming the animals, &c …” As more settlers flocked to the area, the relations changed. Native American, Hispanic, and non-European residents suffered greatly during this period of expansion.

Voices of the present at Oregon Trail History & Education Center

These photos are of contemporary residents of Glenns Ferry, Idaho.

Daryl Kirk commented on past competitions between cultures and said we need “to get together and do things together and to forget about the bad part of the past.”

Donna Carnahan remembered how her grandfather, who settled there in 1890, spoke of often playing with the resident Indian children.

Terry Gibson noted how his people comforted the emigrants. The people and their animals were in bad shape after all they had suffered along the trail. He said, “Our people were here to help them, and our children need to learn that. I think with the Crossing here, there’s an opportunity to provide healing for both cultures.”

The Oregon Trail History & Education Center is small, but worth a visit. It has a nice gift store near the entrance.

To learn more about the Oregon Trail, consider visiting the National Historic Oregon Trail Interpretive Center in Baker City, Oregon. After being closed for four years, the Center recently reopened following significant renovations and updates. I posted about this attraction prior to the renovations.

Lens-Artists Photo Challenge (LAPC) – Resilience

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