Wagon Train
by Jon Burch Photography
Title
Wagon Train
Artist
Jon Burch Photography
Medium
Photograph - Digital Photography
Description
The Oregon Trail was a 2,170-mile east-west, large-wheeled wagon route and emigrant trail in the United States that connected the Missouri River to valleys in Oregon.
The wagon train was a caravan of wagons organized by settlers in the United States for emigration to the west during the late 18th and most of the 19th centuries. Composed of up to 100 Conestoga wagons, traveling in trains soon became the prevailing mode of long-distance overland transportation for both people and goods. As wagon train transportation moved westward with the advancing frontier in the 19th century, the development of famous routes as the Santa Fe Trail, Oregon Trail, Smoky Hill Trail, California Trail, Mormon Trail and the Southern Overland Mail route.
In transit westward over the Oregon-California Trail the wagon trains attained their most highly organized and institutionalized character. Meeting in early spring at a rendezvous town near the Missouri River individuals would form companies, elect officers, employ guides, and collect essential supplies while awaiting favorable weather for leaving, usually in early May. Those riding in the wagons were directed and protected by their leaders usually riding on horses however, oxen were most often used to actually pull the wagons.
Once organized and on their way, wagon-train companies tended to follow a daily routine consisting of an early rising and late afternoon encampment. People cooked and tended to chores while their animals grazed with possible simple recreation before early retirement. The companies had to be prepared for challenges including crossing rivers, mountains and meeting hostile Indians.
Behind the wagon Eagle Rock stands 4,482 feet above sea level. Located on the Oregon Trail, Scott’s Bluff is just west of Gering, Nebraska.
Some digital effects were applied to the original image after the photograph was made. No electrons were harmed during the transition. Your finished photograph will not contain the Fine Art America watermark.
Image copyright 2021 Jon Burch Photography.
Uploaded
May 22nd, 2021
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