Major Migrations Trails

Boston Post Road
Boston, MA, to New York City
early 1700s

Wilderness Road
Fort Chiswell, VA, to central KY
late 1700s

Oregon Trail
Independence, MO, to Fort Vancouver, WA
1841 - turn of the century

California Trail
Missouri to California
mid-1800s

Spanish Trail
Sante Fe, NM, to Los Angeles, CA
1846

Overland Trail
Julesburg, CO, to Fort Bridges, WY
est. 1862

Mormon Pioneer Trail
Nauvoo, IL, to Salt Lake City, UT
mid-1800s

National Road
Cumberland, MD, to St. Louis, MO
early 1800s

Sante Fe Trail
Old Franklin, MO, to Sante Fe, NM
est. early 1800s

Mohawk Trail
Boston, MA, to New York state
est. colonial period

Mohawk Trail of New York
Albany, NY, to Buffalo, NY
est. colonial period

Natchez Trail
Nashville, TN, to Natchez, MS
est. colonial period

The Pennsylvania Road
Philadelphia, PA, to Pittsburg, PA
est. 1800s

Zane's Trace
Wheeling, WV, to Maysville, KY
early 1800s

Research Questions

What route did your ancestors follow to their community?

Were they the first of your family in that area?

Did he move often from one place to another? Why?

Why did they settle where they did?

Did he migrate alone, with his family, or with a large group of people?

What mode of transportation did they use?

Was travel difficult? Were there roads to travel on or mere paths?

Did the weather affect the family's migration?

Did he received a land patent from the government?

Migration Links

American Migration Fact Sheets
Beverly Whitaker provides migration fact sheets for eighteen major trails in a downloadable pdf format.

Westward Migration Maps

Trails West
A map and trail descriptions

Online Diaries and Journals about the Old West

Trails of Hope: Overland Diaries and Letters, 1846-1869
A collection of original writings of 49 voyagers on the Mormon, California, Oregon, and Montana trails who wrote while traveling the trails.

The Boston Post Road
A map and description of the route from Boston, MA, to New York City.

Ohio Migration Trails
A map and description of the major migrations trails through Ohio.

Trails West - Markers of the California Trail
Historical Development of the California Trail

The National Road
An online article from History Magazine

National Road Map
A description of the National Road is provided, with a map, by the National Park Service.

Wilderness Road Interactive Map

Old Spanish Trail Map

All About the Oregon Trail
A complete primer on the Oregon Trail.

The Interactive Sante Fe Trail Homepage

The Sante Fe - National Historic Trail
An informative site presented by the National Park Service.

The Sante Fe Trail Scenic and Historic Byway

History of the Mohawk Trail

The Native and Immigrant view of the Gold Rush

Women Pioneers of the Northern Great Plains - 1880-1920

Research Collections
Diaries and Letters
Migration Patterns and Trails
Timelines and Chronologies
Wars and the Military

A bibliography of select migration books available at your local library, favorite bookseller, or online at www.amazon.com.

Down the Santa Fe Trail and into Mexico: The Diary of Susan Shelby Magoffin, 1846-1847
edited by Stella M. Drumm

Map Guide to American Migration Routes, 1735-1814
by William Dollarhide

Pioneer Women: Voices from the Kansas Frontier
by Joanna Stratton

Westward Expansion: A History of the American Frontier
by Ray Allen Billington

The Journals of Lewis & Clark
by Meriwether Lewis, William Clark, and Bernard DeVoto

Wagons West: The Epic Story of America's Overland Trails
by Frank McLynn

Surviving the Oregon Trail, 1852
by Weldon W. Rau

The Age of Gold: The California Gold Rush and the American Dream
by H. W. Brands

The Plains Across: The Overland Emigrants and the Trans-Mississippi West
by John D. Unruh

Historical Atlas of the American West
by Warren A. Beck