Santa Fe Trail – Detail & Timeline

Between 1821 and 1880, the Santa Fe Trail served as a vital artery of commerce, a terrestrial highway stretching across the vast expanse of the American West. Primarily, it was a commercial route linking Missouri to Santa Fe, New Mexico, facilitating the exchange of goods and ideas between two distinct cultures. From its inception until 1846, the Santa Fe Trail functioned as an international trade route, utilized by both Mexican and American traders seeking to profit from the burgeoning markets.

The year 1846 marked a significant turning point in the trail’s history. The outbreak of the Mexican-American War transformed the Santa Fe Trail from a commercial pathway into a military thoroughfare. The Army of the West, under the command of General Stephen Watts Kearny, traversed the trail to invade and occupy New Mexico. This military campaign underscored the strategic importance of the route in controlling the southwestern territories.

The conclusion of the war in 1848, formalized by the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, redefined the Santa Fe Trail once again. No longer an international boundary, the trail became a national road, solidifying the connection between the United States and its newly acquired territories in the Southwest. Commercial freighting continued to thrive, bolstered by substantial military freight hauling operations essential for supplying the numerous forts established throughout the region.

Beyond military and commercial endeavors, the Santa Fe Trail also served as a conduit for westward expansion. Stagecoach lines ferried passengers across the plains, while throngs of gold seekers, driven by the allure of riches in California and Colorado, journeyed along its dusty paths. Adventurers, fur trappers, and emigrants, all seeking new opportunities and experiences, added to the diverse tapestry of travelers who traversed the trail. However, the grand era of the Santa Fe Trail started fading away when the railroad reached Santa Fe in 1880, marking the end of an era and ushering in a new age of transportation and commerce.

The Great Prairie Highway

The Santa Fe Trail holds a unique place in the American imagination, evoking a sense of adventure and historical significance unmatched by many other historic trails. For six decades, it stood as a vital component of a vast network of international trade routes, influencing economies as far away as New York and London. The trail spanned approximately 900 miles of the Great Plains, connecting the United States (Missouri) and Mexico (Santa Fe), fostering interactions between diverse cultures that sometimes cooperated and sometimes clashed. Caught in the middle of this cultural exchange were the Plains Indians, whose rich and varied cultures underwent profound and irreversible changes.

Before Mexican independence, Spain meticulously guarded the borders of its New Mexico colony, restricting manufacturing and international trade. Accounts from Missourians and others who visited Santa Fe painted a picture of an isolated provincial capital, starved for manufactured goods and supplies, hinting at the potential to unlock Mexico’s vast interior markets.

In 1821, the winds of change swept through Mexico as its people revolted against Spanish rule. With the dawn of independence, the gates of trade were flung open, and the Santa Fe Trail emerged as the key to unlocking commercial opportunities. Encouraged by Mexican officials, the Santa Fe trade flourished, strengthening the economic ties between Missouri and Mexico’s northern provinces.

Soldiers played a crucial role along the trail during the tumultuous 1840s, navigating disputes between the Republic of Texas and Mexico, engaging in the Mexican-American War (1846-48), and participating in the Civil War. They also policed conflicts between traders and various Indian tribes. Alongside soldiers, traders, and military freighters, a diverse array of individuals traversed the trail, including gold seekers, emigrants, adventurers, mountain men, hunters, American Indians, guides, packers, translators, and reporters.

The conclusion of the Civil War in 1865 unleashed America’s industrial potential, and the railroad pushed westward, gradually eclipsing the Santa Fe Trail and altering its significance.

Life on the Trail

Popular depictions of the Santa Fe Trail often romanticize the journey, portraying it as a saga of constant peril, filled with violent prairie storms, battles with Indians, and stampeding buffalo herds. While such events undoubtedly occurred, they were not the daily reality for most trail travelers. More often, the journey was characterized by dust, mud, gnats, mosquitoes, and oppressive heat. The occasional sighting of bison, elk, pronghorn antelope, or prairie dogs provided a welcome break from the monotony of the eight-week journey. However, the elements could be unforgiving, and swollen streams, wildfires, hailstorms, strong winds, or blizzards posed real threats to wagon trains.

Each day began before dawn, with trail hands scrambling to round up, sort, and hitch the animals. As the wagons rolled out, the air filled with the sounds of shouts and cries, signaling the start of another day’s trek. A mid-morning stop provided a brief respite, allowing crews to unhitch and graze the teams, haul water, gather wood or buffalo chips for fuel, and prepare the day’s main meal. The daily ration was monotonous: one pound of flour, one pound of bacon, one ounce of coffee, two ounces of sugar, and a pinch of salt. Beans, dried apples, bison, or other game were occasional, welcome treats. The crews then spent time repairing wagons, yokes, and harnesses, greasing wagon wheels, tending to the animals, and hunting.

The journey resumed shortly after noon, with travelers eager to ford streams before nightfall, as overnight storms could transform trickling creeks into raging torrents. Livestock that was cold in the harness in the morning often proved unruly. As day turned to night, the crews cared for the animals, made necessary repairs, selected night guards, and savored a few hours of well-earned leisure and sleep.

"The Vast Plains, Like A Green Ocean"

Venturing west from Missouri, the landscape gradually transformed, with forests giving way to the tallgrass prairie of Kansas. As travelers moved further west, around the 100th Meridian, semi-arid conditions prevailed. Entering the unknown expanse of the plains filled travelers with both fear of hardship and the promise of adventure. The long days spent traversing the seemingly endless expanses of tall and short grass prairie, punctuated by narrow ribbons of trees along waterways, gave rise to vivid descriptions. "In spring, the vast plain heaves and rolls around like a green ocean," one early traveler wrote. Another marveled at a mirage, where "horses and the riders upon them presented a remarkable picture, apparently extending into the air… 45 to 60 feet high… At the same time, I could see beautiful clear lakes of water with… bulrushes and other vegetation…" Some travelers even dreamed of cures for sickness from the "purity of the plains."

The seemingly empty prairie landscape concealed the long-held homelands of numerous American Indian peoples. The trail traversed the hunting grounds of the Comanche, Kiowa, southern bands of the Cheyenne and Arapaho, and the Plains Apache, as well as the homelands of the Osage, Kanza (Kaw), Jicarilla Apache, Ute, and Pueblo Indians. Initially, encounters were largely peaceful, centered on negotiations regarding access to tribal lands and trade in horses, mules, and other coveted items.

However, as trail traffic increased, so did confrontations, stemming from misunderstandings and conflicting values that disrupted the traditional lifeways of American Indians. Mexican and American troops provided escorts for wagon trains. The growing influx of travelers and settlers moving west, accompanied by the railroad, led to the parceling out of lands and the near-extinction of the bison, forcing Indian people onto reservations or pushing them aside.

Soldiers and Forts

Suspicion and tension between the United States and Mexico intensified in the 1840s, fueled by American territorial ambitions. Texans raided New Mexico, and the United States annexed Texas, culminating in the outbreak of the Mexican-American War in 1846. General Stephen Watts Kearny led his Army of the West along the Santa Fe Trail, successfully taking and holding New Mexico and Upper California, while safeguarding American traders. He marched unchallenged into Santa Fe, and although communities such as Taos and Mora rebelled, American control ultimately prevailed. The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo in 1848 formally ended the war.

The Santa Fe Trail became the lifeline for protection and communication between Missouri and Santa Fe. A series of military forts, including Fort Mann (1847), Fort Atkinson (1850), and Fort Larned (1859) in Kansas, Fort Union (1851) in New Mexico, and Fort Lyon (1860) in Colorado, were established to maintain order and control conflicts between American Indians and trail travelers. As the military presence grew, freighting and merchant operations flourished. In 1858, a significant portion of the 1,800 wagons traversing the Santa Fe Trail carried military supplies.

The Civil War reached the West in 1862. Confederates from Texas advanced up the Rio Grande Valley into New Mexico, seeking to seize the territory, Fort Union, and the valuable Colorado goldfields. Albuquerque and Santa Fe fell under Confederate control. However, the tide turned at Glorieta Pass, New Mexico, along the Santa Fe Trail. In a decisive western battle of the Civil War, Union forces secured victory by destroying the nearby Confederate supply train. The Confederates abandoned their hopes of reaching Fort Union and retaining their foothold in New Mexico. The Union Army maintained control of the Southwest and its crucial Santa Fe Trail supply line.

Commerce of the Prairies

The history of the Santa Fe Trail is interwoven with international, national, and local business ventures. In 1821, William Becknell, facing bankruptcy and potential imprisonment for debt, transported goods to Santa Fe and turned a profit. This success attracted entrepreneurs and experienced business people such as James Webb, Antonio Jose Chavez, Charles Beaubien, and David Waldo.

The Santa Fe Trade evolved into a complex web of international business dealings, social ties, tariffs, and laws. Merchants in Missouri and New Mexico forged connections to New York, London, and Paris. Traders skillfully navigated social and legal systems to facilitate business. Partnerships, such as Goldstein, Bean, Peacock, and Armijo, were formed and dissolved. Dave Waldo converted to Catholicism and became a Mexican citizen. Dr. Eugene Leitensdorfer of Missouri married Soledad Abreu, daughter of a former New Mexico governor. Trader Manual Alvarez claimed citizenship in Spain, the United States, and Mexico.

Following the Mexican-American War, trade along the trail and military freighting experienced a boom. Firms and individuals like Russell, Majors, and Waddell; Otero and Sellar; and Vincente Romero obtained and subcontracted lucrative government contracts. Others operated mail and stagecoach services.

Trade created a multitude of other opportunities. Manuel Harmony shipped English goods from New York to Independence for freighting over the Santa Fe Trail. New Mexican saloon owner Dona Gertrudis "La Tules" Barcelo invested in the trade, while trader Charles Ilfeld ran mercantile stores. Wyandotte Chief William Walter leased a warehouse in Independence, and his tribe invested in the trade. Hiram Young, having purchased his freedom from slavery, became a wealthy maker of trade wagons and one of the largest employers in Independence. Blacksmiths, hotel owners, arrieros (muleteers), lawyers, and others found their niche along the trail. Trade flourished, growing from a total value of $15,000 in 1822 to $3.5 million by 1860, equivalent to over $53 million today.

For nearly 60 years, the route played a crucial role in transporting people, goods, and ideas to and from Santa Fe. The Santa Fe Trail was a dynamic entity, with its route across the plains and its eastern terminus constantly shifting. This was particularly evident during the final 15 years of the trail’s history, as the westward expansion of the railroads gradually shortened the distance between Santa Fe and the ever-shifting "hell on wheels" railroad towns.

Santa Fe Trail Timeline

1821

Mexico gained its independence from Spain in 1821. Shortly thereafter, freighter and trader William Becknell blazed the Santa Fe Trail. Accompanied by four trusted companions and mules laden with $300 worth of trade goods, he departed from Franklin, Missouri, on September 1, 1821. His route took him past the western boundary of Missouri and into the unorganized Indian Territory, which later became the State of Kansas 40 years later.

His mule train passed through Morris County at what became known as Council Grove and then traversed the open prairies to the Great Bend of the Arkansas River. They followed the river into Colorado, crossing it near present-day La Junta, and entered Mexican territory. Following a well-worn trail, the men and mules struggled over Raton Pass, encountering a group of soldiers who escorted them into Santa Fe. This route over the Raton Mountains in present-day New Mexico formed the basis of what became known as the Mountain Route. They had traveled 934 miles.

Arriving in mid-November, Becknell’s party spent the following month trading. On December 13, they departed Santa Fe with their saddlebags overflowing with silver, having converted their initial $300 investment into approximately $6,000 in coin.

1822 – 1828

Upon returning home, William Becknell avoided the Raton Mountains and chose a shorter, more direct route, which soon became known as the Cimarron Route. Most subsequent travelers followed in Becknell’s footsteps. While some westbound parties started from Lexington, Missouri, most departed from Franklin, Missouri. Independence, Missouri, founded in March 1827, also played a role as a trail town during this period. Becknell and his men arrived back in Franklin on January 22, 1822, after traveling approximately 890 miles along the Cimarron Route.

Almost immediately, Becknell began planning his second journey to Santa Fe. This time, he opted to haul trade goods by wagon instead of pack mules, slightly altering his original route to accommodate them. The wagon train, consisting of three wagons of merchandise and 21 men, left Franklin, Missouri, in May 1822, taking the Cimarron Route. The party proceeded to a point probably in present-day Rice County, Kansas, where they forded the Arkansas River. From there, they struck a southwest course for Mexican territory, soon encountering a semi-arid region known by the Mexicans as Jornada Del Muerto, the journey of death.

After enduring considerable hardship, including near-fatal thirst, Becknell and his men arrived in Santa Fe 48 days after their departure. This second trip proved even more profitable than the first. Taking an estimated $3,000 in goods to Santa Fe, Becknell’s party returned with a profit of around $91,000. Becknell made a third profitable trip to Santa Fe in 1824.

Word of the potential profits spread quickly, and by the time Becknell made his second journey, he already faced competition from other Santa Fe Traders. Within the next two years, trade from Missouri along the Santa Fe Trail was in full swing.

New Mexican officials encouraged American merchants to trade with Mexico, and in 1824, merchants from Chihuahua and New Mexico traveled from Santa Fe to Missouri. Mexican merchants were also sent to Washington, D.C., to negotiate commercial agreements.

Soon, a steady stream of American and European manufactured goods made its way to New Mexico. However, due to New Mexico’s small population, many traders continued to Chihuahua to sell their wares, where they encountered resistance from Mexican merchants.

In March 1825, President John Quincy Adams appointed three commissioners to mark a road to Santa Fe and negotiate a treaty with the Osage Indians for a right of way. These commissioners were Benjamin Reeves of Missouri, Thomas Mathers of Illinois, and Major George C. Sibley. In April 1825, the expedition set out from Fort Osage, Missouri. On a tributary of the Neosho River, the commissioners met with the leaders of the Kanza and Osage tribes, negotiating agreements for safe passage. Sibley noted the occasion by naming a nearby copse of oak trees "Council Grove."

The party then continued to the Arkansas River and followed it to the 100th Meridian, the contemporary border with New Mexico. As part of the survey, the group erected mounts to guide travelers from Fort Osage to this point. They waited here for approval to enter Mexico, which they received in late September. Then, Sibley pushed on toward Santa Fe, and the other commissioners returned to Missouri.

The reduced party followed the north bank of the Arkansas River for about 40 miles, crossing at a ford. After following the river a few more miles, Sibley led them south toward the Cimarron River. Their path roughly traced what would later become known as the Cimarron Cutoff, bisecting the corner of the present Oklahoma Panhandle. After suffering from a lack of water in what became known as the "Cimarron Desert," the party reached Taos, New Mexico.

The local government treated the group warmly and eventually granted permission to survey the route in New Mexico. However, the other commissioners never arrived, and in August 1826, the group returned to Missouri. After several delays, the commissioners submitted their report in October 1827. The constant traffic to Santa Fe had, by 1827, left a clear path for others to follow, so the survey had little impact.

The town of Independence, Missouri, was founded in 1827 and, by 1832, became the eastern terminus and outfitting point for the Santa Fe Trail.

In addition to competition and the lack of water in the "Cimarron Desert," Santa Fe Traders faced another challenge: an increase in Indian attacks.

1829 – 1830

Extensive Missouri River flooding in 1826 and 1828 destroyed Franklin as the primary Santa Fe Trail jumping-off spot. Steamship traffic encouraged upriver development, and during this transition period, westbound trading caravans began leaving from various locations, including New Franklin, Fayette, Lexington, and Independence, Missouri.

In 1829, military escorts began traveling with the traders due to the increase in Indian attacks. The first escort was under the command of Major Bennett Riley, who escorted a Santa Fe Trail wagon train to the Mexican border.

1831 – 1845

By 1831, Independence, Missouri, had grown into a substantial town and captured most of the Santa Fe Trail traffic. The United States Dragoons cavalry unit was organized to fight Indians in the West, and the Santa Fe Trail became one of their most important routes. Bent’s Fort was established on the upper Arkansas River in Colorado.

After 1839 and until the railroad came in 1880, Mexican entrepreneurs from Santa Fe and Chihuahua actively participated in the trade with the United States. They drove their wagon trains over the Trail to Missouri and returned with manufactured goods from the eastern United States and Europe.

In the early 1840s, organized bands of guerrillas began to prey on trading parties along the Santa Fe Trail. The unsettled conditions along the trail made a military escort necessary.

In 1844, trader, explorer, and naturalist Josiah Gregg chronicled his trips over the Santa Fe Trail in his popular book Commerce of the Prairies.

In 1845, Colonel Stephen Kearny left the Santa Fe Trail east of Willow Springs and blazed a route northeastward to Fort Leavenworth.

1846 – 1847

In May 1846, the U.S. Congress declared war against Mexico. A month later, General Stephen W. Kearny’s Army of the West left Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, and by the end of August, his forces had gained control of New Mexico. Indian raids made the Cimarron Route increasingly dangerous, so most trail traffic was diverted to the Mountain Route. That same year, Susan Shelby Magoffin became the first American woman to travel the Santa Fe Trail. Beginning in 1847, antagonism against the Americans by the Indians and Mexicans made travel on the Cimarron Cutoff of the Santa Fe Trail extremely hazardous.

1848 – 1860

The Mexican-American War ended in 1848. With the signing of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, New Mexico, and the surrounding territory became part of the U.S. Southwest. Military traffic joined commercial traffic along the Santa Fe Trail. The Town of Kansas (later Kansas City) had supplanted Independence as the predominant eastern trailhead. On June 19, 1848, Jicarilla Apache Indians attacked Elliott Lee, Indian George, and two children in Manco Burro Pass, New Mexico, and several of the party were killed or wounded. The California Gold Rush dramatically increased traffic on the Santa Fe Trail in 1849. At the same time, new branch trails were established.

On October 28, 1849, the White Massacre occurred in northeastern New Mexico along the Santa Fe Trail. In May 1850, an express stage carrying mail from Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, to Santa Fe was attacked by Jicarilla Apache and Mohuache Ute Indians near Santa Clara Spring, New Mexico. The gold rush brought Asiatic cholera to the Great Plains, and by 1850, it was epidemic.

That same year, an alternative to a portion of the Cimarron branch of the trail was discovered, which avoided the dry Jornada Del Muerto (Cimarron Desert).

In 1858, the Colorado Gold Rush began, bringing more travelers along the Santa Fe Trail along the Mountain Branch.

1861 – 1864

With the coming of the Civil War, the activities of border ruffians east of Council Grove made the trail in eastern Kansas unsafe to travel, so most westbound traffic commenced from Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. The Battle of Glorieta Pass took place in Northeast New Mexico in 1862, holding the southwest for the Union.

1865 – 1866

After the Civil War, traffic over the trail returned to its prewar pattern. The trail began or ended in Kansas City, and most traffic used the Cimarron Route. In 1865 Richens Lacy "Uncle Dick" Wootton built a 27-mile toll road over Raton Pass.

1866 – 1867

The Union Pacific Railroad reached Junction City and Fort Riley in June 1866. The caravans moved west to Fort Ellsworth, then southwest on a connecting road to Fort Zarah, where they resumed the main trail. Between 1866 and 1867, a cholera epidemic decimated many U.S. cities. In 1866, Barlow & Sanderson’s Southern Overland Mail & Express Co. received the mail contract and started running stage service between Kansas City and Santa Fe weekly.

1867

The Union Pacific Railroad reached Fort Harker, Kansas, in June 1867. Most Santa Fe-bound travelers began their trail trips at this point.

1867 – 1868

The Union Pacific Railroad reached Hays City in October 1867, after which wagons and stagecoaches used this point to begin their westward trips.

1868 – 1870

The Union Pacific Railroad tracks reached the town of Sheridan, Kansas, in June 1868, and then westbound freight headed southwest over a wagon road to Fort Lyon, Colorado, on the main trail.

1870 – 1873

The Kansas Pacific reached Kit Carson, Colorado, in March 1870.

1873

The Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railroad began to compete for Santa Fe Trail traffic in July 1873 when it reached Granada in eastern Colorado.

1873 – 1875

To stay competitive with the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railroad, the Kansas Pacific Railroad completed a 58-mile spur line in October 1873 from Kit Carson to Las Animas, Colorado.

1875

In September 1875, Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railroad tracks reached Las Animas, Colorado.

1875 – 1876

Kansas Pacific track crews, building westward from Las Animas, reached the boomtown of La Junta in mid-December 1875.

1876 – 1878

Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railroad tracks reached Pueblo in March 1876.

1878 – 1879

Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railroad tracks reached Trinidad in September 1878.

1879

Santa Fe tracks reached the top of Raton Pass and entered New Mexico on November 30, 1878. On July 7, 1879, a tunnel was completed under the pass.

1879 – 1880

Santa Fe railroad tracks reached Las Vegas, New Mexico, on July 1, 1879.

1880

The first Santa Fe railroad train entered Santa Fe, New Mexico, on February 9, 1880. The entire Mountain Route of the Santa Fe Trail, from Kansas City to Lamy and Santa Fe, could now be traversed by rail. After this date, the Santa Fe Trail either served local needs or fell into disuse.

In 1906, the Daughters of the American Revolution began erecting Trail markers. In 1985, the Santa Fe Trail Association was formed to help preserve and promote awareness and appreciation of the trail. Two years later, in 1987, Congress designated the Santa Fe National Historic Trail under the National Trails System Act.