The Santa Fe Trail in Missouri

Missouri, a state with a rich tapestry of history woven from Native American heritage, European exploration, and westward expansion, holds a significant place in the story of the Santa Fe Trail. Unlike the other states the trail traversed, Missouri was already a recognized state when the Santa Fe Trail officially opened in 1821, having achieved statehood that same year. This crucial trade route became a vital artery for the burgeoning state’s economy, fostering new settlements and enriching existing ones like St. Louis. The trail, a conduit of commerce and cultural exchange, played a pivotal role in shaping Missouri’s early development.

The Santa Fe Trail’s path through Missouri generally hugged the course of the Missouri River, stretching approximately 130 miles from Franklin, located in the state’s central region, to the western border. A secondary route, the Osage Trace, provided an alternative pathway between Arrow Rock Ferry and Fort Osage. Further connecting the Santa Fe Trail to the eastern United States was Boone’s Lick Trail, which linked St. Louis to the Franklin area. These intricate networks of trails and rivers facilitated the movement of goods and people, integrating Missouri into a broader economic landscape.

Before European settlers arrived, the land that is now Missouri was home to several Native American tribes. The Missouria tribe predominantly occupied the territory north of the Missouri River, while the Osage tribe claimed the lands to the south. Other tribes, including the Ioway, Sac and Fox, and Otoe, also held territories within the state’s boundaries. The Kanza tribe’s land even extended across the Missouri River into western Missouri, near the confluence of the Kansas and Missouri Rivers.

The history of Missouri also reflects the influence of European powers. Both France and Spain, at different times, laid claim to the land. Spanish claims originated from Hernando de Soto’s explorations of the Mississippi River Valley in 1542. France, in 1682, claimed the entire Mississippi River Basin for King Louis XIV, a claim based on the explorations of Jacques Marquette and Louis Joliet in 1673. French Canadian woodsmen and voyageurs traversed the wilderness trails and rivers throughout the 17th and 18th centuries, engaging in trade with the native inhabitants and trapping fur-bearing animals.

In 1803, the United States acquired Missouri as part of the Louisiana Purchase. This vast territory was initially divided into the Territory of Orleans (later the state of Louisiana) and the District of Louisiana, which was placed under the administration of the Territory of Indiana. In 1805, Congress renamed the District of Louisiana the Territory of Louisiana.

St. Louis, already a prominent trading hub, became the governmental seat for the newly formed territory in 1805. The city’s significance as a fur trading outpost only grew after its incorporation into the United States. Following 1804, the fur trade expanded under U.S. control, and settlements began to emerge along the Mississippi and Missouri Rivers. In 1804, Meriwether Lewis and William Clark embarked on their historic expedition from St. Louis, charting a course up the Missouri River towards the Pacific Ocean, returning to St. Louis in 1806.

Fort Osage, established in 1808, served as a crucial trading post with the Osage Indians. In a controversial agreement that same year, the Osage ceded a vast expanse of their land in Missouri and Arkansas – approximately 30 million acres – in exchange for a mere $1200 worth of gifts, an annual annuity of $500, and the services of a blacksmith and grist mill at the fort. Fort Osage was one of 28 government-run Indian "factories" operating between 1796 and 1822, designed to regulate trade with Native American tribes. Under the direction of William Clark, the U.S. Infantry and Territorial Militia strategically built the post on the Missouri River. Fort Osage quickly became a significant hub for the fur trade, collecting furs and pelts for shipment downriver to St. Louis. Before ceasing operations as an active post and military storage facility in 1827, it also served as a meeting point for trappers, mountain men, explorers, and, later, traders involved in the early Santa Fe trade. It was also the point of origin for the 1825 Sibley Survey of the Santa Fe Trail.

In 1812, the Territory of Louisiana was renamed the Territory of Missouri to avoid confusion with the newly established state of Louisiana. The Missouri Territory Act divided the territory into five counties, and President James Madison appointed Benjamin Howard as the first governor. William Clark succeeded Howard in 1813 and served until Missouri achieved statehood in 1821.

The War of 1812 cast a shadow over the region, with hostilities fueled by British traders allegedly supplying weapons to Native American tribes. Fearful of Indian attacks, many settlers in central Missouri retreated eastward. Missourians constructed a series of stockade posts along the Mississippi River frontier in anticipation of conflict. The war officially ended with the signing of the Treaty of Ghent in 1814, but peace with the Indian nations was not immediately achieved, and hostilities continued. Immigration to Missouri did not resume until 1816, after peace treaties were signed with several tribes.

The 1820s marked a period of significant development for Missouri. The establishment of a stagecoach line connecting St. Louis to Franklin in Howard County boosted the population in central Missouri. The U.S. Congress finalized the first Missouri Compromise, stipulating that the admission of a new pro-slavery state required the simultaneous admission of a free state to maintain the balance of power. Maine was admitted as the 23rd state, followed by pro-slavery Missouri as the 24th. President Monroe officially admitted Missouri into the Union on August 10, 1821. The same year, François and Bérénice Chouteau established a trading post near the confluence of the Kansas River and the Missouri River. In 1825, the Osage Indians ceded their remaining lands in western Missouri, paving the way for increased settlement.

The year Missouri gained statehood also saw Mexico achieve independence from Spain, ushering in a new era of legal trade between the United States and Mexico. Captain William Becknell’s initial trading expedition proved to be a financial boon for central Missouri, which was still reeling from the Panic of 1819. This economic downturn was largely attributed to a scarcity of money. With a rudimentary banking system, paper money was considered worthless in Missouri, and only gold and silver coins were accepted. The influx of Mexican coins revitalized Missouri’s economy, providing farmers and merchants with a new market for their goods.

The gold and silver coins brought back from Mexico by Becknell’s expedition fueled further trade along the existing Boone’s Lick Trail and the Osage Trace. Travelers and traders followed Boone’s Lick Trail from the Mississippi River near St. Louis overland to Franklin. From Franklin, a ferry at Arrow Rock provided passage across the Missouri River. From Arrow Rock, the Osage Trace offered an overland route to Fort Osage, roughly 100 miles to the west. This trace, established shortly after Fort Osage’s founding in 1808, ran along the south side of the Missouri River. From Fort Osage, the Santa Fe Trail led travelers to Santa Fe and Chihuahua, Mexico. Franklin, with its strategic access to St. Louis and Fort Osage, became a vital regional trading center. Becknell’s 1821 expedition departed from the Franklin area, and the subsequent increase in ferry traffic facilitated the movement of traders traveling to and from Santa Fe.

The introduction of steamboats on the Missouri River in the decade leading up to 1821 transformed transportation. Ferries were initially the primary vessels, but steamboats soon followed. The first steamboat, the Zebulon M. Pike, arrived in St. Louis in 1817, while the Independence reached Franklin nearly two years later.

As steamboats became the preferred mode of transport in the late 1820s, the eastern terminus of the Santa Fe Trail shifted westward. The Santa Fe Trail’s eastern termini benefited from central Missouri towns located along the Missouri River, which was navigable between March and November. Goods could be transported from St. Louis by riverboat at a lower cost than overland routes. The Arrow Rock ferry saw heavy usage by traders heading to Santa Fe and Mexican merchants traveling to Franklin. Until 1827, some travelers may have utilized the landing at Fort Osage.

The establishment of Fort Leavenworth in Kansas in 1827 provided a new steamboat landing for military freight. By 1830, several new river towns with steamboat landings had emerged along the Missouri River between Arrow Rock and Fort Leavenworth, including Arrow Rock, Glasgow, Chariton, Brunswick, Lexington, Liberty, and Independence. These various trailhead towns and St. Louis experienced rapid growth due to their role in serving the needs of traders and travelers on the Santa Fe, Oregon, and California Trails.

Steamboat landings near the Missouri River’s big bend in Jackson County offered the most significant advantages to traders. By utilizing river transport, traders could avoid approximately 100 miles of difficult overland travel. Independence, platted in 1827, became the principal eastern trailhead and outfitting point for the Santa Fe trade for two decades. Westport Landing, established in 1832, was located on the Missouri River near the confluence of the Kansas River.

In 1833, John Calvin McCoy established a store focused on trading with Indians west of Missouri, in what would become Kansas Territory. McCoy platted the Town of Westport in 1835 and improved the trail leading from Westport Landing to Westport. By the mid-1840s, trail traffic using Westport as an outfitting point had rivaled and possibly surpassed that of Independence. This growth was partly due to Mexican traders who stopped in Westport while awaiting the arrival of goods from the eastern United States. In 1846, McCoy created the first plat map of the Town of Kansas, which became an official municipality in 1850. Kansas City’s location on the Missouri River gave it an advantage over inland trailheads, solidifying its role as a substantial terminus for the Santa Fe Trail.

The establishment of new Missouri River landings and trailhead towns in the Kansas City area led to the development of three main alternate routes along the Santa Fe Trail. These routes depended on the river landing and trailhead used and the location of the Big Blue River crossing.

Before the three main routes became established, two earlier routes existed in the 1820s. One route originated from Fort Osage, heading southwest and crossing the Big Blue River at the lower crossing. The other route left from Blue Spring, south of Fort Osage, and crossed the Big Blue River at the upper crossing.

The three primary routes through Kansas City were the Blue Spring Route, the Independence Route, and the Westport Route. The Blue Spring Route, the easternmost of the three, left the Missouri River at Fort Osage and crossed the Big Blue River at the upper crossing. The Independence Route, which carried the most traffic, typically left the Missouri River at Independence Landing and passed through Independence Square. The Westport Route, located furthest west, avoided the Big Blue River by leaving the river west of the Big Blue River’s mouth.

Kansas City remained the major eastern terminus for the Santa Fe Trail until the railroad reached western Missouri in the late 1850s. The Union Pacific Railroad arrived in St. Louis in 1851, and the Hannibal & St. Joseph Railroad reached St. Joseph in 1859. After the Civil War, railroad construction boomed in Missouri, with the Pacific Railroad reaching Kansas City in 1865. As the railroad extended westward, the trail’s eastern terminus shifted into Kansas and Colorado, diminishing Missouri’s role in the Santa Fe trade. However, portions of the trail were converted into public roadways soon after leaving Missouri.

Several modern roadbeds overlay portions of the Santa Fe Trail system in the Kansas City area.

In conclusion, Missouri’s history is intrinsically linked to the Santa Fe Trail. From its role as a state poised to benefit from the burgeoning trade with Mexico to its strategic location along the Missouri River, Missouri played a vital role in the trail’s story. The legacy of the Santa Fe Trail can still be felt today in the historic towns, museums, and preserved segments of the trail that dot the Missouri landscape.