The number of pioneers that died on the Oregon Trail? Since the "Oregon Trail… Kansas Historical Society. According to the Oregon-California Trails Association, the hardships of traveling the Oregon Trail claimed the lives of nearly a tenth of the people who set foot on it. By some estimates, as many as 10 percent of travelers died en route, usually from disease or accidents. Asian cholera, of epidemic proportions in the United States in the mid-1860s, followed the emigrants along the Trail. Why did people decide to go on the Oregon Trail? Traffic soon skyrocketed, and by the late-1840s and early 1850s, upwards of 50,000 people were using the trail each year. According to the Oregon-California Trails Association in Independence, Mo., as many as 65,000 people died during the 25-year span of the trail. It is estimated that up to 30,000 of these westward emigrants died while making the journey. The Trail went from Independence, Missouri to the Columbia River and the Oregon territory. Other diseases included scurvy, smallpox, and tick-borne fever. Little by little the thousands of wheels wore down the rock, carving ruts as deep as five feet. 32 terms. There were also an alarming number of accidents, including gunshot wounds, burns, and broken bones. 100 terms . This is about one grave for every 200 yards of trail (the length of two football fields). The real Oregon Trail was filled with about as many accidents and illnesses, and the National Oregon/California Trail Center says more than 300,000 Americans … The Oregon Trail went from western Missouri across the Great Plains into the Rocky Mountains to Oregon City, Oregon. Over a 25 year span, up to 65,000 deaths occurred along the western overland emigrant trails. George Bush, for example, traveled in the Simmons-Gilliam wagon train in 1844 as a free man, hiding some $2,000 in silver coins, which he loaned to cash-strapped travelers. Of the estimated 350,000 who started the journey, the trail claimed as many as 30,000 victims or an average of 10-15 deaths per mile. 9. Like statistics on the total number of emigrants who traveled the Oregon Trail, estimates of how many people died en route have varied considerably. 12 terms. Most of those who died were either children or elderly people. Oregon Trail - Oregon Trail - The journey: Estimates of how many emigrants made the trek westward on the Oregon Trail vary. About 20,000 people died on the California Trail between 1841 and 1859 — an average of ten graves for every mile. Disease was the number one killer. https://www.history.com/topics/westward-expansion/oregon-trail The biggest causes of death were accidents and disease. Clark argues that to keep Oregon open, tests should eventually increase to 65,000 a day in conjunction with more contact tracing. Disease, gun shots, accidents, drowning, and weather. New Jersey mega mall reopens, water park and all Considering the number of deaths on the trail, an even spacing would create a grave every 50 yards, stretching from the Missouri River to Oregon City. This trail started out for fur traders but as time pasted it became a main route for travelers. The conservative estimates are that around 5% of migrants died on the trail. It was just wheel tracks from the travelers before them. While the Oregon Trail led people to Oregon, parts of the trail were also used by people traveling to other locales out west. The Oregon Trail was 2000- miles long, it took the settlers 6 months to complete it. Disease[89] 6,000–12,500 . A different, and perhaps more historically accurate, ending of the Oregon Trail. If you're of a certain age, you remember spending hours naming your Oregon Trail family after your own family or friends, guiding their MS-DOS-based adventures, and laughing when brother Stinky Johnny died of dysentery. You can still view some of the wheel ruts from the thousands of wagons that travelled down the trail if you travel around the Oregon trail and where its branches were. What were some of the challenges of the trail? The Oregon Trail's nominal termination point was Oregon City, at the time the proposed capital of the Oregon Territory. Southwest Region Vocabulary. 3. It was most heavily used in the 1840s, 1850s, and 1860s. The two primary causes of death were accidents and disease, and there were many of the latter to worry about. Even still, there were many people who made it safely How many people died while traveling the Oregon Trail? The Oregon Trail is this nation's longest graveyard. Freezing 300–500 . At the Deep Rut Hill, pioneers were traversing across soft sandstone. SC History 8-1. Over the past week, there has been an average of … one for each ten that traveled. ebarning24. He has thru-hiked (Pacific Crest Trail in 2006; Colorado Trail in 2008; Continental Divide Trail in 2010) and is an obsessed weekend warrior. The biggest deaths from accident on the trail were due to shootings, drownings, wagon mishaps, and injuries from handling the cattle. Indian attack 3,000-4,500 . The greatest threats to life on the trail were accidents and disease. 10 percent. Many of the death causes were quite unusual. At a point in 1860, there were multiple graves for every mile of the trail. 10. Many other trails followed the Oregon Trail for much of its length, including the Mormon Trail from Illinois to Utah; the California Trail to the gold fields of California; and the Bozeman Trail to Montana. Some of the settlers that … and causes of death. A cholera epidemic swept through the trains in 1850, and hundreds died. Another death cause was from dynamite. Many people on the oregon trail either died of starvation and/or dehydration or became very ill. The length of the wagon trail from the Missouri River to Willamette Valley was about 2,000 miles (3,200 km). SFGate / MECC / Oregon Trail Show More Show Less 2 of 19. Some of those who wrote about the Oregon Trail and its ancillary branches declared it the longest cemetery in the world. As the Trail Information Manager, Jack works to connect people to the PCT. Disease was the main killer. Low-end figures on mortality tend to be around 4 to 6 percent of the total (i.e., some 12,000 to 24,000 deaths), and estimates range up to 10 percent. Commerce with pioneers going further west helped establish these early settlements and launched local economies critical to their prosperity. Numerous people died on the Oregon Trail, due to causes such as accidents, diseases and even drownings. How many people traveled on the Oregon Trail between 1840-1860? White travelers, but many were free people Independence, Mo., as many 65,000. 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