U.S. HISTORY - WESTERN EXPANSION

Units in the school curriculum which require use of the Internet for research

Oregon Trail

Students are to locate and/or search for information and primary sources for details about the Oregon Trail and traveling across the prairie

In Search of the Oregon Trail
Myths and facts about the trail
Oregon National State Trail
Site is put up by the National Park Service, under some changes
Oregon Trail Junction
Place for maps and history also to order books and souvenirs.
Oregon Trail Page
A class set out to discover as much as they could about the Trail and these are their findings; includes info about the time they spent on the trail
The Overland Trail Links--Oregon Trail-Last updated 11/12/98
Great site for all areas of research...primary sources, maps, history and facts, etc.
The Overland Trail Links--Literature of the The Old West-Last updated 06/20/98
Links to writers of the time period of the western expansion, viewpoint of the people from the times
Welcome to the End of the Oregon Trail
Part of the living history museum to help educate people and students about the Trail
Whitman Mission National Historic Site Bookstore
Contains some links to history and also a place for lists of books and materials about the Trail which may be purchased

Trail History/General Information

American West - The Oregon Trail
It all began with a crude network of rutted traces across the land from the Mississippi River that was used by nearly 400,000 people. Today the 2,170 mile Oregon Trail still evokes an instant image
History of the Oregon TrailIndependence, Missouri. Our destination was the
Oregon Territory. On the 21st of May...we arrived in the town of Independence, Missouri. Our destination was the Oregon Territory.
Oregon Trail Information Center
This page is provided through the support of the Global SchoolNet Foundation. This page is designed to assist K12 students and teachers locate and share information about the Oregon Trail.
Oregon Trail History
It was primarily an emigrant trail. However, the Oregon Trail was also used by the Army, and stagecoaches and the Pony Express Route followed part of the trail. A time line of the developments of the overland trails
The Oregon Trail Home page
Welcome to "The Oregon Trail" web site--a complete summary and collection of the great western journey.Ê
The Overland Trail--Last Updated 11/11/98
A page of many links for maps, sites, etc

Trail Primary Sources

Diaries >From the Oregon Trail
Information from the book "Women's Diaries of the Westward Jorney" Author Lillian Schlissel Publisher Schocken
The Donner Party
In honor of the 150th anniversary of the Donner Party, I created a daily log of the Donner Party's journey. ÊThe daily logs include diary entries for each day, and quotes from original sources and histories.
Francis Parkman, The Oregon Trail
Sketches or writings of mountain and prairie life..."jumping off" the "big blue" with a link to illustrations
Historical Gazette: Oregon Trail 1843
When in 1843 the frontier fever assumed an epidemic form on a small scale in Missouri, my parents determined to cross the desert plains to the far distant territory of Oregon.
Links--The Overland Trail Diaries-Last updated 11/12/98
Diaries, Memoirs and Letters Along The Trails West with links to the sources. Must search by date and place (if it was part of the Trail)
Oregon Trail Diaries
Three types of Oregon Trail narratives exist: diaries, journals, and reminiscences. Diaries and journals were actually written by emigrants as they trekked the 2000 miles west; reminiscences were written much later in life.
Pioneer Diaries and Emigrant Biographies
Future updates to this section of our online library will include additional Pioneer Families of the Month
Vitus's Homepage
The story of Lucinda Jane Saunders is a unique combination of diary excerpts, historical novels and handed down tales, with many of the latterundoubtedly embellished over the years of telling. Note: a personal not edu. site

Trail Sites/Geography

American West - Expansion
Includes maps of Lewis & Clark Expedition 1804, Santa Fe Trail 1821, Oregon Trail 1835 and Pony Express Route 1860. Has link to brief history of Trails
Bridgeport, Nebraska Chamber of Commerce-Geographic Landmarks Page
Courthouse and Jail Rocks | Chimney Rock | Ancient Bluff Ruins | Biscuit Rock are sites included from the Trail
Chimney Rock National Historic Site
Chimney Rock is the most famous landmark on the Oregon Trail
Historic Sites on the Oregon Trail
Visit each of the 22 sites from the beginning to the end of the Trail. Map shows where along the Trail the site is found.
Road Trip USA:The Oregon Trail
In 1993, the 150th anniversary of the opening of the Oregon Trail renewed interest in this best known of emigrant trails across the Wild West.
Three Island Crossing
Reenactment of the crossing with illustrations and with primary source quotes available

Reference Sites

Sites to be used for individual searches of your own! Use keywords, phrases and/or follow selected categories into the indexed sites
HuskySearch
Multi-search engine (parallel searches)
MetaCrawler
Multi search engine (parallel search engine)
LookSmart - exploring World
Index of sites on the Web, search by way of categories
Yahoo!
&127;Sites which have categorized thousands of sites into a searchable list are known as indexes.
IPL Ready Reference Collection
The IPL Ready Reference Collection is a collection of Internet resources gathered together with the needs of the Internet community in mind
WWW Virtual Library
Begin with a general choice of category and filter your way into the depths of the indexed materials.