SANTA FE TRAIL

From the 1821 to 1880, the Santa Fe Trail was an important travel route. Along with the Oregon and Chisholm Trails, it is one of the 'big three' trails of United States history. During its sixty years, the Santa Fe Trail was mainly a commercial route. It carried goods and promoted trade between what was first the Southwestern Spanish Provinces, then became independent Mexico, and later was a U.S. territory. 
Before 1821, early American explorers and mountain men made the trip to Santa Fe, pronounced san tuh FAY, on horseback with small strings of pack horses. Their route to this Spanish Provincial capital followed a winding path of both Indian and game trails. Under Spanish rule, open trading with the United States was forbidden. However a few goods were smuggled into Santa Fe to be traded secretly. 
In 1821, Mexico gained independence from Spain and trade barriers were removed. That same year, William Becknell and four other men traveled from Franklin, Missouri for a distance of 1,203 miles to open trading between the US and Mexico in Santa Fe. In the next twenty years, about 80 wagons and 150 people traveled the trail each year. Suspicion and tension between the United States and Mexico escalated and finally erupted into the Mexican-American War in 1846. The Santa Fe Trail carried soldiers and supplies to New Mexico and beyond. The war ended in 1848 with the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo. 
Santa Fe then became part of US territory. Military forts such as Fort Union, Fort Larned and others were established along the trail to control Indian conflicts and protect travelers. In the 1850's and 1860's, traffic on the Santa Fe Trail burgeoned. The US Civil War again brought increased military operations along the trail and led to the decisive Union victory at Glorieta Pass, New Mexico. By the late 1860's, more than 5,000 wagons traveled the trail each year. Merchants pushed enormous trains of freight wagons loaded with manufactured goods westward. In Santa Fe these were traded for burros, furs, gold, horses, and silver. The 'Old Spanish Trail' was extended westward to connect Santa Fe to Los Angeles. However the completion of the railroad to Santa Fe in 1880 brought a swift abandonment. Today the Santa Fe Trail route still has some 200 miles of visible ruts and traces; witness to the long-gone traffic and commerce.