Oregon Trail Marker - west of Soda Springs, ID - Wagon Roads and Trails on Waymarking.com

This is a rather unique marker, made in the shape of the State of Idaho. It has a bronze plaque in the upper portion of the marker that states:

OREGON TRAIL MEMORIAL
ERECTED 1931
RESTORED 1978
CARIBOU COUNTY 4H BUILDERS CLUB

In the body of the marker, it states:

IN HONOR OF
WILLIAM HENRY HARRISON
OF MASSACHUSETTS
WHO LOST HIS LIFE ON THE
OREGON TRAIL ABOUT 1850
ERECTED BY HIS NIECE
MRS. ALURA F. H. BEARDSLEY
1931

Road of Trail Name: Oregon Trail State: Idaho County: Caribou Historical Significance: The Oregon Trail proceeded over 2,170 miles from Missouri to Oregon. The trail was still in use during the Civil War, but traffic declined after 1869 when the transcontinental railroad was completed. However, in its more than 25 years of regular use, the trail caried an estimated 300,000 emigrants to the vast west, a trip that took about five months to complete. Years in use: 1842 - 1890's How you discovered it: I stopped at a roadside turnout along Highway 30, west of Soda Springs, Idaho. Website Explination: http://www.legendsofamerica.com/we-oregontrail.html Why?: The Oregon Trail became one of the key migration routes that pioneers crossed on their way to the vast west. On May 16, 1842 the first organized wagon train on the Oregon Trail set out from Elm Grove, Missouri, with more than 100 pioneers. The following year, an estimated 800 immigrants arrived in the Willamette Valley. Hundreds of thousands more would follow, especially after gold was discovered in California in 1849. Directions: A little over a mile east of the intersection of Highway 34 and Highway 30, north of Grace and west of Soda Springs, on the south side of the highway, turn south at the Soda Springs Power Plant Road. On the west side of road is a Idaho Department of Transportation Maintenance Facility. South of the facility, about where the road turns east, there is an entrance to the parking area, located on the west side of the road. Book on Wagon Road or Trial: Not listed

Visit Instructions:
To post a log for this Waymark the poster must have a picture of either themselves, GPSr, or mascot. People in the picture with information about the waymark are preferred. If the waymarker can not be in the picture a picture of their GPSr or mascot will qualify. There are no exceptions to this rule.

Recent Visits/Logs:

Date Logged Log User Rating   06/21/2011 Chasing Blue Sky visited it