The Santa Fe Trail - near Tabo Creek, MO - Wagon Roads and Trails on Waymarking.com

County of marker: Lafayette County
Location of marker: old US 24 & US 24, E. of Tabo Creek, 2½ miles W. of Dover
Marker erected by: The Missouri River Outfitters Chapter of the Santa Fe Trail Association

Marker Text:

Camino de Santa Fe
THE SANTA FE TRAIL
1821-1880
"A Highway Between Nations"
Sen. Thomas Hart Benton, 1825

Tabo Creek

A ferry built by Adam Lightner in 1821 may have carried William Bucknell's first trade expedition to Santa Fe in that year.

---

"Tabo Creek Crossing
The Tabo Creek crossing is south of the Missouri River, 8 miles east of Lexington, Missouri, and within sight of US Highway 24. As a major tributary on the south bank of the Missouri River, Tabo Creek presented an obstacle to travelers on both the Osage Trace and Santa Fe Trail routes. In 1821 a license was issued to operate a ferry across the creek. A DAR marker, now in Lexington, formerly stood on the creek bank here." ~ Main Branch of the Santa Fe Trail: Franklin, Missouri to the Kansas State Line

"In September 1821 William Becknell of Franklin probably followed the Osage Trace west from Arrow Rock through Grand Pass to Mount Vernon on Tabo Creek. Mount Vernon, which no longer exists, was the county seat of Lillard (later Lafayette) County, which included all of western Missouri at that time. In April 1821 the county court licensed Adam Lightner to operate a ferry across Tabo and appointed overseers to maintain the Trace from the eastern boundary of the county to Fort Osage. Becknell probably used the ferry at Tabo and then took the Trace to Fort Osage, skirting Lexington by a few miles to the south, before heading for Santa Fe.

"The Lexington settlers had successfully petitioned the county court to open a road from Jack's Ferry to Mount Vernon by July 1821. Referred to later as the "old Santa Fe Trail" or the "old Dover Road" (after an early settlement east of Mt. Vernon), this route was settled as early as 1818 by Christopher Catron, who is said to have broken the first prairie sod in the county. " ~ Lexington Missouri and The Santa Fe Trail

Road of Trail Name: The Santa Fe Trail State: Missouri County: Lafayette County Historical Significance: The “highway” concept seems strange by today’s standards considering the Trail was actually a route made up of several trails, originated by animal herds and Indians, and carved out of mostly uncharted prairies and high plains. In 1846, the Mexican-American War began, with the Army of the West following the Trail to invade Mexico. When the Treaty of Guadalupe ended the war in 1848, the Trail became a “national road” connecting the United States to the new territories. By 1880, the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railroad reached Santa Fe, to be connected with the Southern Pacific Railroad a year later. The glory years of the Santa Fe Trail were over. Years in use: 1821 - 1880 How you discovered it: Stumbled upon it. Just completed a 7 county historical marker hunt in NW MO. and was headed home by the back roads, and spotted the pink marble marker and the bright green against the grape vines as I made the turn. Book on Wagon Road or Trial: Lexington By Roger E. Slusher, Lexington Historical Association (Lexington, Mo.), Lexington Historical Association Arcadia Publishing Amazon.com Barnes&Noble.com - $11.90 and up Books-A-Million IndieBound Missouri: A Guide to the Show Me State By Best Books on, Federal Writers' Project Website Explination: http://www.nps.gov/beol/learn/education/upload/Activguide-final2.pdf Why?: From 1821 to 1880, the Santa Fe Trail was “America’s Highway” to the Southwest. By the time it was replaced by the railroads, the Trail served as a link with Mexico and New Mexico Territory, and hastened the settlement of the American West. In September 1821, Becknell organized a trading party for Santa Fe, and left Franklin with an ox-drawn caravan and 21 men, following parts of the Osage Trace. By mid-November, Becknell and his party arrived in Santa Fe, where they sold their goods at a huge profit. Directions: From Lexington go east on US 24 for about 9 miles, from Dover go west 2and a half miles.

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:

There are no logs for this waymark yet.