Santa Fe Trail - New Franklin, MO - Wagon Roads and Trails on Waymarking.com

County of marker: Howard County
Location of marker: foot of S. Howard St., just S. of S. Missouri St., New Franklin
Marker erected: 2010
Marker erected by: Missouri Department of Natural Resources

Marker Text:

Santa Fe Trail Father of the Santa Fe Trail
William Bucknell led a small group out of Franklin in 1821 on the first trip on what would be know as the Santa Fe Trail. If his trip across the Great Plains was successful, the group would make money trading manufactured goods for silver and furs. This four-month-long trip netted a profit of 1,500 percent. The next year, Bucknell blazed the 800-mile wagon trail to Mexico. His success in opening trade with Santa Fe allowed him to get out of debt and earned him the title "Father of the Santa Fe Trail."

Missouri Mules
Sturdy Mexican mules came to Missouri in 1823 when Stephen Cooper returned with about 400 mules, jacks (male donkeys) and jennets (female donkeys). Boone's lick farmers bred Mexican jacks to American mares and produced powerful "Missouri Mules." By the 1880s, Missouri produced more than 34,000 mules a year - more than any other state.

East Moves West
The trail became so economically important by 1825 that the U.S. Government surveyed the route and made treaties with Indian nations to guarantee safe passage. In 1826, a young man with untested talents also set out on the trail - Christopher Carson.

Carson, about 16-years old, ran away from David Workman of Franklin where he was apprenticed to learn the saddler's trade. "Kit" Carson became famous as a mountain man and a pathfinder. In 1827, the new town of Independence began to replace Franklin as the starting point for Santa Fe traders, it was 100 miles closer.

War and Cultural Differences
Controversy associated with the trail and a disputed Texas boundary led to war with Mexico in 1846. Men from the Boone's Lick area eagerly volunteered to fight. For Missourians and others victory was important for territorial expansion and trade with Mexico. With the loss of the war, Mexico was forced to give up its northern territories, leading to the creation of California, New Mexico and Arizona and parts of Nevada, Utah and Colorado. As settlers pushed west, small-time traders were preplaced with mercantile companies and freight-hauling contractors. The Trail from Missouri to Santa Fe continued as an artery of commerce until 1880 when the first railroad reached the area.

Road of Trail Name: Santa Fe Trail State: Missouri County: Howard County Historical Significance: "The Santa Fe Trail was a 19th-century route through central North America that connected Franklin, Missouri with Santa Fe, New Mexico. Pioneered in 1821 by William Becknell, who departed from the Boonslick region along the Missouri River, the trail served as a vital commercial highway until 1880, when the railroad arrived in Santa Fe. Santa Fe was near the end of El Camino Real de Tierra Adentro, which carried trade from Mexico City. "The route skirted the northern edge and crossed the north-western corner of Comancheria, the territory of the Comanche. Realizing the value, they demanded compensation for granting passage to the trail. American traders envisioned them as another market. Comanche raiding farther south in Mexico isolated New Mexico, making it more dependent on the American trade. They raided to gain a steady supply of horses to sell. By the 1840s, trail traffic through the Arkansas Valley was so numerous that bison herds were cut off from important seasonal grazing land. This habitat disruption, on top of overhunting, contributed to the collapse of the species. Comanche power declined in the region when they lost their most important game. "The American army used the trail route in 1846 to invade New Mexico during the Mexican–American War. "After the U.S. acquisition of the Southwest that ended the war, the trail was integral to the U.S. opening the region to economic development and settlement. It played a vital role in the westward expansion of the US into these new lands. The road route is commemorated today by the National Park Service as the Santa Fe National Historic Trail. A highway route that roughly follows the trail's path, through the entire length of Kansas, the southeast corner of Colorado and northern New Mexico, has been designated as the Santa Fe Trail National Scenic Byway." ~ Wikipedia Years in use: 1826-1880 How you discovered it: I was at the Katy Trail Trailhead looking for waymarks. There are always waymarks at all Katy Trail Trailheads Book on Wagon Road or Trial: The Santa Fe Trail: Its History, Legends, and Lore by David Dary University Press of Kansas; Reprint edition (August 23, 2012) Paperback ‏ : ‎ 382 pages ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0700618708 ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0700618705 Website Explination: https://www.nps.gov/safe/index.htm Why?: Transported manufactured goods to trade for furs and silver. Directions: Go north from Boonville on State Highway 5 to the southern limits of New Franklin, turn right through the MFA grain elevator parking lot and behind the elevator is the Katy Trail Trailhead, and rest rooms and markers.

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