Mitchell Pass, Scotts Bluff National Monument, Nebraska
Posted by: 
hykesj
N 41° 49.580 W 103° 42.248
13T E 607613 N 4631306
This stamp, commemorating the Nebraska Territory which existed from 1854 to 1867, shows a scene familiar to the thousands of emigrants who passed through the territory en route to California and Oregon.
Waymark Code: WMZJJW
Location: Nebraska, United States
Date Posted: 11/19/2018
Views: 6
Nebraska Territory was established in 1854 and consisted of the entire modern-day state of Nebraska, most of Wyoming, Montana and South Dakota plus portions of North Dakota and Colorado – basically, the entire northern half of the Louisiana Purchase. Portions of this vast area were subsequently carved out to form other territories before what was finally left of it became the state of Nebraska in 1867.
During its brief existence, hundreds of thousands of emigrants passed through the Nebraska Territory on the old Oregon and California trails seeking a better life in the “golden” west. The eastern part of these trails followed the Platte and North Platte Rivers through Nebraska into Wyoming from various starting points along the Missouri River.
One of the landmarks found along the trail was Scotts Bluff, a towering sandstone and siltstone formation rising 800 feet above the plain. The trail was originally located several miles south of the bluffs to avoid substantial “badlands” along the river but was later re-routed through Mitchell Pass (a gap in the bluff) eliminating about eight miles (and one full day) of travel. Mitchell Pass is bounded by Eagle Rock to the north and Sentinel Rock to the south. When travelers reached this point, they knew that approximately one-third of their journey was over.
Today, you can drive through Mitchell Pass on a paved road (appropriately named Old Oregon Trail Road). The scene on the stamp (heading west through the pass) has changed little over the years and is the same as that witnessed by all those nineteenth-century emigrants.
Stamp Issuing Country: United States
Date of Issue: 7-May-1954
Denomination: 3c
Color: violet
Stamp Type: Single Stamp
Relevant Web Site: Not listed
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