The most enjoyable way to learn about the Oregon Trail is to read the journals written by overland travelers during their journeys to Oregon. Highly recommended are the Covered Wagon Women series (Holmes) and Jesse A. Applegate's reminiscence of his boyhood journey.
Further Travels(Favorite Links)
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Applegate, Jesse A., "Recollections of My Boyhood,": (1934) 1989 in Westward Journeys by Martin Ridge, editor, RR Donelly & Sons, Chicago.
Allen,A.J., editor and compiler, Ten Years in Oregon:1850, Ithaca, NY--not to be confused with Frost and Lee's Ten Years in Oregon or White's Ten Years in Oregon.
Anderson, William Marshall, Adventures in the Rocky Mountains in 1834: [1837 by American Turf Register and Sport Magazine] 1951 reprint by Edward Eberstadt & Sons can be found in the Bancroft Library
Ball, Lucy, Kate Ball Powers, and Flora Ball Hopkins, compilers, Born to Wander: the Autobiography of John Ball, 1794-1884: [1925] Reprint 1994 by Grand Rapids Historical Commission.
Bancroft, Hubert Howe, Works of … (History of Oregon, History of the Pacific States, History of the Northwest Coast, and California Series): 1884 +, McGraw-Hill Book Company and A.L. Bancroft & Company, San Francisco. A multi-volume work renumbered for various series and editions; California, vol.1, is vol. 29 of Works of ….
Bancroft MS denotes material in the Bancroft Library's collection/archive, much of it in microform: Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720; (510) 642-6481.
Barker, Burt Brown, Letters of Dr. John McLoughlin Written at Ft. Vancouver, 1829-32: 1948, Oregon Historical Society, Portland.
Belcher, Edward, Narrative of a Voyage Around the World, 1837-1842: 1843, London.
Belden, Josiah, Josiah Belden, 1841 California Overland Pioneer: 1962, contains his memoir and a letter, Doyce B. Nunis, editor.
Bennett, Robert A., editor, We’ll All Go Home in the Spring: 1984, Pioneer Press, Walla Walla, Washington.
Berkh, Vasilii Nikolaevich (1781-1834), The Chronological History of the Discovery of the Aleutian Islands; or the Exploits of the Russian Merchants; with the Supplement of Historical Data on Fur Trade: Works Projects Administration, 1938.
Bidwell, John, Echos of the Past: and Account of the First Emigrant Train, Reprint of magazine articles from 1890-91, Chico, CA.--same as published a pamphlet "Echos of the Past: An Account of the First Emigrant Train to California" held in OHS MS
Bidwell, John, Hubert Howe Bancroft and James Longmire, First Three Wagon Trains: to California 1841, to Oregon 1842, and to Washington 1843: 1961, Binsford & Mort, Portland
Blanchet, Francis N., et al., Notices and Voyages of the Famed Quebec Mission to the Pacific Northwest…Blanchet..DeMers, Bolduc, Langlois…1838 to 1847: 1956, Portland
Bowen, William A., The Willamette Valley: Migration and Settlement on the Oregon Frontier: 1978, University of Washington Press, Seattle.
Brosnan, Cornelius J. , Jason Lee…: 1932, McMillan Press, contains Richmond's account of his journey from Ft.Vancouver to Puget Sound)
Camp, Charles, editor, James Clyman, Frontiersman: 1960, Champoeg Press, Oregon.
Chardon, Francis A. , Chardon's Journal at Fort Clark, 1834-1839; Descriptive of Life on the Upper Missouri, of a Fur Trader's Experiences Among the Mandans, Gros Ventres, and Their Neighbors; of the Ravages of the Small Pox Epidemic of 1837: 1970, Books for Libraries Press.
Chittenden, Hiram Martin, History of the American Fur Trade: n.d., Academic Reprints, Stanford, CA.
Corney, Peter, Early Voyages in the Pacific Northwest, 1813-1818: 1965, Fairfield, WA.
Coues, Elliot, editor, New Light on the Early History of the Greater Northwest: the Manuscript Journals of Alexander Henry, Fur Trader of the Northwest Company and of David Thompson, Official Geographer and Explorer of the Same Company, 1799-1814: 1965, Reprint of 1897 edition by Ross & Haines, Minneapolis;
Cushing, Caleb, Review of Journal of an Exploring Tour Beyond the Rocky Mountains [by Samuel Parker] and Narrative of a Journey Across the Rocky Mountains to the Columbia River …by John K. Townsend: 1840, F. Andrews, Boston.
Davies, K.G. and Alice M. Johnson, editors, Peter Skene Ogden's Snake Country Journal 1826-1827: 1961, Hudson's Bay Record Society, London
Dawson, Glen, Early California Travels: 1951, Los Angeles. Includes Joel Walker’s Reminiscences in volume 17.
Dobbs, Caroline C., Men of Champoeg: 1932, Metropolitan Press, Portland, reprint 1975, Emerald Valley Craftsmen, Cottage Grove.
Dodds, Gordon B., Oregon: A Bicentennial History: 1977, W.W. Norton & Company.
Donnelly, Joseph P., editor, Wilderness Kingdom: Indian Life…Journals and Paintings [by Father Nicolas Point] 1840-47: 1967, Chicago.
Drumm, Stella M., editor, [John C. Luttig's] Journal of a Fur Trading Expedition on the Upper Missouri, 1812-1813: 1920, New York.
Drury, Clifford, The Diaries and Letters of Henry H. Spalding and Asa Bowen Smith…1838-1842: 1958, The Arthur H. Clark Company, Glendale, CA.
Drury, Clifford, Elkanah and Mary Walker: Pioneers Among the Spokanes: 1940, The Arthur H. Clark Company, Glendale, CA.
Drury, Clifford, First White Women Over the Rockies: Diaries, Letters, and Biography of Six Women of the Oregon Mission Who Made the Overland Journey in 1836 and 1838, 3 vols.: 1997, The Arthur H. Clark Company, Glendale, CA.
Drury, Clifford M., Marcus and Narcissa Whitman and the Opening of Old Oregon: 1973, The Arthur H. Clark Company, Glendale, CA.
Drury, Clifford, editor, Nine Years with the Spokane Indians: the Diary, 1838-1848, of Elkanah Walker: 1976, The Arthur H. Clark Company, Glendale, California--same material as mss. at Washington State University and the original at the Huntington Library, Pasadena, CA.
Dunn, John (wrote and published two books in London, History of the Oregon Territory, 1844, and Oregon Territory…, 1849); his The Oregon Territory and the British North American Fur Trade was published in 1845, Philadelphia.
Eells, Myron, History of the Indian Missions on the Pacific Coast: 1882, Philadelphia
Evans, Elwood C., History of the Pacific Northwest: 1889. Contains the text of Robert Newell’s 1867 letter in the Oregon Herald; Elwood’s 1877 article in the TOPA also quotes part of this letter.
Farnham, Thomas J., Travels in the Great Western Prairies, Travels in the Californias [1844], History of Oregon Territory [1844] and Life, Adventures, and Travels in California [1846]); his 1839 Oregon petition to Congress appears in 26th Cong., 1st Sess., Sen. Doc. 514
Ferris, Warren Angus, Life in the Rocky Mountains, a Diary of Wanderings on the Sources of the Rivers Missouri, Columbia, and Colorado, from February, 1830, to November, 1835: 1971, University of Oklahoma Press.
Franchere, Hoyt C., ed. and trans., The Overland Journal Diary of Wilson Price Hunt, 1973, Oregon Book Society, 1973.
Franzwa, Gregory M., Maps of the Oregon Trail: 1982, The Patrice Press.
Fremont, John C., John C. Fremont, Narrative of an Exploring Expedition: 1849, New York, and various later editions.
Gay, Theressa, Life and Letters of Mrs. Jason Lee: 1936, Metropolitan Press, Portland.
Gilbert, B., Westering Man: The Life of Joseph Walker: 1983, Atheneum, New York.
Glover, Richard, editor, David Thompson's Narrative, 1784-1812: 1962, The Champlain Society, Toronto; Tyrell, J.B., editor, same material, published 1914
Gough, Barry, editor, The Journal of Alexander Henry the Younger, 1799-1814: 1992, The Champlain Society, Toronto.
Gray, Journal of His Journey East, 1836-1837: 1980, Ye Galleon Press, Fairfield, WA.
Green, Frank L., Captains, Curates, and Cockneys: The English in the Pacific Northwest: 1981, Washington State Historical Society, Tacoma.
Greene, Jonathan S., Journal of a Tour of the North West Coast of America, 1829: 1915, New York.
Hafen, Ann W. and Hafen, Leroy R., To the Rockies and Oregon 1839-1842: 1955 (as volume 3 of The Far West and Rockies Series), Arthur and Clark, Glendale, California.
Hafen, Leroy R., The Mountain Men and the Fur Trade of the Far West: 1965 (as volume 1 of The Far West and Rockies Series), Arthur and Clark, Glendale, California. The 10 volume Series contains excerpts, diaries, letters, and testimony by mountain men and overlanders. Volume 10 is a bibliography and index.
Haines, Francis D., editor, The Snake Country Expedition of 1830-1831: John Work's Field Journal: 1971, University of Oklahoma Press, Norman--also by Old West Publishing Company, Denver, 1983.
Harrison, Clifford Dale, editor, Ashley-Smith Explorations and the Discovery of a Central Route to the Pacific, 1822-1829, with the Original Journals: 1918, H. Clark, Glendale, CA contains "The Second Journal of Harrison G. Rogers"
Hastings, Lansford W., Emigrants Guide to Oregon and California [1845]., 1932, University of Princeton, 1969 Da Capo Press, and 1994, Applewood Books; this same material is also in Huntington Library MS.
Heath, Joseph, Memoirs of Nisqually: 1979, Fairfield, WA.
Hines, Gustavus, A Voyage Round the World with a History of the Oregon Mission, G.H. Derby, New York; also Life on the Plains of the Pacific: Oregon, Its History…[1851, 1859]1881; Oregon: Its Institutions…, 1869; and Wild Life in Oregon, 1889.
Hixon, Adrietta Applegate, On to Oregon: 1973, Ye Galleon Press
Holmes, Kenneth L. (with David C. Dunniway, vol. 5 only), Covered Wagon Women: 1983-1989, The Arthur H. Clark Company, Glendale, California. As of 1989, 8 volumes of a proposed 11 volume series had been published.
Hopwood, Victor G., editor, Travels in Western Northern America [by David Thompson]: 1971, Toronto.
Hosmer, James K., editor, Gass's Journal of the Lewis and Clark Expedition: 1904, A.C. McClung & Co., Chicago.
Howay, Frederick, Voyages of the Columbia to the Northwest Coast: published 1941 by the Massachusetts Historical Society and 1990 by the Oregon Historical Society Press.
Huntington MS denotes material in the Hunting Library collections: Huntington Library, 1151 Oxford Rd., San Marino, CA 91108.
Jackson, Donald, Letters of the Lewis and Clark Expedition with Related Documents, 1783-1854: 1962, Illinois.
Jackson, Donald, Narrative of a Journey Across the Rocky Mountains in 1834: 1978, University of Nebraska Press. Same as Thwaites, vol. 21.
Jackson, John C., Children of the Fur Trade, Mountain Press Publishing Company: 1995.
James, Edwin, Account of an Expedition…under the Command of Major Stephen H. Long: published 1823, Philadelphia.)
Jessert, Thomas E., editor, Reports and Letters of Herbert Beaver, 1836-1838: 1959, Portland
Johansen, Dorothy O. and Charles M. Gates, Empire of the Columbia: 1957, Harper & Row, New York.
Johnson, Overton and William H. Winter, Route Across the Rocky Mountains with a Description of Oregon and California: 1846, John B. Semans, Lafayette, Indiana; reprint 1966 (Xerox) by University Microfilms.
Kirkwood, Charlotte Matheny, Into the Eye of the Setting Sun [Reminiscence of 1843]: out of print--on disk from Walt55@aol.com
Kowrach, Edward J., editor, Journal of a Catholic Bishop on the Oregon Trail [Blanchet, AMA, 1847-51] and Black Robe Buries Whitman [Rev. JBA Brouillet]: 1978, Ye Galleon Press, Fairfield, Washington.
Lang, H.O., editor, Personal Reminiscences of the Early Pioneers: 1885, George Himes, Portland. Contains W.H. Gray’s 1840 census.
R.G. Large, editor, The Journals of William Fraser Tolmie: 1963, Vancouver, WA.
Larpenteur, Charles, Forty Years a Fur Trader on the Upper Missouri; Personal Narrative, 1833-1872: 1933, Lakeside Press.
Lavender, David, editor, The Oregon Journals of David Douglas…1825, 1826, and 1827: 1972, Oregon Book Society, Ashland.
Lee, Daniel and Joseph H. Frost, Ten Years in Oregon: [1844, New York] 1968, Ye Galleon Press, Fairfield, WA
Lenox, Edward Henry, Overland to Oregon: in the Tracks of Lewis and Clark 1843: 1904 (copyright 1902) Oakland, California, 3rd edition of a facsimile reprint, Sept. 1970.
Leonard, Zenas, Adventures of a Mountain Man: the Narrative of Zenas Leonard: 1978, University of Nebraska Press.
Lewis, Meriwether and William Clark--the Expedition journal, including a roster taken April 1805, has been published in various editions as Expedition to the Sources of the Missouri and Pacific Ocean (first edition 1814, Philadelphia and London).
Lockley, Fred, Conversations with Pioneer Women, edited and compiled by Mike Helm: 1981, Rainy Day Press, Eugene; Lockley also wrote Oregon Folks, another series of interviews with pioneers.
Maloney, Alice Bay, editor, Fur Brigade to the Bonaventura…: 1945, San Francisco
Mattes, Merril J., The Great Platte River Road: Grand Corridor of Westward Expansion: 1969, Nebraska State Historical Society.
Mengarini, Father Gregory, Recollections of the Flathead Mission: 1977, Glendale, CA.
McDonald, Lois Halliday, editor, Fur Trade Letters of Francis Ermatinger…During His Service with the Hudson's Bay Company, 1818-1853: 1980, A.H. Clark Co., Glendale, CA
McLagan, Elizabeth, A Peculiar Paradise: a History of Blacks in Oregon, 1788-1940: 1980, Georgian Press, Portland.
Merk, Frederick, editor, Fur Trade and Empire: George Simpson's Journal 1824-1825: 1931, Harvard University Press, Cambridge
Mitchell, Howard I., editor, The Journals of William Fraser Tolmie, Physician and Fur Trader: 1963, Mitchell Press, Vancouver.
Munnick, Harriet Duncan and Mikel Delores Warner, Catholic Church Records of the Pacific Northwest, 6 vols.: 1979, Binsford & Mort, Portland.
Newell, Robert, Memoranda: 1959, Champoeg Press, Portland. Editing and commentary by Dorothy O. Johansen.
Nunis, Doyce B., The Bidwell-Bartleson Party: 1841 California Emigrant Adventure: includes excerpts from the journals of John Bidwell, Josiah Belden, Nancy Kelsey, Pierre DeSmett, and more
OHS MS denotes material in the Oregon Historical Society Library manuscript archives. VF denotes the library's vertical file of clippings, folders, etc.: Oregon Historical Society Library, Oregon History Center, 1200 SW Park Ave., Portland, OR 97205; (503) 306-5240.
Oregon Historical Quarterly [OHQ], periodical: December 1900 is volume 1, Oregon Historical Society Press, Portland, Oregon.
Owens, Kenneth N., editor, and Alton S. Donnelly, translator, The Wreck of the Sv. Nikolai: Two Narratives of the First Russian Expedition to the Oregon Country 1808-1810: 1985, Oregon Historical Society Press, Portland.
Parker, Samuel, Journal of an Exploring Tour Beyond the Rocky Mountains: 1990, University of Idaho Press, Moscow, ID
Partoll, Albert J., editor, Anderson's Narrative of a Ride to the Rocky Mountains in 1834: [1938, Missoula, Montana] Reprint by Montana State University.
Partoll, Albert J., editor, Frontier Omnibus: 1962, Montana State University Press, Missoula.
Peltier, Jerome, Black Harris: 1986, Ye Galleon Press, Fairfield, WA; biography of Moses Harris.
Powell, Fred Wilbur, Hall J. Kelley on Oregon: a Collection of Five of His Published Works and a Number of Hitherto Unpublished Letters: 1972, DaCapo Press, New York.
Quaife, Milo Milton, editor, Gabriel Franchere: A Voyage to the Northwest Coast of America: [1854, trans] Reprint 1969 by Citadel Press, New York; see also Thwaites vol. 6
Reading, P.B., Diary of P.B. Reading, 1962, California State Library Press, Sacramento ; Reading's edited journal is also in Quarterly of the Society of California Pioneers, vol. 6, 1930; see also "Pierson Barton Reading Collection" at Calif. State Library
Rezanov, Nikolai Petrovich (1764-1807), A History of the Russian-American Company: 1978, University of Washington Press.
Rich, E.E., The Letters of John McLoughlin, 3 vols.: 1941, Toronto, also contains letters by David Douglas.
Rich, E.E., editor, Peter Skene Ogden Journals 1824-25 and 1825-26: Hudson's Bay Rcord Society Publications, #3.
Rollins, Philip A., editor, The Discovery of the Oregon Trail: Robert Stuart's Narratives: 1935, Charles Scribner's Sons, New York.
Ross, Marvin C., The West of Alfred Jacob Miller: 1951
Ruby, Robert H. and John A. Brown, Indians of the Pacific Northwest: 1981, University of Oklahoma Press, Norman.
Russell, Osborne, Journal April 1834-June 1843: published 1916, L.T. York, Boise, Idaho and in reprint as Journal of a Trapper: 1965, University of Nebraska Press, Lincoln, NE.
Sage, Rufus B., Rufus B. Sage: His Letters and Papers, 1836-47: [1854 by H.C. Baird, Phladelphia; 1846 by Carey & Hart] 1956, A.H. Clark Company, includes a reprint of his "Scenes in the Rocky Mountains and Oregon." Sage also wrote Rocky Mountain Life, or, Startling Scenes and Perilous Adventures, published 1846.
Schlissel, Lillian, Women's Diaries of the Westward Journey, 1982: Schocken Books, New York.
Scofield, John, Hail Columbia: 1993 by the Oregon Historical Society Press. Includes and extensive bibliography with information on such primary sources as the journals of Haswell and Vancouver.
Seiber, Richard, editor, The Journal of Henry Bridgman Brewer, September 3, 1839 to February 13, 1843…:1984, Ye Galleon Press, Fair field, WA. Title page continues…to Which is Appended Some Information on Chloe Aurelia Clarke Willson, Both of Whom Came Out of the French Ship Lausanne, to Arrive in Oregon on the 21st. of May, 1840; includes Clarke-Willson's diary of Sept. 1839-June 1849.
Shane, Ralph M., Early Explorations Through the Warm Springs Reservation Area: 1950, Binfords & Mort, Portland.
Slacum, William A., Memorial of William A. Slacum…: 1837, Washington DC
Stewart, Edgar I., and Jane R. Stewart, The Columbia River, by Ross Cox: 1957, University of Oklahoma Press, Norman
Sullivan, Maurice, The Travels of Jedediah Smith..Including the Journal…: 1934, Santa Ana, CA.
Sutter, Johann, The Diary of Johann August Sutter: 1932, San Francisco, CA.
Swanton, "Annual Report to the Smithsonian", American Ethnology, 1905.
Talbot, Theodore, The Journals of Theodore Talbot, 1843 and 1849-52: 1931, Metropolitan Press, Portland
Thwaites, Rueben G., Early Western Travels in California and Oregon: a multi-volume compilation of journals and diaries in special collections at the Multnomah County Library, Portland.
Tobie, Harvey E., No Man Like Joe: 1949, Binfords & Mort for OHS, Portland; biography of Joe Meek.
Townsend, John K., Sporting Excursions in the Rocky Mountains, Columbia River, Sandwich Islands, Chili & Co.: 1840, 2 vol., Henry Colburn, London
Tyrell, editor, David Thompson's Narative of His Explorations in Western America, 1784-1812: 1916, Toronto
Unruh, John D. Jr., The Plains Across: 1979, University of Illinois Press.
Transactions of the Oregon Pioneer Association [TOPA]: periodical with issues for 1873-1886 in a bound volume: published at least through 1908.
Wallace, W.S. Documents Relating to the Northwest Company: 1934, Champlain Society, Toronto
Weber, David J., editor, The Californios versus Jedediah Smith, 1826-1847: a Cache of Documents: 1990, Spokane, WA.
White, Elija, Ten Years in Oregon: Travels and Adventures of Doctor E. White and Lady West of the Rocky Mountains: 1848, Ithaca, NY
Wilkes, Charles, Life in the Oregon Country Before the Emigration: [first edition 1844] 1975, Oregon Book Society, Ashland. Edited by Richard E. Moore.
Wilkes, Charles, USN, Columbia River to the Sacramento: (first edition 1845) 1958, Biobooks, Oakland, California. Account of the US Exploring Expedition.
Williams, Glyndwr, editor, Peter Skene Ogden's Snake Country Journals, 1827-1828 and 1828-1829: 1971, Hudson's Bay Record Society, London
Wislizenus, Adolf, A Journey to the Rocky Mountains in the Year 1839, translated by Frederich A. Wislizenus, 1969; also Memoir of a Tour to Northern Mexico Connected with Colonel Donophan's Expedition [1846-47], 1969, Calvin Horn, Albequerque.
Whitman, Narcissa, The Letters of …: 1986, Ye Galleon Press. Introduction by Glen Adams.
Wyeth, John B., Oregon or a Short History of a Long Journey from the Atlantic Ocean to the Region of the Pacific, by Land, Drawn up from the Notes and Oral Information of John B. Wyeth, July 28th, 1832, Four Days’ March Beyond the Ridge of the Rocky Mountains and the Only One who Has Returned to New England: 1833, John B. Wyeth, Cambridge; reprint 1966(Xerox) University Microfilms.
Young, F.G., editor, The Correspondence and Journals of Capt. Nathaniel J. Wyeth: 1897, Eugene; also in Shane's Early Explorations…
A full-color, large-size
MAP shows early overland routes, missions, and trading posts. Other fine historical maps at this site.One stop shopping for Oregon Trail information is at
THE OREGON TERRITORY. The site lists emigrants who arrived on the Oregon Trail from 1795-1853 with mini-biographies of many settlers. You'll also find information on many other Oregon Trail topics and a wealth of links to other sites about Trail history, family genealogy, and Oregon Trail associations.Take a tour of the modern-day remnants, roadside markers, and interpretive centers along the old Trail route at the
OREGON TRAIL KIOSK TOUR. Or view a web site created by the makers of the PBS award-winning documentary, OREGON TRAIL. Both of these web sites have many photos, maps, and historical illustrations. CLACKAMAS COUNTY HISTORY AND GENEALOGY, 1800-1900(another website by Patricia Kohnen).Your comments, additions, and corrections are always welcome.
Send to jkohnen@easystreet.com
