Oregon-California Trails Association

09/01/2026

The history of the American West became Harold’s most important avocation after retirement. He and Dorothy participated in the Oregon-California Trails Association, traveled extensively in the Western plains and deserts, and participated in Elder Hostel history programs. They published a book of letters of family members from the nineteenth century, including letters carried by Pony Express.

SOETERS, Harold J. Passed away in Santa Rosa, January 21, 2004 at the age of 84. Harold was Dean of Admissions and Records for California State University, Sonoma, serving from 1966 until his retirement in 1978. Harold was a native of Buhl,…

08/21/2026

What's in the OCTA archive in Independence, Missouri? Watch Episode 1 of "What's in the Archives" for an answer.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ASkUqSlZVk&list=PLcaQXNMkfDkg

08/20/2026

Thank you to everyone who attended the screening of "Sacred Red Rock" last night at the Harry S Truman Presidential Library in Independence, Missouri. Documentary co-producers Sydney Pursel (Curator at the Spencer Museum of Art in Lawrence, Kansas/Ioway Nation) and James Pepper Henry (incoming chair of the Kaw Nation) hosted a Q&A at the end and discussed the repatriation of this sacred rock and the impacts of the Santa Fe, Oregon, and California Trails on their ancestral homelands. Thank you to the staff of the Truman Library for being amazing hosts and to the Trail Head Chapter of OCTA and the Missouri River Outfitters Chapter of the Santa Fe Trail Association for sponsoring the event.

08/19/2026

Iⁿ‘zhúje‘waxóbe - Return of the Sacred Red Rock

Led by members of the Kaw Nation in collaboration with the City of Lawrence, University of Kansas, Spencer Museum of Art, Kanza Heritage Society and others, the Iⁿ‘zhúje‘waxóbe / Sacred Red Rock Project is focused upon the return and relocation of Iⁿ‘zhúje‘waxóbe, the red Siouxan quartzite boulder currently located in Robinson Park, Lawrence, Kansas to the Kaw Nation, who have a centuries’ long relationship with the Rock and value it as a sacred item of prayer. This $5,000,000, 30-month project, is funded through the University of Kansas by the Monuments Initiative through the Mellon Foundation.

The Iⁿ‘zhúje‘waxóbe / Sacred Red Rock Project will not only support the safe relocation, interpretation, and infrastructure for Iⁿ‘zhúje‘waxóbe at Allegawaho Memorial Heritage Park in Council Grove, Kansas on lands owned by Kaw Nation, but also the documentation of the history and cultural significance of Iⁿ‘zhúje‘waxóbe through photographic and video documentation and the publication of an edited volume through University Press of Kansas.

Wednesday, August 19 at 6 pm - Truman Library Theater in Independence, MO - no charge (500 W. 24 Hwy)

Panelists include James Pepper Henry, Incoming Chairman of the Kaw Nation, and Sydney Pursel, Curator for Public Practice at the Spencer Art Museum on the campus of the University of Kansas.

08/13/2026

The Columbia Gorge Discovery Center & Museum in The Dalles, Oregon, recently uploaded photographs taken of Oregon Trail Emigrant inscriptions all along the Oregon Trail. Go to the website www.gorgediscovery.org and click the RESEARCH tab and select Oregon Trail. They are working on updating the database description field, but you can poke through 5000 images of inscriptions made by Oregon Trail pioneers. They are happy to answer questions at [email protected].

Discover 11,000 years of Gorge history at this stunning museum perched on a cliff above the Columbia. Experience Ice Age creatures like the Columbian Mammoth, explore life on the Oregon Trail, get to know the Lewis and Clark Expedition, see the official Team USA Olympic Uniforms by Ralph Lauren made...

08/13/2026

Saved on Jerry Eichhorst’s computer in his Boise home is an Excel spreadsheet with a project he’s been working on for three decades.

“You can see I’ve got a lot of different things in here,” he said, pointing to the list of almost 3,000 rows. “I’ve got a lot of work to do to compile all these.”

What kind of a collection lies in the color-coded lines on his screen?

Each row in Eichhorst’s spreadsheet records the diary entries of a pioneer who traveled across the Oregon and California trails.

“Here’s a diary from Andrew McClure, 1853,” Eichhorst said, pointing to a specific line on his sheet. “For this diary, I’ve compiled it all the way from the Main Trail 1, which is where he entered Wyoming, all the way through to Burnt River (in Oregon), Main Trail 9.”

Eichhorst’s meticulous spreadsheet contains different journal entries with the author’s name, the dates of their entry and which trails they traveled on.

For 30 years, Eichhorst has collected and compiled these historic documents, published his findings, taught classes about his research and presented his work.

To him, however, it has never been about the byline or the awards.

“I want to bring the trail to life,” Eichhorst said.

Read the rest at https://www.deseret.com/the-west/2026/08/13/idaho-man-collects-oregon-trail-records/

08/10/2026

Writing in 1852 to her family, one settler noted how they "lost 7 persons in a few short days" due to cholera (via Oregon-California Trails Association). To make matters worse, settlers didn't know about food safety. Sociologist Samuel Preston told History that "boiling of water and milk was a practice that was unknown until the 1890s," giving just a brief glimpse into what hygiene looked like during this part of history.

Although cholera still exists, it can be treated with medicines and rehydration therapy. Unfortunately, prairie settlers had woefully few dependable medical remedies, so they just didn't have the capability to combat cholera. As one female settler wrote, it was seen as a necessity for all families to have "physicing pills" and castor oil, as well as rum and peppermint essence, in their medical kits (per Historic Oregon City). However, none of those items could actually address serious diseases.

Read More:

The life expectancy of people in the 19th-century Americas wasn't that lengthy to begin with, and making the move to the prairie made it worse for many.

08/05/2026

The most popular video on our YouTube Channel is "The Curious Case of Sarah Thomas' Tombstone." Did you know that a researcher named Chris Starfire has done an even deeper dive into the life of Sarah Thomas? Chris has an excellent online write-up that can be visited at https://www.starfire-studio.com/Sarah-A-Thomas/ . We think that you'll thoroughly enjoy the additional information found on the Starfire Studio website. Chris also wrote the biography of Sarah Thomas found on her FindAGrave webpage at https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/218982486/sarah_ann-thomas .

Chris' website also links to an article written by Randy Brown titled "The Seminoe Cutoff and Sarah Thomas Grave." Randy is the chair of the Oregon-California Trail Association's Graves & Sites committee, and his article has even more information that we are certain you will enjoy learning. The direct link to his story is at https://www.wyohistory.org/encyclopedia/seminoe-cutoff-and-sarah-thomas-grave .

You can view the video at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Om9fazTIbEA

08/03/2026

We are excited to share this treasure. We acquired the diary collection of Chuck and Mary Martin, and one of their diaries is the original 1850 journal of James A. Seaton of Centerville, Indiana. He traveled with a company of men from Indiana, first to Cincinnati where they boarded a steamboat that took them to St. Joseph, Missouri, from where they traveled overland to California. They were collectively known as the "Richmond boys," so named from the Indiana town from which many of the men hailed. We are in the process of digitizing the Martin's entire diary collection, which will shortly be loaded onto our online diary database at www.octa-journals.org. Chuck and Mary also called Richmond home.