Two Routes from Westport
The Santa Fe Trail forked into two routes as it headed south from Westport. Along the routes were campgrounds for trail travelers — to the northeast of the junction was Sapling Grove and the southwest was a campground called Flat Rock or Indian Creek.
Until the 1860s, these two routes out of Westport saw traffic from Santa Fe traders, Oregon- and California-bound emigrants, mountain men, missionaries, gold seekers, and the frontier military. Even the frontier stagecoach of the early 1860s rumbled through this trail junction heading southwest.
Our party which left Kansas City today, Friday, September 17, 1848, consists of fifty-seven men and one woman. Our traps packed in fourteen wagons hauled by oxen, and one of the party has a mule. We drive to Indian Creek where we make our first camp.
David Kellogg's journal, 1858
Erected by Kansas City Area Historic Trails Association and the National Park Service.
Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Industry & Commerce • Roads & Vehicles • Settlements & Settlers. In addition, it is included in the California Trail,
this page online
Location. 38° 58.106′ N, 94° 41.96′ W. Marker is in Overland Park, Kansas, in Johnson County. It can be reached from West 88th Terrace. Marker is about 300 feet east of the intersection of Farley Street and West 88th Terrace. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: Strang Park, Overland Park KS 66212, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Regionally, this marker is in Eastern Kansas and specifically in Greater Kansas City. It is also in the American Midwest, in the Corn Belt, on the prairies, on the Southern Plains, and on the Santa Fe Trail Corridor. Globally, it is in North America, the Western Hemisphere, the Western World, and the Anglosphere. Historically, it finds itself in what was once the Louisiana Purchase.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 2 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies: Voices from the Trail (here, next to this marker); Wagons and Coaches... ...to Trains and Planes (here, next to this marker); Opening the Floodgates (here, next to this marker);
Also see . . .
1. Santa Fe National Historic Trail. (Submitted on December 6, 2016, by William Fischer, Jr. of Reynoldsburg, Ohio.)
2. Oregon National Historic Trail. (Submitted on December 6, 2016, by William Fischer, Jr. of Reynoldsburg, Ohio.)
3. California National Historic Trail. (Submitted on December 6, 2016, by William Fischer, Jr. of Reynoldsburg, Ohio.)
4. Kansas City Area Historic Trails Association. (Submitted on December 6, 2016, by William Fischer, Jr. of Reynoldsburg, Ohio.)
Credits. This page was last revised on December 6, 2016. It was originally submitted on December 6, 2016, by William Fischer, Jr. of Reynoldsburg, Ohio. This page has been viewed 594 times since then and 25 times this year. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on December 6, 2016, by William Fischer, Jr. of Reynoldsburg, Ohio.
