The Santa Fe Trail

The Santa Fe Trail. Santa Fe Trail National Scenic Byway. Near to where you are standing is the route of one of the great overland trails of one of the great overland trails of the old west. Established in 1821, as a trade route between Franklin, Missouri, in the United States, and Santa Fe, then part of Mexico, it covered 900 grueling miles and took up to two and one half months to travel. It preceded by 20 years the great emigrant trails to the north and, unlike the more northern trails, this trail was an international route of commerce. Pioneered by William Becknell in 1821, the Santa Fe Trail became an important trade route with traffic moving in both directions. When Santa Fe effectively became part of the United States after the end of the Mexican-American War in 1848, trade barriers were removed and traffic increased, but the need for the trail ended with the arrival of the railroad in 1880., Trail Sites, Santa Fe Plaza , Here, traders celebrated the end of the grueling 900-mile trip or loaded goods for a trip heading east., San Miguel del Vado Church , This church, founded in 1806, was part of the first settlement encountered by early travelers on the Santa Fe Trail. A customs station here exacted tariffs from wagon trains headed to Santa Fe., Kearny Gap , Named years later for General Stephen Kearny, who took possession of New Mexico for the United States, this pass saw the arrival of William Becknell in 1821 and the opening up of the Santa Fe Trail. The exhibit is off of Highway 25 on Mineral Hill Road.,