Frontier Trails Museum, Independence, MO

[Travis Butler]

20230628-SDIM5962 by Travis Butler, on Flickr

After the topic came up in the welcome thread, thought I'd dig these photos out... Taken with the Sigma fp, most with the Minolta MD 24/2.8.

20230628-SDIM5964 by Travis Butler, on Flickr

I'd seen the Frontier Trails Museum mentioned in Kansas City-area attraction listings for years, but never been. I was in the area - Independence, a KC suburb - and thought I'd stop by... as it happened, on the day before they closed to move to another location. So it turned into an effort on my part to document the entire place as it was; looking back, that resulted in relatively few detail shots. The building is being taken over by the Missouri Model Railroad Museum, which at least seems like a worthy occupant.

20230628-SDIM5966 by Travis Butler, on Flickr

It was a beautiful historic building, but you could see the deterioration in the wooden parts. I'm not sure what the new group moving in had planned for them; it's been a year, so I should go back and see, as well as seeing the Frontier Trails' new home.

20230628-SDIM6014 by Travis Butler, on Flickr

The Kansas City area was the starting point for three of the major wagon train routes through the Old West - the Oregon Trail, California Trail, and Santa Fe Trail. The Frontier Trails Museum documents the experience of pioneers on those routes, starting with the Lewis and Clark expedition that mapped most of the territory.

20230628-SDIM5989 by Travis Butler, on Flickr

Before leaving on the trail, you needed to outfit your wagon!

20230628-SDIM5991 by Travis Butler, on Flickr

20230629-SDIM6087 by Travis Butler, on Flickr

They even included a little game to highlight how important weight was and how hard it was to provision your wagon:
20230628-SDIM6067 by Travis Butler, on Flickr

Sadly, not everyone planned well, and a lot had to be left by the side of the trail.
20230628-SDIM6017 by Travis Butler, on Flickr

20230629-SDIM6101 by Travis Butler, on Flickr
Got to feel for the poor guy who had to leave his mother's rolling pin behind.

20230628-SDIM5996 by Travis Butler, on Flickr

20230628-SDIM5999 by Travis Butler, on Flickr
The signs document various landmarks and events along the trails, along with the distance from the trail head in Independence.

20230628-SDIM6024 by Travis Butler, on Flickr

20230628-SDIM6028 by Travis Butler, on Flickr
The California Gold Rush was a major motivator for many pioneers.

20230628-SDIM6031 by Travis Butler, on Flickr

20230628-SDIM6043 by Travis Butler, on Flickr
The Santa Fe Trail was somewhat different from the Oregon/California trails; it was set up as a trade route with what was then the Mexican settlement of Santa Fe, not a pathway for settlers moving west.

20230628-SDIM6045 by Travis Butler, on Flickr
The wagons were somewhat bigger, and carried trade goods.

20230628-SDIM6071 by Travis Butler, on Flickr
Once the settlers got to the west coast, the log cabin was often the house of choice.

20230628-SDIM6077 by Travis Butler, on Flickr
Next to the Trails Museum was a historic rail depot; which may be why the model railroad group wanted the building.

20230628-SDIM6082 by Travis Butler, on Flickr

Trail or Rail, it was a heck of a journey!

 

[Oíche]

Interesting

I see someone brought a grandfather clock then thought bad idea after 1500 miles

I cycled from Florida to California once, I loved the USA and I could spend years there touring about, I stayed in the Apache reservation in Arizona etc., I loved all this and the empty remoteness and great landscapes.

 

[CharlesH]

After the topic came up in the welcome thread, thought I'd dig these photos out...

Thanks Travis. My ancestors were Western Pioneers so I always enjoy these museums, but had not been to this one. Really nice shots with the Sigma fp.

The Santa Fe Trail was somewhat different from the Oregon/California trails; it was set up as a trade route with what was then the Mexican settlement of Santa Fe, not a pathway for settlers moving west.

All these years I've lived in the Southwest and I didn't know the Santa Fe Trail was mostly a trade route to Santa Fe.

I cycled from Florida to California once

A little faster than covered wagons, but not by much. It must have been a great trip. I go faster and fly small aircraft. One of my favorite trips was following the Lewis and Clark expedition, stopping and staying at historic sites along the way. From where Travis is, up the Missouri River and on to Oregon, usually at low altitude. Very scenic.

 

[Travis Butler]

...note to self: Do not try to color grade at 3 in the morning.

If you must color grade at 3 in the morning, do not post until you wake up and have time to look over things. <sheepish look>

All these years I've lived in the Southwest and I didn't know the Santa Fe Trail was mostly a trade route to Santa Fe

I never knew that it was a trade route and not a settler route, until visiting the museum. Eheh.

Most of the history I know about the New Mexico/Arizona/Nevada area is post-Civil War, so I didn't know a lot about the era where it was owned by Mexico.