Santa Fe Trail Essay

Superior Essays
The Santa Fe trail exhibits a rich and interesting history joined together by the people who traveled and the stories and cultures they carried with them. The exploration of the Santa Fe Trail unlocks the secrets of many questions. Who was the original founder of the trail? Who traveled it and why? When did the Santa Fe Trail experience the most frequent and constant usage? All questions can be uncovered just as the trail was discovered for many individuals.
William Becknell is accredited with the founding of the Santa Fe Trail mainly because he was the first man to follow it. Not only was Becknell a soldier, freight operator, and a politician, but he also was in an explorer in a sense that made many improvements to the trail. After
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Hispanics also used the trail as a trade route so that they could be supplied with American goods that were unavailable in their region (Myers). Americans and Hispanics agreed to use the trail as a benefit to both of them and their cooperation paid off as the Santa Fe Trail grew in popularity. Mostly men traveled the trail in small groups hoping to get rich in trade. In a few cases men brought along their wives and children but normally didn’t return. Woman were not welcomed to trade until the late 1820’s when a group of Hispanic men brought their wives along. When the Santa Fe Trail first gained popularity, men hunted and gathered goods during the winter months then traded during the summer months due to mild weather (Wheeler). When technology improved and improvements were made to the trail, men started to trade year round and were making even larger …show more content…
Conestoga wagons originated in Pennsylvania but were normally built in Missouri which was coincidentally the start of the Santa Fe Trail (Gardener). The wagons were typically drawn by two oxen in order to balance out the weight. Most wagons at this time could have carried about three thousand pounds of goods as long as they were boxed or in barrels. The older wagons didn’t have springs so when the wagon would hit a bump, the axle or wheel would often break (Gardener). Forts along the Santa Fe Trail began to open up businesses that specialized in fixing wagons and sometimes even reselling them. As technology improved, so did the wagons. Manufacturers started to make wheels with steel rather than just wood which lengthened the life and durability of a wagon’s wheel (Wheeler). Leather harnesses would often dry out and break but pop-up seamstresses would repair the harnesses at night and have them ready to go by the morning. Wagon manufacturers began to used seasoned would which lasted longer because if the wood wasn’t seasoned correctly it would dry up and splinter once the traders reached the primarily dry areas such as the Cimarron Desert

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