Crossing the Overland Trail

Among the overland diaries is one kept in 1859 by E. H. N. Patterson, bound for the gold fields. On May 11 he saw John Snyder of Massillon, Ohio, carried past in a wagon, mortally wounded near O'Fallon's Bluffs. West of Cottonwood Springs he noted a trading house, a stage station and hewed logs headed for the bluffs. On May 20 he broke camp at six, reached the point where the bluffs strike the South Platte and took the road over them three miles to a stage station with a trading post and some Indian tents.

What the plaque says

Crossing the Overland Trail Beneath this platform, evidence of the great westward migration still remains. These shallow depressions were once deep ruts created by thousands of hooves, shoes and wheels. The Overland Trail is often visualized as a single, well-defined roadway. However, except in narrow spots such as this, the actual route through the Platte Valley during any given year varied considerably, depending upon such factors as soil conditions and the availability of grass for the animals. Traveling an average of fifteen to twenty miles a day in various conveyances, the emigrants spent from four to six months on the trail during the long trek from the Missouri River to Oregon or California. At best, the journey was arduous, often marked only by the dusty monotony of daily routine. At other times, disease and Indian attacks were very real dangers, and the number of fresh graves along the road bore testimony to the sacrifices made by many pioneers. Some emigrants were better equipped than others, some were wiser, some were simply luckier; but all suffered weariness, hardship and danger. However, as the many overland diaries and letters testify, this was a great human experience, one which was vital to the settlement of the West.

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Golden Spike Tower and Bailey Yard — 14 mi
  A tower with seventh- and eighth-floor decks over Union Pacific's Bailey Yard in North Platte, the world's largest railroad classification yard, in a town the railroad laid out and fed troops from.
• Buffalo Bill Ranch State Historical Park — 16 mi
  Scout's Rest, the North Platte ranch house and barn of William F. Cody, in the town where his Old Glory Blowout of July 4, 1882 became the first act of the Wild West.

More markers nearby

• The Great Platte River Road — steps away
• The Great Platte River Road — 0.4 mi
• Scout's Rest — 16 mi
• Fort McPherson — 16 mi