Lander Cut-Off of the Oregon Trail / Stock Trail

The eastbound herds in the panel's second half ran against the emigrants' grain for a reason it leaves out. Once the army's campaigns of 1876 and 1877 had driven the Lakota and Cheyenne from the northern plains, Wyoming had grass and a railroad but too few cattle, and Oregon had cattle and no market. By 1880 some 200,000 head had been driven east out of Oregon, many sold at liquidation prices. Not every drive paid: John Todd of the Farewell Bend Ranch set out for Cheyenne in 1880 with 5,000 head, lost most of them and went bankrupt.

What the plaque says

Lander Cut-Off of the Oregon Trail Beginning in 1843, emigrants traveled across the continent along what became known as the Oregon Trail. Increased traffic during the 1850's resulted in the first government road construction project in the west. The 345 mile Central Division of the Pacific Wagon Road went from South Pass, Wyoming, to City of Rocks, Idaho, a geologic formation, which marked the Division's western boundary. Superintendent Frederick W. Lander of Salem, Massachusetts, supervised construction for the U.S. Department of the Interior. The 256 mile section of the road leading from South Pass to Fort Hall, Idaho, is known as the Lander Cut-off. The cut-off traversed this Salt River Valley for 21 miles and parallels Highway 89 through this area. The new route afforded water, wood, and forage for emigrants and their stock. Between 1858 and 1912, it provided travelers with a new, shorter route to Oregon and California, saving wagon trains seven days. Lander, with a crew of 15 engineers, surveyed the route in the summer of 1857. The following summer, 115 men, many recruited from Salt Lake City's Mormon emigrants, constructed the road in less than 90 days at a cost of $67,873. The invention of the automobile led to its abandonment. Stock Trail Travel along the Oregon Trail was not restricted to one direction. Between 1875 and 1890, drovers herded vast numbers of cattle, horses and sheep eastward from Oregon to Wyoming. The animals were moved along the Lander Cut-off and into the Green River and Big Horn Basins and the Wind River drainage. There, they were used as initial range stock for the large ranches of cattle and sheep barons.

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• National Oregon/California Trail Center — 27 mi
  Emigrants came down off Big Hill and camped in the clover here. Brigham Young renamed the town; the trail center brings the camp back in costume.

More markers nearby

• Lander Cut-Off of the Oregon Trail (Salt River Pass) — 5.2 mi
• Osmond — 6.9 mi
• Lander Cut-Off of the Oregon Trail (Stump Creek) — 16 mi
• Bank Robbers — 28 mi