Oregon-California Trails Association

10/27/2026

Late last month, Elia Mast joined OCTA as our new Fellow for Marketing, Membership, and Fundraising. She recently graduated from the University of Missouri with a degree in photo and documentary journalism, and she's brought her skills to OCTA to help us reach younger audiences and to assist us in further developing member and donor opportunities. As a fun first exercise, Elia has filmed a series of shorts in local Kansas City area cemeteries, highlighting both Halloween and people associated with our National Historic Trails. Or, in this case, highlighting an unfortunate fellow buried in the New Santa Fe Trail Cemetery near a stretch of wagon ruts from the combined Santa Fe/Oregon/California Trail corridor. Enjoy her first short at https://www.youtube.com/shorts/wpcETgruVMM and be sure to like, share, and subscribe to our YouTube Channel!

The “Horse Thief” grave is located at the New Santa Fe Cemetery in ...

10/27/2026

Ruth V. Anderson
May 4, 1930 - October 6, 2026

Ruth was a Nationally Certified Teacher of Music and was very active in the Minnesota Music Teachers Association. She joined MMTA in 1969 and held offices of President, Vice President for Conventions, and Secretary, as well as numerous committees at both local and national levels. She retired from teaching in her 70s. Ruth is a charter supporter of the Summit Avenue Music Series (now Pro Musica Minnesota), founded in 2016 to bring performances of professional musicians to Martin Luther College.

In addition to music, Ruth was an Oregon Trail aficionado. She was a charter member of the Oregon-California Trails Association (OCTA), founded in 1982, where she has had several articles and a book about the early history of OCTA published.

Read her full obituary at https://www.mvfh.org/obituaries/ruth-anderson

10/26/2026

The grave of an Indiana woman who died in 1862 near La Barge is a stark reminder of the hardships faced by westward-migrating pioneers and is part of a much bigger story about where the Oregon Trail crossed Wyoming.

The Lander Cutoff was the first federally funded wagon road built in the West.

It begins at Burnt Ranch near the Sweetwater River a few miles south of South Pass and traverses 256 miles across south-central Wyoming to Fort Hall, Idaho.

It crosses Thompson Pass near La Barge in the Wyoming Range and was an alternate route for emigrants that was shorter and avoided Utah’s west desert, which was devoid of grass and water.

The gravesite of Elizebeth Mortimer Paul is located a few miles up the La Barge Creek Road on the way to Thompson Pass in a meadow beneath a lone pine tree.

She was 32 years old, a mother of eight children and died during childbirth.

Read more at the link in the comments.

10/25/2026

This morning, Travis Boley of OCTA assisted John Pritchard, a local Harry Truman re-enactor, on an architectural walking tour of the Independence Square and Truman Historic District. There was a huge turnout for this fun Walktober event. Members of the Chiles family (descendents of the famous California Trail family) joined us.

10/23/2026

Earlier this week, Hawley met with leaders from St. Joseph and Buchanan County to discuss the city as an option. The city already has buildings that could be retrofitted to house the museum.

“St. Joe, Missouri, has a list of historical places: the Pony Express, the Robidoux House, which is an old fur trading place that really began St. Joe, and others. And the Arabia seems like it would fit quite nicely there,” Hawley said.

The Arabia Steamboat Museum, home to the largest collection of pre-Civil War artifacts in the world, announced that it would leave its River Market location when its lease expires on Nov. 13. Museum owner David Hawley has been seeking a new home for years, to no success so far.

10/22/2026

From hardtack to bacon and wild game, we interviewed an expert to learn all about the diet of the explorers who ventured out on the Oregon Trail.

10/21/2026

The wagon ruts near OCTA HQ in Independence really pop in the late afternoon sun. The first wagons rolled through here two centuries ago and are still evident, even in this metropolitan area.

10/16/2026

Earlier this year, the Partnership for the National Trails System (PNTS) was awarded $1 million from REI, a consumer-owned retail and outdoor recreation cooperative that sells camping gear, clothing, and sports equipment. PNTS in turn distributed some of those funds to its partner organizations, with OCTA receiving $18,600 in unrestricted funding.

OCTA was also invited to compete for additional funding and submitted two proposals. We are pleased to announce that we were awarded funding for both proposals, with Lake Point Park in Utah set to receive $25,000 in funding to tell the story of "the Donner Party in Mexico," while Alcove Spring in NE Kansas will receive $10,000 to improve the informational kiosk in the parking area and to make other improvements to the hiking trails in the park. Some funding will also be used to improve access to the wagon ruts that lead from the park to the Blue River crossing.

We hope you will join us in thanking REI for investing in our National Trails System and especially for investing $53,600 in OCTA and its programs.

10/14/2026

Mormon Trails Across Wyoming and Utah will be putting on a presentation this Thursday, October 15th, at 7pm (Mountain Time) on Zoom.

Andy McCarthur will be presenting. He is a descendent of Daniel D. McCarther (pictured) and he will be telling the story of the trails (and other things) experienced by his family. Daniel D. McCarther was asked to be in charge of the 2nd handcart company and then he helped settle St. George, Utah.

Join Zoom Meeting:

https://us06web.zoom.us/j/6084231645?pwd=WmB1VDwGPaku5IXJOaxI1rXbHUt6UQ.1

Meeting ID: 608 423 1645

Passcode: jF8Hf3

10/13/2026

Join Kansas City PBS for the free premiere screening of 'Lyda: Wyandot Warrior.' This is a first look of the upcoming documentary exploring Lyda Conley's fight to protect Indigenous rights and her ancestors' cemetery in Kansas City, Kansas.

Additionally, attendees will be able join a post-screening discussion featuring film subjects and get a closer look at several of the artifacts that are a part of Lyda's story.

Kansas City's PBS station. Find television schedules, PBS Kids, PBS Passport and upcoming events for KCPBS.