Miles:
262
The Oregon Trail
While you are stopped, learn about: Kool Aid
Hastings, Nebraska; Adams County
The Oregon Trail was the most traveled overland route in American History. The trail ran from Independence, Missouri, to what is now northern Oregon and other western states. It passed through this point on its way to the great Platte Valley.
Unlike a modern highway, the Oregon Trail was not a single clear path. In places it was 10 miles (16 kilometers) wide.
Trappers and missionaries recognized the Platte Valley as a natural roadway in the 1830s. The first wagon train followed the 2,000-mile trail to Oregon in 1841. In the next twenty-five years nearly a quarter of a million people took this route. These travelers moved slowly, only 10 to 20 miles a day on a three-month trip. Thousands of hooves, shoes, and wheels pounded a wide trail into the prairie sod.
Some were headed to Oregon and others like the ’49ers went to California. Settlers, stagecoaches, Pony Express riders, the military, and more all used this prairie highway. The Union Pacific Railroad put an end to the use of the trail.
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While you are stopped, learn about Kool Aid!
In 1927, Edwin Perkins invented and began to manufacture Kool-Aid at Perkins Products Company in Hastings. His dream of being a self-employed businesses success was backed by hard work and some ingenious marketing. While he developed many products, Kool-Aid was certainly the most famous and has gone on to impact popular culture through the decades.
Visitors to Hastings can stop by the Original Kool-Aid Factory, the original home of Perkins Products Company, at 516 West 1st Street in Hastings. This is where Perkins invented and manufactured Kool-Aid, and the front of the building offers a colorful tribute to Edwin, his wife Kitty, and Kool-Aid – and is a great spot for taking a picture.
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Coming up next:
Pioneer Village
Minden, Nebraska; Kearney County
The Harold Warp Pioneer Village complex is comprised of 28 buildings on 20 acres, housing over 50,000 irreplaceable items of historical value. The buildings, many of which are restored to operating order, are arranged in groups and staged in the chronological order of their development.
Among the buildings are a Frontier Fort; a real, honest-to-goodness Pony Express Station; an Iron Horse; a sod home; a general... Read more
Rainwater Basin Wetland Habitat
The Rainwater Basin is a landscape of shallow playa wetlands scattered amid the flat-to-gently-rolling loess plains of south-central Nebraska. Before European-American settlement, the region contained some 11,000 wetlands ranging in size from less than an acre to over 1,000 acres. The wetlands were fed by runoff from snowmelt, springtime rains, and intense summer storms, and all but the largest usually dried up by late summer. The growth and succession of... Read more
Fort Kearny
As the number of travelers on the Oregon Trail grew so did the number of military posts along the trail. These posts were established across the West to protect travelers. The first post was founded in the spring of 1848 “near the head of the Grand Island” along the Platte River. It was first called Fort Childs, but was soon renamed Fort Kearny.
Fort Kearny served... Read more
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