Why is the Oregon trail famous in history?

Find out more about the history of Oregon Trail, including videos, interesting articles, pictures, historical features and more. Get all the facts on HISTORY.com. ... May 22 and lasted five months. It effectively opened the floodgates of pioneer migration along the Oregon Trail and became known as the Great Emigration of 1843. read more

The first major wagon train to the northwest departs from Elm Grove, Missouri, on the Oregon Trail. Although U.S. sovereignty over the Oregon Territory was not clearly established until 1846, American fur trappers and missionary groups had been living in the region for decades. read more

Heavily traveled until 1884, the Oregon Trail was the most used of all routes in the westward expansion of the United States. Mount Hood, a dormant volcano that last erupted around 1865, is covered by 12 glaciers. At 11,239 feet, it is the tallest peak in Oregon. read more

Oregon Trail: Oregon Trail, in U.S. history, an overland trail between Independence, Missouri, and Oregon City, near present-day Portland, Oregon, in the Willamette River valley. read more