Santa Fe Trail
The 19th century wagon road that opened overland trade between Missouri and Santa Fe from 1821 to 1880.
Overview
When Mexican independence opened New Mexico to foreign trade in 1821, freight wagons began running roughly 1,300 kilometers from Franklin and later Independence to Santa Fe, carrying cotton goods and hardware west and returning with silver, wool and mules. Caravans organized each spring for defense against raiders. The US Army used the road to occupy New Mexico in 1846, and the Civil War battle at Glorieta Pass was fought astride it. The railroad reached Santa Fe in 1880 and ended the trail almost overnight, leaving ruts still visible on the prairie.
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