The Oregon
Trail was one of the main overland migration routes on which pioneers
traveled across the North American continent in wagons in order to settle new
parts of the United States
of America during the 19th century. The
Oregon Trail helped the United States
implement its cultural goal of Manifest Destiny, that is, to expand the nation
from the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean. The
Oregon Trail spanned over half the continent as the wagon trail proceeded 2,170
miles (3,500 kilometers) west through territories and land later to become six U.S.
states (Missouri, Kansas, Nebraska, Wyoming, Idaho, and Oregon). Between 1841
and 1869, the Oregon Trail was used by settlers migrating to the Pacific
Northwest of what is now the United
States. Once the first transcontinental
railroad was completed in 1869, the use of this trail by long distance
travelers diminished as the railroad slowly replaced it.
Slaughterhouse Gulch:
Along
the foothills of what is now Hill
Road, emigrants, packers and miners traveled as
they crossed the Boise Valley to connect with the emigrant trails North and
West of Eagle, Idaho.
The
area North of Harrison Blvd. became known as “Slaughterhouse Gulch”,
the name taken from a meat packing businesses that were located near this
monument for many years. In 1901, Idaho
Provision and Packing Company was organized near this
spot, just outside the city limits.
In addition to the slaughterhouse, a brick manufacturing facility and
kiln was established which produced fired bricks for many of Boise’s early buildings. Following World War II, this area was
subdivided and houses were constructed.
Reference:
Wikipedia