Not much past the Parting of the Trails, so just a few days from Independence, came the first real landmark often mentioned in diaries – the Blue Mound. From our perspective, it isn’t much to see, but for the travelers, it was a visible milestone on the trail. According to Traveling the Oregon Trail, “Although it couldn’t compare to the mountains they’d see later, the Blue Mound (today called Mount Bleu) was quite a spectacle to the former flatland farmers, and many climbed it to see the view.” (pg 20). Although there are certainly more trees surrounding it today, back then it would have looked like a large hill within the prairie.
While it was mentioned in several diaries and is generally pointed out on the maps, it has since become considered a minor enough landmark, that when I followed the trail myself in 2021, I had to get my husband to pinpoint it on the map so I could see it for myself!
John Minto, May 1844: “The Blue Mound, the famous Blue Mound. I made a very thorough examination of the Blue Mound and, if it had not been such an immense mass, should have left it believing that it was the work of man.”
See below for full map, and note the tiny orange line indicating how far we traveled! You can also zoom in for more details (if it works the way it is supposed to anyway…).
Resources:
- Fanselow, Julie. Traveling the Oregon Trail. Falcon Guides, 1997.
- “Gardner Junction Exhibits – Santa Fe National Historic Trail (U.S. National Park Service).” Accessed April 1, 2025. https://www.nps.gov/safe/learn/historyculture/gardner-junction-exhibits.htm.
- “Gardner Junction Park (U.S. National Park Service).” Accessed April 1, 2025. https://www.nps.gov/places/000/gardner-junction-park.htm.
- National Historic Trails Auto Tour Route Interpretive Guide: Western Missouri Through Northeastern Kansas, 2005.
- Oregon and California Trails Association and National Park Service. Oregon and California National Historic Trails. Oregon and California Trails, n.d. https://www.nps.gov/safe/learn/historyculture/upload/Visit-the-Trails-Northwest-508.pdf.
- “Parks | Gardner, KS.” Accessed April 1, 2025. https://www.gardnerkansas.gov/Home/Components/FacilityDirectory/FacilityDirectory/18/143.
- Santa Fe Trail Association, Oregon-California Trails Association, City of Gardner, and National Park Service. “Santa Fe, Oregon, & California,” n.d. https://www.nps.gov/safe/learn/historyculture/upload/Eye-of-the-Needle-508.pdf.
Forest Idylls 