About fifty miles past the Blue Mound – so probably approximately a week after leaving Independence, after crossing the Kansas River, travelers might stop by St. Mary’s Mission. I haven’t found a ton of information on the Mission as it relates to the trail, but it was occasionally mentioned in diaries and the National Park Service’s Auto Tour Route Guide says it was “an important stopping point for the emigrants.”
It was originally established in 1848 as a mission for the Potawatomi Indians after they were relocated, and according to the very limited information, it was a common place for camping and fresh horses.
There is a historical site one can visit, along with a museum – sadly, I didn’t get to see it myself (yet) since it was closed when I was visiting.
Celinda Hines, May 16, 1853 – “Passed the catholic mission of the Pottawatamies Found there to our surprise quite a pleasant looking village there.”
See below for both partial and full map, and note the tiny orange line indicating how far we traveled! You can also zoom in on the full map for more details (if it works the way it is supposed to anyway…).
Resources:
- Fanselow, Julie. Traveling the Oregon Trail. Falcon Guides, 2001.
- “Mileposts along the Oregon Trail – Missouri.” Accessed September 17, 2025. http://www.oregonpioneers.com/Milepost1.htm.
- National Trails System, National Park Service, and U.S. Department of the Interior. “National Historic Trails Auto Tour Route Interpretive Guide: Western Missouri through Northeastern Kansas.” National Historic Trails Auto Tour Route Interpretive Guide: Western Missouri Through Northeastern Kansas. National Park Service, September 2005. https://www.nps.gov/cali/planyourvisit/upload/MO-KS-ATR-Guide-2010-Revision-Small.pdf.
- “St. Mary’s Mission and Oregon Trail Nature Park (U.S. National Park Service),” n.d. https://www.nps.gov/places/st-mary-s-mission-and-oregon-trail-nature-park.htm.
Forest Idylls 