Thursday, August 1, 2019

Oregon Trail Intrepretive Center - Baker City, OR


The National Historic Oregon Trail Interpretive Center offers living history demonstrations, intrepretive programs, exhibits, multi - media presentations and much more than four miles of intrepreitive trails.  It covers 500 acres which includes remnants of the historic Flagstaff Gold Mine, actual ruts carved by pioneer wagons, and magnifcant vistas of the historic route.










This is what one would pack for this trip.  It contains high button shoes, a cashmere dress, fancy bonnet with wood slats, embroidered handwork, Bunyans's Pilgram 's Progress bound in leather,cloth napkins: the list is endless.  Many of the woman came from more cultural cities.  


This Stamp Mill is an original building which was most commonly used for grinding gold ore in northwest Oregon prior to 1936,  the stamp mill used rows of heavy ion pestles (stamps).  The stamps are mechanically lifted by cams attached to a horizontal shaft, then dropped on a crushed ore in a huge iron ore standing on a wood and concret block.  
The stamps, each weighting up to 2000 pounds ( most weighed between 5-- and 1500 pounds), are lifted and dropped 6 to 8 inches one hundred or more times a minute.  Some large mines had mills with 100 stamps.


The Idians were tell the story of the "ashen -faced outsiders" who  came by sea and then the land.  They brought useful things such as brass kettles, brightly coloured glass beads, fire arms, matches, cotton and wool clothing.  They were clever , but not wise.  They upset everything.                                                                                                                                               


This wagon was used on the Oregon TRail in 1880.



The view looking over where the wagons are located.




A monument to those who made this long and hazadous trip.


The years 1843 - 1943.


This blanket was made to remember all of the people who give their time to the keep this center going.


It was a fantastic visit.  We attended an armchair historical story telling where a woman in the dress of the day provided an account of a woman who had made this ardous trip.  They left their homes and families to travel to the new land of Oregon where they could  benifit from the Homestead Land Grants which helped to secure the land from the British.  
It was very interesting and they certainally did it hard.

Cheers,
Ross and Beverley 


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