Oregon Trail Interpretive Center and Haines, OR

Monday, August 14, 2017

 One of the things Ron and I have been doing in our travels over the past five or six years is to visit Oregon Trail Interpretive Centers to lean more about the people and the reasons so many (350,000 people) traveled the trail to Oregon, California and Utah in the early years of the 1800’s.  While our travels have been mostly from west to east, this year we have actually followed the trail more east to west. 

The Oregon Trail was a wagon road that stretched from Missouri to Oregon’s Willamette Valley, over 2,100 miles of endless prairie, sagebrush, desert, mountains, rivers and wildlife.  Thousands of people, more men than women and children, trekked (mostly walking) with few belongings but much courage and determination.  Death awaited them at every turn not only from accidents, but also from disease and starvation.  These people forever changed the American West.

This Interpretive Center is about 8 miles outside Baker City and I believe is one of the most impressive we have seen with life size displays telling the story of the journey across the country with pictures, videos, journal entries, and artifacts.   Along with the displays, etc., there is an over an hour video which details the entire trip and really gives you an appreciation of what these pioneers endured. 

Watching the wagon trains from afar

Trading with the Indians

Round up in the evening

 Additional displays

An outside display

Returning to Baker City, we turned north on Highway 30.   There are so many small towns everywhere and Haines, Oregon is no different.  We just love seeing the old buildings and learning more about the people who settled these areas.  Haines, OR is no exception. 

Haines was settled in 1885 or 86 and was found along the Oregon Railway and Navigation Company rail line.  Prior to that it was a stage stop.  Today there are a few old buildings and homes

IOOF Building - 1908

1884 Union Pacific Railway Station

Front of Station

and a nice little Memorial Park to the pioneers who settled this town.

Chandler Cabin - 1861

 

Perkins Cabin - 1800's

 This Letter Drop was built to accommodate miners and settlers who picked up mail infrequently.

 The building was built as a utility shed or barn.

Hale Cabin - 1800's

We returned to the RV and a quiet evening in front of the TV.  Today was the first day in almost two weeks that we can take pictures of the countryside and actually get a clear picture.  The smoke seems to have mostly cleared out at least for now.