One of the exhibits in the Sherman County Museum in Moro, Oregon focuses on trails, rails, and roads. The display begins with an explanation of Indian trails, particularly those of the Sahaptin-speaking Tenino Indians. The early Euro-American fur trappers, traders, explorers, and surveyors then followed these Indian trails into the region. These were then followed by the Oregon immigrants of 1843-1858 who simply passed through what would become Sherman County. Non-Indian immigration came in 1880-1920, many of who came via the railroads.
Indians
According to the brochure:
“For thousands of years, Sahaptin-speaking Tenino people living and traded on the eastern side of the Cascades along the Columbia River and its tributaries, the John Day and Deschutes. Well-used trails brought tribes from all directions to the salmon-abundant waters at the Great Falls of the Columbia at Celilo, now flooded by the waters impounded by the Dalles Dam.”
Wagons
Beginning in 1841, emigrants with wagons and livestock widened the Indian trails. The Great Migration began in 1843 with hundreds of pioneers traveling from Missouri across the Great Plains to the promised lands in Oregon. From 1843 and 1858, at the height of the Oregon Trail migrations, none of the emigrants settled in what would become Sherman County.
According to the display:
“Draft oxen were trained to harness when young. Two calves were yoked together and turned loose to run and buck until common [ox] sense took over and they became accustomed to the yoke. Sometimes a beginner was yoked in with a veteran team for experience.”
Settlers 1880-1920
In the 1880s, hundreds of new settlers came to Sherman County, bringing families. The families came in from California and the Pacific Northwest gold fields. They came by steamboat, railroad, stage, and wagon. By 1910 there were 4,000 people in the county. According to the brochure:
“Urban development took place at the same time the farmers plowed the tough sod and planted wheat, using common sense and hoping for good luck. With a little of both, the 10 or 11 inches of annual rainfall on the fertile soil guaranteed a successful crop.”
Roads
According to the brochure:
“Roads were built, following the canyons from the Columbia River to the farmsteads and settlements on the plateau and beyond to the gold fields of central and eastern Oregon. Highway 97 was completed in 1925.”
Rails
Railroads came into the area in the 1880s which increased wheat production dramatically.
Museums 101
Museums 101 is a series of photo tours of museums exhibits. More photo tours from this series:
Museums 101: World War II Military and the Oregon Coast (Photo Diary)
Museums 101: The Burrows House Museum (Photo Diary)
Museums 101: The Western Room in the Fort Dalles Museum (Photo Diary)
Museums 101: Treasures from the Vault (Photo Diary)
Museums 101: Government Buildings in a Mining Town (Photo Diary)
Museums 101: The Nevada City Assay Office (Photo Diary)
Museums 101: Horse-Drawn Wagons in Fort Steele (Photo Diary)
Museums 101: Victorian Life (Photo Diary)