Beale's Wagon Road
A 1857 wagon route along the 35th parallel to California.
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Beale's Wagon Road was a wagon route established in 1857 by an expedition led by Edward Fitzgerald Beale, tasked with creating a trade route along the 35th parallel from Fort Smith, Arkansas, to Los Angeles, California. The trail began at Fort Smith and passed through Indian Territory, New Mexico Territory, and northern Arizona before crossing the Colorado River at Beale's Crossing, then continued through the Mojave Desert to Southern California. It was notable for being the shortest and most level route to California at the time, and later served as a precursor to the railroad, U.S. Route 66, and Interstate 40.
Quick Facts
- Year established
- 1857
- Expedition leader
- Edward Fitzgerald Beale
- Start point
- Fort Smith, Arkansas
- End point
- Los Angeles, California
- Parallel
- 35th
Facts from the source article.
Background
Beale described the route as the shortest from the western frontier by 300 miles, being nearly directly west, and the most level, with wagons only needing to double-team once over a short hill. He noted it was well-watered, with the greatest distance without water being 20 miles, well-timbered, and temperate in climate, passing over an elevated region.
Beale also stated it was salubrious, with no one in the party requiring medical attention, and that it crossed the great desert at its narrowest point. Beale's Wagon Road was eventually supplanted by the railroad in the early 1880s, then U.S. Route 66 in 1926, and Interstate 40 in 1978. After his initial survey, Beale went to Washington, D.C., to recommend to Congress and the War Department that the route needed a military fort, bridges, and dams, requesting $100,000 for improvements.
More in Trails and Roads in the American Old West
Sources
Compiled from Wikipedia and the sources listed below. Text from Wikipedia is available under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is adapted from it.
- Wikipedia: Beale's Wagon Road (CC BY-SA 4.0).
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