Question – travel to Pendleton, OR in 1878
Hello,
My gg grandmother came west in 1878. A letter passed down thru the years says she took the train to Glenns Ferry, ID and from there went to Pendleton, OR. Research has shown me that there was no train to Glenns Ferry in 1878. It has been pointed out to me from someone at the National Historic Oregon Trail Interpretive Center that most of the emigrants at that time took the train to KELTON, UT and then wagoned into ID. I have found out that Kelton was the first big RR town west of Promontory and that Kelton was a CPRR town.
My ancestors came from N MO at about the IA state line and also from Sigourney IA.
I am trying to determine which rail line they would have most likely taken west from an area near there that would have landed them in Kelton, UT at the end of their journey. Are there maps showing the rail lines in 1878? If not can you tell me of the route the railroad would have taken?
Any help you can provide me would be greatly appreciated. This is not a school project. I am a genealogist researching my family's journey west.
Thank you for your help.
Dean Munroe
posted from CPRR Discussion Group at 11:12 PM
2 Comments:
The CPRR Museum has lots of maps online.
The 1871 CPRR Map shows a route from the Kelton CPRR station northwest to Boise City, probably served by stagecoach.
The Oregon Short Line heading directly to Pendleton (diverging northwest from the UPRR at Granger, WY) is shown on the 1882 & 1883 maps, but not on an 1877 map. To tell if any portion of the Oregon Short Line was in service in 1878, the best source would be a rail travel guide from that year.
There were several competing 19th century publications (which include timetables and maps):
Appleton’s Railway and Steam Navigation Guide.
Rand McNally Official Railway Guide.
Travelers' Official Guide of the Railway and Steam Navigation Lines of the United States and Canada.
For help finding a copy in a local library, see that FAQ.
There is a reproduction available of an early railroad guide which can be purchased inexpensively, but 1868 likely will be too early for your project.
Also see: Book, Guides, and Travel.
From: DSnoddy@aol.com
The only rail line that would get you to Kelton Utah from Iowa in 1878 is the Union Pacific to Ogden, then CP to Kelton.
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