Trials and Tribulations on the Trail

When we look back on the emblematic historical figures of the Santa Fe Trail, we often think of a merchant traveling to find wealth in Mexico. While the trail was certainly home to such characters, this generalization overlooks the unique motivations that drove men and women to brave the hazards of the overland trails, and how these motivations shaped their roles within their caravans. By necessity, caravans functioned as tight-knit groups during the journey to Santa Fe, but they were not insulated from social divisions. This episode explores these social dynamics as they appeared in moments of hardship along the trail, and how three uniquely situated travelers made the most of their journeys across the West. 

Written and narrated by: Elise Milburn

Producer and engineer: Kyle Jackson

Interview guests: Abby Ramirez

Archival Material: The State Historical Society of Missouri

Theme Song: Fog Holler (Used with permission)

Additional Musical Elements: Fog Holler, Casey James Holmberg, Kyle Jackson, Kate Bone

What is Wheels Across the West: History and Legacy of the Santa Fe Trail?

"Wheels Across the West: History and Legacy of the Santa Fe Trail" invites listeners on a fun and fact-filled adventure across time and territory to make sense of an oft-overlooked overland trail. Created, written, and narrated by students at the University of Missouri’s Kinder Institute on Constitutional Democracy, Wheels Across the West covers a wide range of topics that intersect with the past and present of the American West: mules, military forts, missionization, Hollywood Westerns, gun culture, living history reenactors, pioneer women, Black cowboys, and so much more. Transporting listeners from Indigenous pathways, to international wagon caravans, to railroads, highways, and modern-day Main Streets, this series reveals how the infrastructure and cultural landscape of the West has been constructed atop foundations laid long ago.