National Historic Oregon Trail Interpretive Center
Encyclopedia
Oregon Trail
The Oregon Trail is a historic east-west wagon route that connected the Missouri River to valleys in Oregon and locations in between.After 1840 steam-powered riverboats and steamboats traversing up and down the Ohio, Mississippi and Missouri rivers sped settlement and development in the flat...
located 6 miles (9.7 km) northeast of Baker City, Oregon
Baker City, Oregon
Baker City is a city in and the county seat of Baker County, Oregon, United States. It was named after Edward D. Baker. The population was 9,828 at the 2010 census.-History:...
on Oregon Route 86
Oregon Route 86
Oregon Route 86 is an Oregon state highway running from Interstate 84 at Baker City to the Idaho state line at Oxbow . OR 86 comprises most of the Baker-Copperfield Highway No. 12 . It is long and runs east–west. OR 86 has an unsigned spur near Halfway, which runs for...
atop Flagstaff Hill. It is operated by the Bureau of Land Management
Bureau of Land Management
The Bureau of Land Management is an agency within the United States Department of the Interior which administers America's public lands, totaling approximately , or one-eighth of the landmass of the country. The BLM also manages of subsurface mineral estate underlying federal, state and private...
in partnership with Trail Tenders and the Oregon Trail Preservation Trust, and offers living history demonstrations, interpretive programs, exhibits, multi-media presentations, special events, and more than four miles (6 km) of interpretive trails.
Exhibit themes include area natural history, pre-emigrant travelers and explorers, Native Americans, pioneer life, the General Land Office
General Land Office
The General Land Office was an independent agency of the United States government responsible for public domain lands in the United States. It was created in 1812 to take over functions previously conducted by the United States Department of the Treasury...
and Bureau of Land Management
Bureau of Land Management
The Bureau of Land Management is an agency within the United States Department of the Interior which administers America's public lands, totaling approximately , or one-eighth of the landmass of the country. The BLM also manages of subsurface mineral estate underlying federal, state and private...
, and the mining and settlement of Northeast Oregon.
History
The book Trail of a Dream by Dorthy Wooters chronicles that dream from the early planning stage in 1987 through funding and construction and, ultimately, opening day in 1992.Key dates
- March 1, 2001—The center re-opens to full time operation after major structural retrofit.
- May, 1992—National Historic Oregon Trail Interpretive Center opens