page_title: Oregon Trail
section_title: Food
hierarchical_section_title: Oregon Trail / Preparing to travel / Supplies / Food
caption_attribution_description: A replica of one of the original covered wagons that travelled to Oregon in the 1800s. This one was built in the 60s and used as a vehicle in a historical re-enactment.
context_page_description: People traveled on the Oregon Trail in wagons in order to settle new parts of the United States of America during the 19th century. The Oregon Trail started in Missouri near the area where Kansas City, Missouri is today and ended in the Willamette Valley in Oregon. The Trail was about 2,170 miles long, and could take up to six months to travel.
  People went to Oregon for many reasons. Some people wanted land. Some thought Oregon would be a better place to live. Most of them went because they wanted a new life.
  The Oregon Trail was first traveled around 1841. Once a railroad was built across the United States in 1869, people could take trains to the western United States, so fewer people began to travel west in wagons. By that time, about 400,000 people had crossed the Oregon Trail in wagons. However, some people kept traveling the Trail until the 1880s.
context_section_description: It was very important for travelers to carry enough food and water for the trip.  However, food for the trip was expensive.  To feed four people for six months, food would cost about $150 - over $4,500 in today's dollars.p. 274
  Travelers often brought along a lot of dried meat and "bread stuff" (like flour, crackers, and hardtack).  Boiling water was difficult on the Trail, so cooking was not always possible.  Some travelers also brought other foods, like rice, peas, dried beans, or dried fruit.
  Along the Trail, travelers could fish and hunt for food.  Bison, antelope, and deer were the best animals to hunt for food.  Travelers also ate berries that grew along the Trail, partly to help prevent scurvy.
caption: Most travelers used covered wagons like this replica to travel the Trail
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