The Fort Ridgely and South Pass Wagon Road (also known as Nobles Trail) was a wagon trail that was intended to connect

Fort Ridgely Fort Ridgely was a frontier United States Army outpost from 1851 to 1867, built 1853–1854 in Minnesota Territory. The Sioux called it Esa Tonka. It was located overlooking the Minnesota river southwest of Fairfax, Minnesota. Half of the ...

Minnesota Territory The Territory of Minnesota was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from March 3, 1849, until May 11, 1858, when the eastern portion of the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Minnesota and west ...

(now

Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...

) with South Pass in the

Rocky Mountains The Rocky Mountains, also known as the Rockies, are a major mountain range and the largest mountain system in North America. The Rocky Mountains stretch in straight-line distance from the northernmost part of western Canada, to New Mexico in ...

Nebraska Territory The Territory of Nebraska was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from May 30, 1854, until March 1, 1867, when the final extent of the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Nebraska. The Nebraska ...

(now

Wyoming Wyoming () is a U.S. state, state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is bordered by Montana to the north and northwest, South Dakota and Nebraska to the east, Idaho to the west, Utah to the south ...

). It was designed to link

St. Paul Paul; grc, Παῦλος, translit=Paulos; cop, ⲡⲁⲩⲗⲟⲥ; hbo, פאולוס השליח (previously called Saul of Tarsus;; ar, بولس الطرسوسي; grc, Σαῦλος Ταρσεύς, Saũlos Tarseús; tr, Tarsuslu Pavlus; ...

with

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

via the

Oregon Trail The Oregon Trail was a east–west, large-wheeled wagon route and Westward Expansion Trails, emigrant trail in the United States that connected the Missouri River to valleys in Oregon. The eastern part of the Oregon Trail spanned part of what ...

, however only a portion of the route was completed. The trail was promoted and supervised by

William H. Nobles William H. Nobles (1816 – December 28, 1876) was a U.S military officer, Treasury Agent, businessman, politician and trailblazer Nobles was born in Genesee County, New York. He moved to Wisconsin Territory in 1841 and settled in St. Croi ...

. Appropriations for the trail were authorized by the U.S. Congress on July 22, 1856. It was the first road built in Dakota Territory. The Fort Ridgely Road began in southwest Minnesota near present-day New Ulm and entered the

Dakota Territory The Territory of Dakota was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from March 2, 1861, until November 2, 1889, when the final extent of the reduced territory was split and admitted to the Union as the states of No ...

near Lake Benton. It crossed the

Big Sioux River The Big Sioux River is a tributary of the Missouri River in eastern South Dakota and northwestern Iowa in the United States. It flows generally southwardly for ,U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataTh ...

near Lake Campbell, continued south of Lake Thompson, and crossed the

James River The James River is a river in the U.S. state of Virginia that begins in the Appalachian Mountains and flows U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map , accessed April 1, 2011 to Chesapea ...

near present-day Forestburg before continuing on to the Missouri River south of Fort Lookout (near present-day

Chamberlain Chamberlain may refer to: Profession *Chamberlain (office), the officer in charge of managing the household of a sovereign or other noble figure People *Chamberlain (surname) **Houston Stewart Chamberlain (1855–1927), German-British philosop ...

). Only this portion, roughly 254 miles long, was built. From the Missouri, the trail was to have followed the White River across western Dakota Territory, entering Nebraska Territory south of the

Badlands Badlands are a type of dry terrain where softer sedimentary rocks and clay-rich soils have been extensively eroded."Badlands" in ''Chambers's Encyclopædia''. London: George Newnes, 1961, Vol. 2, p. 47. They are characterized by steep slopes, m ...

, and continuing west to South Pass.

References

{{Reflist Trails and roads in the American Old West 1850s establishments in Minnesota Territory 19th-century establishments in South Dakota Historic trails and roads in South Dakota