Goodale's Cutoff formed a spur of the

Oregon Trail The Oregon Trail was a east–west, large-wheeled wagon route and 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 is now the state of Kans ...

beginning in

Idaho Idaho ( ) is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. To the north, it shares a small portion of the Canada–United States border with the province of British Columbia. It borders the states of Montana and Wyomi ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

. The cutoff left the trail near

Fort Hall Fort Hall was a fort in the western United States that was built in 1834 as a fur trading post by Nathaniel Jarvis Wyeth. It was located on the Snake River in the eastern Oregon Country, now part of present-day Bannock County in southeastern Ida ...

, crossed the Snake River Plain to the Lost River, and then turned west to the area of

Boise Boise (, , ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Idaho and is the county seat of Ada County. On the Boise River in southwestern Idaho, it is east of the Oregon border and north of the Nevada border. The downtown area' ...

, crossing

Camas Prairie The name camas prairie refers to several different geographical areas in the western United States which were named for the native perennial camassia or camas. The culturally and scientitifcally significant of these areas lie within Idaho and Monta ...

. It rejoined the main trail from Ditto Creek to Boise, then ran to the north of the main trail, crossing the Snake River into

Oregon Oregon () is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of its eastern boundary with Idaho. T ...

at Brownlee's Ferry. In Oregon travelers could now reach the Eagle Valley and Pine Valley areas, and the gold mines in Auburn. The cutoff rejoined the main Oregon Trail at the Powder River, near

Baker City Baker City is a city in and the county seat of Baker County, Oregon, United States. It was named after Edward D. Baker, the only U.S. Senator ever killed in military combat. The population was 10,099 at the time of the 2020 census. History Pla ...

. In 1852, John Jeffrey began promoting a trail following traditional

Shoshoni The Shoshone or Shoshoni ( or ) are a Native American tribe with four large cultural/linguistic divisions: * Eastern Shoshone: Wyoming * Northern Shoshone: southern Idaho * Western Shoshone: Nevada, northern Utah * Goshute: western Utah, east ...

paths in order to generate business for his ferry on the Blackfoot River. The cutoff received limited use from 1852–54. By 1862, the

Northern Shoshone Northern Shoshone are Shoshone of the Snake River Plain of southern Idaho and the northeast of the Great Basin where Idaho, Wyoming and Utah meet. They are culturally affiliated with the Bannock people and are in the Great Basin classificat ...

and

Bannock Bannock may mean: * Bannock (food), a kind of bread, cooked on a stone or griddle * Bannock (Indigenous American), various types of bread, usually prepared by pan-frying * Bannock people, a Native American people of what is now southeastern Oregon ...

tribes were beginning to resist the intrusion of settlers into their homeland, and that year Shoshone Indians ambushed a wagon train at Massacre Rock, killing 10 people. During 1862 Tim Goodale led a group of 1,095 people, 338 wagons, and 2,900 head of stock safely from Fort Hall to Old Fort Boise on the cutoff pioneered by Jeffrey. By 1863, seven out of every ten wagons en route from Fort Hall to Boise took Goodale's Cutoff instead of the main Oregon Trail. Goodale's Cutoff is visible at many points along U.S. Highway 20, U.S. Highway 26, and

U.S. Highway 93 U.S. Route 93 (US 93) is a major north–south United States highway, numbered highway in the western United States. The southern terminus is at U.S. Route 60 in Arizona, US 60 in Wickenburg, Arizona. The northern terminus is at the ...

between Craters of the Moon National Monument and

Carey Carey may refer to: Names * Carey (given name), a given name * Carey (surname), a surname ** List of people with surname Carey Places Canada * Carey Group, British Columbia; in the Pacific * Carey Island (Nunavut) in James Bay United Kingdom ...

Goodale's Cutoff NPS Retrieved September 19, 2013 Goodales Cutoff of Oregon Trail at Lava Lake in 2013

References

External links

Goodale's Cutoff North of Timmerman Hill
{{National Register of Historic Places Roads on the National Register of Historic Places in Idaho Oregon Trail Geography of Butte County, Idaho Historic trails and roads in Oregon Geography of Baker County, Oregon National Register of Historic Places in Butte County, Idaho

References

Further reading

External links